CCN smoking an electric cigarette at nurses station

[NoScrubs]

Today I floated to a floor I do not usually work on. When I approached the charge nurse at the nurses station to introduce myself, she was puffing on an electric cigarette. I found it really odd, but kind of let it slip my mind. Later in my shift, I had to approach her to give an update on my pt who was expected to be d/c and again, she was puffing on her E cig. Midway into our convo she says, oh don't mind me and laughed. She was very friendly and accommodating, but that just seems extremely inappropriate, no? Is it even legal? I don't know...

I also noticed she had it charging in the USB outlet of the work computer. Again, strange... Has anyone seen this before? Now that I'm home and I'm thinking about it, I'm both shocked and literally LOLing.

[melizerd, ASN, RN]

I'm new to my facility but we are completely smoke free campus and e-cigs were mentioned in orientation as well. You can't even smoke in your car on campus.

I'd find out policy about that for sure. *I* wouldn't be happy to have a coworker doing it and I'd be even less happy about seeing my nurse do it.

[elkpark]

I'll bet she won't be doing it for long ... (Or that's a really unusual hospital ...)

[RNyourBusiness]

It's actually allowed at our hospital. We are just asked not to do in in front of patients and to step into the break room or something. We also are a smoke free campus, but they do allow e-cigs.

[HarryTheCat, MSN, RN]

The only byproduct that e-cigs produce is a tiny amount of water vapor. It's really not much more than you contribute to the atmosphere when you exhale. While it probably isn't something you would want to do in front of the patients, it really isn't going to harm anyone, even close by, unless you're sitting next to someone who is easily offended by "second hand water vapor".

[melizerd, ASN, RN]

Well there are studies being done that are showing that it may be more than water vapor and I don't want to chance that for myself or my patients.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Even if the second-hand vapor is totally benign, it's still just super unprofessional. It would be like seeing a nurse tweezing her eyebrows at the nurses' station. Or flossing her teeth. Or something. It's just not something you should be doing while on duty, sitting at the nurses' station.

[AmyRN303, BSN, RN]

Unprofessional. While I don't believe e-cigs present a second-hand risk as cigarettes do, it's unprofessional. I used to have one which lit up at the end similarly to a real one, and my dad, at a distance, couldn't tell the difference....I'd imagine it could be a similar scenario with patients or staff.

I live in an area where e-cigs are treated similarly to cigarettes and vaporizers etc. are not allowed on/in many hospitals here.

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

Just the appearance of a staff member possibly smoking anything at the nurses station is highly unprofessional, in my opinion.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

It LOOKS unprofessional. But you don't work with her regularly, so you don't have to do anything about it. Her boss may already be documenting.

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

I agree it's unprofessional and inappropriate.