Can I lose my license over this?

Published

I was on the phone with my mom in public and basically talked about how I wouldn’t want to be brain dead and have my family keep me alive forever and how I don’t want tube feeds and to just be a burden to my family. I also talked about how there’s been lots of shooting recently in my town and how in a new unit I will be on I will see lots of gunshot wounds and stories that are on the news.

I look over and see my patients daughter (my patient who has been on my unit for like 3 months) standing right next to me.

Can she get offended and then I get fired for this?

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Or can I get fired for it?

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59 minutes ago, Mortaaaay said:

I was on the phone with my mom in public and basically talked about how I wouldn’t want to be brain dead and have my family keep me alive forever and how I don’t want tube feeds and to just be a burden to my family. I also talked about how there’s been lots of shooting recently in my town and how in a new unit I will be on I will see lots of gunshot wounds and stories that are on the news.

I look over and see my patients daughter (my patient who has been on my unit for like 3 months) standing right next to me.

Can she get offended and then I get fired for this?

You can get fired if someone doesn't like your hair cut, or for no reason at all ...so, yes.

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
1 hour ago, Mortaaaay said:

Can she get offended and then I get fired for this?

Some of us are just looking for a reason to be a victim to reinforce our belief that the world is bad and we are good. So, yes, she can get offended so as to reinforce Sour Lemon, anybody can get fired for any reason or no reason at all.

But don't fear the Reaper.

Your beliefs are your own and you have a freedom and a right to express them, Mortaaaay.

However, as a famous hopeless neurotic once said,

"The sky is falling!"

-Chicken Little

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Specializes in New Critical care NP, Critical care, Med-surg, LTC.

Someone can get offended by anything, no way to know. If you were describing anything similar to the medical condition of the patient, she may think that you were talking about her mother and accuse you of a HIPAA violation. As Sour Lemon pointed out, if patients/family make complaints these days there's no way to know about your specific organization, but some places will fire employees.

While you were in public and didn't violate any patient privacy laws specifically, you might consider keeping private conversations more private in the future. Especially discussing medical issues in a medical setting where anything could be overheard by patients, family or other staff.

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Just now, JBMmom said:

Someone can get offended by anything, no way to know. If you were describing anything similar to the medical condition of the patient, she may think that you were talking about her mother and accuse you of a HIPAA violation. As Sour Lemon pointed out, if patients/family make complaints these days there's no way to know about your specific organization, but some places will fire employees.

While you were in public and didn't violate any patient privacy laws specifically, you might consider keeping private conversations more private in the future. Especially discussing medical issues in a medical setting where anything could be overheard by patients, family or other staff.

This was at a busy mall- off the clock

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Specializes in New Critical care NP, Critical care, Med-surg, LTC.
1 minute ago, Mortaaaay said:

This was at a busy mall- off the clock

Oh, I thought you meant a public place still at work. I don't think there's any problem.

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Specializes in NICU.
6 minutes ago, JBMmom said:

Oh, I thought you meant a public place still at work. I don't think there's any problem.

What if she posted the same statement on Facebook? Would there be a problem? People have gotten fired for stupid comments on Facebook that have nothing to do with work.

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Just now, NICU Guy said:

What if she posted the same statement on Facebook? Would there be a problem? People have gotten fired for stupid comments on Facebook that have nothing to do with work.

she has no proof though. none at all

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Specializes in New Critical care NP, Critical care, Med-surg, LTC.
8 minutes ago, NICU Guy said:

What if she posted the same statement on Facebook? Would there be a problem? People have gotten fired for stupid comments on Facebook that have nothing to do with work.

Good point, but that's the difference between social media and a personal conversation. Once the conversation is over, unless it was recorded, it doesn't exist anymore. If this were to become a who said what argument, it is unlikely a complaint would hold up, in my opinion. If she were sitting in a public area in the hospital, while wearing a nursing uniform, then I think it could be perceived more negatively (for some reason that's what I thought she was describing when OP said her patient's daughter heard her). Putting views on facebook makes them public forever and it seems that if a nurse posts medical/treatment views, they become viewed as a representative of their organization in the eyes of many people. I haven't heard of people being fired for posts unrelated to nursing in any way, but I guess that's the risk of putting anything out there in that format. I stick to pictures of my kids and pets.

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Just now, JBMmom said:

Good point, but that's the difference between social media and a personal conversation. Once the conversation is over, unless it was recorded, it doesn't exist anymore. If this were to become a who said what argument, it is unlikely a complaint would hold up, in my opinion. If she were sitting in a public area in the hospital, while wearing a nursing uniform, then I think it could be perceived more negatively (for some reason that's what I thought she was describing when OP said her patient's daughter heard her). Putting views on facebook makes them public forever and it seems that if a nurse posts medical/treatment views, they become viewed as a representative of their organization in the eyes of many people. I haven't heard of people being fired for posts unrelated to nursing in any way, but I guess that's the risk of putting anything out there in that format. I stick to pictures of my kids and pets.

I really dont put anything out there except for ugly pics of me

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1 hour ago, Mortaaaay said:

I look over and see my patients daughter (my patient who has been on my unit for like 3 months) standing right next to me.

Did she recognize you/how did she react? Just curious.

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