I'm seeing a lot of unprofessional posting here related to venting about patients
Register Today!-
This is a discussion on I'm seeing a lot of unprofessional posting here related to venting about patients in Nurse Colleague / Patient Relations, part of General Nursing ... Hi, I'm just a newbie here but I have to comment on what I'm seeing here. Specifically nurses...
by Garethaus Jan 16Hi,
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.
Print and share with friends and family.
Compliments of allnurses.com.
http://allnurses.com/showthread.php?t=809016©2013 allnurses.com INC. All Rights Reserved. - 14,381 Views
- Jan 16 by prep8611Be in the field for a while before making such an opinion. This is simply a means to vent so we don't take our frustrations out on family or the patient. We mention no names.... No harm done. I don't even post on them but it helps me when I read them.
-
Jan 16 by DoeRNOP why are you trying to start a war on here?
Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com -
- Admin
Jan 16 by traumaRUsOkay - everyone is entitled to their opinion and we try to respect all of our posters.
OP - AN wants to be a supportive places for All Nurses: whether you are a student, new grad, seasoned nurse, etc..
Many times when we do have a bad day or need some assistance with a bad interaction with a pt/family/MD, etc., we come here and ask what others have done in this situation.
We do strive to keep HIPAA in the forefront of our posting - one of the reasons that we have a HIPAA forum. -
Jan 16 by TiffyRNGarethaus,
I recently joined a professional forum specific to my specialty. Postings in this forum require one to register one's real name and the postings are not public. This kind of setting may better appeal to your community board needs and you may seek that kind of environment. I enjoy both approaches. I have also read several (other) nursing forums that were entirely too offensive for me and I chose not post and to merely read them. At a certain point I simply quit going there. There are certain threads here on AN that I know will not be my taste and I skip them.
Just some thoughts. -
Jan 16 by SaoirseRNI respectfully disagree with you, though you are entitled to your opinion. I do wonder if your opinion may change after you've gained a few years of experience.
Even if somebody read a story that "kind of" sounded like them, unless the nurses come right out and say when, where, who, etc, it is unlikely to confirm with any certainty who any specific patient is.
I also notice, OP, that you have said nothing about nurses sharing positive stories. If your theory is that the unprofessionalism lies with the "details" shared, then would not those nurses also be "offenders", as you've put it?
Everyone needs to vent, and doing so amongst colleagues, others who understand where we are coming from, is one of the biggest coping tools we have as nurses. It doesn't make us unprofessional. It makes us human.Last edit by SaoirseRN on Jan 16 - Jan 16 by GarethausQuote from SaoirseRNIts healthy to vent. I'm not suggesting that nurses / nurse students not vent. Just not in a public forum. About patients. Despite what you say about it being amongst colleagues, that's not the case.I respectfully disagree with you, though you are entitled to your opinion. I do wonder if your opinion may change after you've gained a few years of experience.
Even if somebody read a story that "kind of" sounded like them, unless the nurses come right out and say when, where, who, etc, it is unlikely to confirm with any certainty who any specific patient is.
I also notice, OP, that you have said nothing about nurses sharing positive stories. If your theory is that the unprofessionalism lies with the "details" shared, then would not those nurses also be "offenders", as you've put it?
Everyone needs to vent, and doing so amongst colleagues, others who understand where we are coming from, is one of the biggest coping tools we have as nurses. It doesn't make us unprofessional. It makes us human.
Even a story that's positive mentioning patient details can be inappropriate. The patient may not want to share their story with the rest of the world in a public forum.Last edit by Garethaus on Jan 16 - Jan 16 by SaoirseRNOkay, here is another angle for you:
If I vent to people I actually work with, they ALL will know who I am talking about.
Venting here? Nobody knows who my patients are. Public forum, yes, but actually more anonymous. - Guide
Jan 16 by nursel56Quote from GarethausIf you follow the Terms of Service and the advice of the staff you'll be very careful about including much identifying information about yourself in your posts, and follow the law(s) about sharing specific patient information (HIPAA) the odds of someone discovering that a poster is talking about them or someone they know here being "difficult" are very low.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.
As to the broader question, I think the general public knows everything isn't Utopia in any job, so won't think less of us for writing about the obvious. I don't think it's unprofessional for teachers to vent about difficult students and difficult parents. I don't think it's unprofessional for a cashier to vent about difficult customers, or the mailperson to write about difficult dogs, etc.
