I'm seeing a lot of unprofessional posting here related to venting about patients

[Garethaus]

Hi,

I'm just a newbie here but I have to comment on what I'm seeing here. Specifically nurses sharing their stories of their interactions with difficult patients.

Surely it is unprofessional to be sharing patient details? Even with the names changed, enough specific details are being provided by certain nurses that could identify a patient.

Anyone can access this website. Any patient can check out this website. I admit, the chances are not great that this will happen, but it could happen.

I don't think it is appropriate or professional to post here and ***** about patients, difficult or not.

Usually the unprofessional offenders mention that they just gotta vent. I don't think as nurses / nurse students collectively we should be initiating some of the threads here; or participating in them. I think nurses who have to ***** about a patient should find a more appropriate outlet to do so.

Just my two cents.

[Jenni811, RN]

When i am outside of work, i refuse to "act like a nurse." im going to be ME outside of work. and ME is talking to people who understand. Nobody knows who i am. Who the hell knows, my name may not even be Jenni. Maybe i am a male nurse named Butch...how would you know??

Oh wait, you don't know.

[mariebailey, MSN, RN]

I think you'll find a lot more than venting going on in these forums. What may look like venting often turns into a discussion that facilitates learning. I have had many "aha" moments reading these threads that have helped me professionally, even if it's simply realizing that I'm not alone in what I'm going through at work. I concur with other replies. We are bound by Terms of Service and HIPAA - we are always obligated to protect our patient's privacy, whether we are on the clock or not.

[violetgirl]

Are you a nursing instructor??

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

Opinions are very subjective. If it was true that there was "a lot of unprofessional posting" as you claim, OP, moderators will intervene with warnings. Sometimes this happens, but not often before the post is closed. After you have worked as a nurse for awhile, you will realize why people come here to vent. People also use AN to share information, ask questions, and have fun.

[Barnstormin' PMHNP]

I have to admit, I have figured out who three other posters are just by what they have posted and their user names. Knowing that if I recognized who these people were by their posts, I am very hesitant to post anything because I feel it would identify me and I like being anonymous. I do feel that most nurses here are aware of the boundaries and try to avoid identifying details. If I didn't have allnurses to read I'd go nuts.

[elkpark]

I agree it's important to avoid revealing details about a case that could enable someone to identify a particular individual or facility. However, beyond that, everyone is free to avoid threads they don't approve of or enjoy.

[uRNmyway, ASN, RN]

If we can't vent on here, with people who are supposed to be other nurses, people who know what we go through day in and out, where else? Do we let it bottle up? Do we end up just exploding at patients/patient families/OUR families/doctors/administration/etc because we had no safe outlet to get rid of our frustration and seek advice on how to cope? We are human, and not venting in our very stressful situations could be disastrous, and I think the above mentioned outlets would be much worse than coming on AN.

I concur that we are bound by HIPAA, and that the Admins on here do a pretty good job of censoring what needs to be censored. If you disagree, then I am sure they would be happy to receive your advice on how to get better.

And to those who have identified people based on their profiles and posts: The only way I can think of that this would be possible is if these are people you already know. Like, say, work colleagues. And if you can tell who/what situation they are talking about from their posts, then you probably already are hearing about it in the workplace. Just my two cents.

[Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN]

Why don't you PM Brian and share your concerns with him? He makes the rules, and he has his reasons for those rules. If nothing else, he may give you tips on how to create your own message board so you can be pickier about what is posted.

But, in the end, until one of the mods tells me I've posted something inappropriate (and yes, it's happened!), I'm not going to change what I've posted.

And...I find it unprofessional to judge us without walking a mile in our mocassins.

[RyanCarolinaBoy, ADN, BSN, MSN]

shakin my head...

I get so tired of STUDENTS coming onto the site, and telling those of us who have been in the trenches for years how/what we need to do and say...it's the same mentality with new grads coming onto the floors and deciding that "they" know better than the experienced nurses who have been doing this for years.

OP-work a few years, keep your nose to the grindstone, and try not to be so 'more rightous' than other nurses. I promise you, someday you WILL understand where we come from!

[SionainnRN]

shakin my head...

I get so tired of STUDENTS coming onto the site, and telling those of us who have been in the trenches for years how/what we need to do and say...it's the same mentality with new grads coming onto the floors and deciding that "they" know better than the experienced nurses who have been doing this for years.

OP-work a few years, keep your nose to the grindstone, and try not to be so 'more rightous' than other nurses. I promise you, someday you WILL understand where we come from!

Yep it's amazing how self righteous students can be!! They also seem to be the first to tell you to find a new job when you vent!!

[SNB1014, RN]

ooooooo girl! you are in for a world of sass in these replies!

i thought the same when i first came on here when i got admitted to nursing school.

now after school clinicals, working as a tech during school and starting my first position as an rn, i can see why a lot of the "venting/mean" posts come about.

i tell my husband (hippa approved ) some of what goes on at work and he thinks im exaggerating or should just tell the patients to eff off if they are speaking like that or to "help them foster some independence and ignore the call bell for the 10th time in an hour" etc. welllllll i may want to do that, but i cant. i get help, advice and strength here.

[ComeTogether, LPN]

Seriously? We all have patients we love and adore. Patients who remind us why we do what we do. (Not a nurse yet, but I am a CNA and get the brunt of some of the abuse and also a lot of love). Our loved ones have no idea what its like. AN is a great place to come and vent and talk about the stuff that no one else would understand.

Work a 12 hour shift, have a patient tell you you're no good at your job, demand that you do things for him/her that they are perfectly capable of doing themselves, have a patient slap you across the face because they don't know any better. Break your back and bend over backwards leaving you completely exhausted and no good for the rest of today and maybe tomorrow and then tell me you don't feel the need to go somewhere and let off some steam anonymously.

While I appreciate the fact that you're a student (so am I ) and you have this idea of professionalism, I promise you everyone here loves most of their patients, but sometimes we just need to vent and talk about the things that happen to us. We are all human, the patients are human and sometimes are totally out of line. We can't tell them that. Our spouses probably don't understand, so we come to AN and vent a little. Not a big deal..... relax.