Breaking the Code of Silence Share info re poor performance of health care employee's

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

from nursing spectrum: july 3, 2006

breaking the code of silence

the charles cullen murder case has precipitated changes in how hospitals share information about poor performance of health care employees.

on march 2, charles cullen, a critical care nurse who had worked at 10 different hospitals in 16 years, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 13 patients and the attempted murder of two others. cullen killed his victims in pennsylvania and new jersey hospitals, seven of which had investigated, fired, or forced him to resign, according to a cbs news article.

but, apparently, none of the institutions gave cullen a bad reference when he sought employment elsewhere. this code of silence enabled cullen to move from place to place with an unrestrained ability to inflict harm.

as a result of the murders, health care professionals and the public demanded change. state legislators in both pennsylvania and new jersey responded. in pennsylvania, a law passed last year grants an employer immunity from civil liability when it chooses to report information about a current or former employee's job performance to a prospective employer. the law is designed to break the code of silence and foster open communication. new jersey has gone even further. information about job performance related to patient care must be passed on to potential employers. it is a matter of patient safety.

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Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

This type of legislation could be a double-edged sword! Employers will now be able to (or even be required to) share accurate information about an employee's performance, potentially protecting the public from incompetant or illegal performance. But there is also the possibility that a minor conflict with a former employer could cause one to be "blacklisted", much like seems to be the case with Group One in Texas.

If Cullen's employers had simply reported his suspicious conduct to local authorities and the BON for investigation, he would have been stopped much sooner. The BON and local police exist to protect the public, but they can't function if they are not alerted to the possibility of illegal activity. These employers share in the responsibility for Cullen's actions due to their INACTION. Rather than focus on new legislation, I'd like to see these employers held legally and financially responsible.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Agree with the above.

For every Charles Cullen, there are probably a hundred nurses who are falsely accused of some sort of wrongdoing. Lord help them if this sort of information gets 'loose'........while I strongly believe in protecting the public from killers such as Cullen, I do NOT support an approach that could harm nurses who have done nothing other than having the rotten luck to be accused of something they didn't do.:o

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Specializes in ICU, Education.

exactly! They had a duty to report him to his state board. I cannot believe they are not being held accountable for not doing so.

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Specializes in Step-down/tele, home care, corrections.

Yes, but wait until a nurse has a complaint about dangerous staffing ratios, or other unsafe management decisions. Try and pass THAT information along . . .

Steve

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Specializes in Day Surgery/Infusion/ED.
Agree with the above.

For every Charles Cullen, there are probably a hundred nurses who are falsely accused of some sort of wrongdoing. Lord help them if this sort of information gets 'loose'........while I strongly believe in protecting the public from killers such as Cullen, I do NOT support an approach that could harm nurses who have done nothing other than having the rotten luck to be accused of something they didn't do.:o

Welcome back to the days when employers can say whatever they want. The onus will now be on the applicant. Try to attempt to dispute a false-accusation: the hospitals have the $$ and the lawyers to grind you into the ground.

This is not a good move as far as nurses are concerned. It's bad enough you can get fired in PA with/without cause; now this.

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Specializes in Day Surgery/Infusion/ED.
Yes, but wait until a nurse has a complaint about dangerous staffing ratios, or other unsafe management decisions. Try and pass THAT information along . . .

Steve

What's that? I can't hear you. I have this problem with "selective deafness." ;)

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Specializes in Day Surgery/Infusion/ED.

And FWIW, the BON is not interested in dangerous staffing, unsafe mgmt. issues. They are not in the business of protecting nurses.

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