Dating a former patient

[thepsychtech]

First off, I work as a psychiatric technician - I am not a nurse.

Can I legally date a patient after she has been discharged from the psychiatric hospital in which I work? I cared for each of the patients under my care equally - she and I seemed to hit it off instantly, though. Would I be breaching confidentiality laws or the code of ethics by seeing her outside of the hospital now that she has been discharged?

[thepsychtech]

OP here.

Thank you everyone for your advice.

First of all, let me set a few things straight: I am not. My patient was female and so am I.

Many of you asked how I got her contact information. When she found out she was being discharged, she asked me, “If I write you a note, will you read it?” I replied, “Sure" She gave me her note but I only had time to read it after she left. The note had her phone number on it asking me to go out with her.

I thought about this very hard and realize it would be extremely unethical to even contact her. Someone mentioned about her coming back to the facility in which I work – that is a very good point. If she and I were dating, I wouldn’t be able to legally care for her. If she and I had dated and broken up, I wouldn’t be able to care for her as well as being a detriment to her progress.

I want the best for all the patients for whom I care. I realize that dating her would not be in her best interest and would be selfish on my part. It would be a huge ethical breach to go out with her as well as putting my job at risk.

Thank you again for helping me come to this conclusion.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Legally, yes, you could date an ex-patient, even if you were a nurse.

Ethically and morally, it's a big grey area.

Deciding to date an ex-patient can also have a less-than-favorable impact on your professional reputation, especially if you and others have different views on the matter. Just because you and the patient think it's OK doesn't mean others will see it the way that you do.

Your employer may also frown upon it, as many facilities have policies that prohibit fraternization with patients after discharge for a period of time. So if you did decide to date an ex-patient and your employer found out about it, it could result in ramifications at work including the loss of your job...and yes, it's perfectly legal for this employer to tell the next employer WHY you were fired.

That's a lot to consider...and I see you've made your decision. IMO, I agree with your conclusions.

[LPNSade]

When I look at my patients, I see the word SICK on their forehead. Is this person really worth you losing your job over? If things go bad do you think she would keep the relationship a secret? No! 9 times out of 10 she has nothing to lose. She probably saw you as the "weak" staff and knew she could manipulate you which is why she wrote the note. I hope you don't get yourself caught up in a bunch of avoidable nonsense. Good luck!

[digzie]

My personal opinion is to refrain from engaging in a romantic relationship with the client. First and foremost, it simply does not "sound right". My stand point is that if the client needs to be hospitalized again, they will not be able to go back to the facility that the man is currently working. The young lady may or may not have gained inappropriate feelings for the care giver during her stay at the facility and this could be attributed or a part of her mental illness (hyper-sexuality[COLOR=#000000]). The health care professional should have better control/maintenance of feelings and create more professional boundaries between self and client.[/COLOR]

[Scarlo, ADN, BSN]

In my case, a BF is the cause of it.

[UzoRN]

The relationship is unethical. I think both of you will be relating on patient and patient-care basis.

[Jusween]

The "view point " expressed is shared by every professional group in healthcare for a host of reasons. It's unethical and more than a little ill advised to date a psychiatric patient. It's also exploitative. The writer who suggested that this consensus was "know it all" concerns me. Do you work in psychiatry? If so you are dangerously uninformed. The lack of boundaries notwithstanding, maybe you need to examine the differences between viewpoints, facts and moral imperatives. The OP obviously came to the correct conclusion on her own and I applaud her for it. However, suggesting that a psychiatric patient needs a boyfriend is naive and superficial. I can only hope this individual doesn't work in the field. With an attitude like this, it's an accident waiting to happen.

[GodBody26]

Cringing at the thought you even stepped outside of your role to get that personal w/ a patient smh

[pejuade]

Do you really know what you want to dab into. I'd you love her then go for it .