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.

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

It depends upon the extent of (i.e., amount of detail in) the details. Nothing that indicates the identity of the patient, directly or indirectly, should ever be shared outside those involved with the care of that patient.

...and don't call me Shirley.

I agree with the entire post, but you get a 'like' for the last line alone!

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

Some of us nursing students completely understand how hard it is to be a nurse and the reality of it all.

Some have much better ideas than others but, no, you won't know until you've actually been a nurse. It's impossible to know until you've done it.

[DoeRN]

Some have much better ideas than others but no, you won't know until you've actually been a nurse. It's impossible to know until you've done it.[/quote']

I agree. It's nothing like feeling defeated and having regrets. I was a PCT first and worked with nurses but when I became a nurse I "got it" and it was more than I ever bargained for.

OP if you don't like the vent threads simply skip over them. As long as they aren't breaking TOS then they are here to stay.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

As long as you don't state the patient's name, your name or the name of the hospital, it's pretty much impossible to violate HIPAA. Without those identifiers, we might as well be discussing some made up, hypothetical patient. More importantly, even if some pt somehow found this site and recognized himself from the description and THEN somehow deduced the identity of the nurse posting it, he *still* would have no legal leg to stand on. You (the poster) would still be safe.

[RNJill]

Ummm, maybe you should get a little more experience before nitpicking about something like this. It is natural to want to vent about work, and especially in a field like nursing (which can be filled with some bizarre/gross/crazy stuff), who else but fellow nurses are you really going to vent to? I can assure you that most other people don't want to hear some of it. So, that being said, what is wrong with people venting a little on here? As long as you don't post large amounts of identifying info, it is therapeutic and can ultimately bring some much needed humor to a situation.

Please relax and stop trying to guilt others into painting a sunshine-and-roses picture of nursing ON A WEBSITE, for crying out loud!

[beckyboo1, BSN, RN]

If you check the OP"s other posts, many could be called controversial.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

Why do nursing students always eat the old nurses? I'm tired of being bullied by students yelling at me for being unprofessional!!!!

[nursel56]

This just made me chuckle. What about doggie HIPAA???

I was going to use the more generic "pet", or "animal" but then I thought when was the last time I heard about a cat or a bird sinking it's teeth/beak into the mailperson's ankle?

On another note it would be nice to have the OP respond - to their 5 pages of replies . . .

[wooh, BSN, RN]

On another note it would be nice to have the OP respond - to their 5 pages of replies . . .

Wouldn't his reply violate HIPAA?

Poo, did I just violate HIPAA by quoting you?

I said, "Poo." That was unprofessional of me, huh?

[nursel56]

I said, "Poo." That was unprofessional of me, huh?

To be on the safe side -- best to use official graphic representation of same. :poop:

[SaoirseRN]

On another note it would be nice to have the OP respond - to their 5 pages of replies . . .

OP responded once, quoting my original reply (page one) and was still online when I offered another comment, but did not respond to that one.

[Hygiene Queen]

If someone posts with too much revealing information, that is on them.

Vent responsibly, folks and vent away...

You just wait, newbies, your time's a-comin'.