Clinical Instructor

[klone, MSN, RN]

Of course HIPAA applies to the HOSPITAL, or people providing care to your daughter. The nursing instructor was not that. That is why we said HIPAA did not apply in that situation. In fact, FERPA would probably be more applicable than HIPAA in this situation (but again, not applicable because of the nature of WHAT was disclosed).

[vintagegal, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

Dili said:

vintagegal, BSN, RN

Thank you so much for your response, and I agree, responses were pretty cut-throat.  I think nurses sometimes forget just how difficult nursing school can be. 

My daughter did actually stand up for herself and emailed the professor with her concerns.  I was very proud of her, and her professor apologized for her actions.  

Of note, per occupational health, when there is an injury at their facility, they become a patient and HIPAA rules do apply.  They stated information should only be given on a need to know basis. 

Again, thank you for your kind response.

It costs nothing to be kind, yet it costs the conscious to be self-righteous. We've all made mistakes, it's not what happens to you but how you react. And I'm not surprised by the reactions, I think it's a tell tale sign of where everything is proverbially headed...

[CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN]

klone said:

Of course HIPAA applies to the HOSPITAL, or people providing care to your daughter. The nursing instructor was not that. That is why we said HIPAA did not apply in that situation. In fact, FERPA would probably be more applicable than HIPAA in this situation (but again, not applicable because of the nature of WHAT was disclosed).

Right.  If the question was "Did her nursing instructor violate HIPAA" the answer is still NO. 

If the question was, "When my daughter gets treatment for her needle-stick, is she covered under HIPAA," the answer is of course yes.

[Nurse Alexa, MSN, RN]

Needlesticks happen during clinical all the time. It is most important for her to tell her instructor and take the proper steps to protect herself and make sure she has not contracted any blood-borne pathogens. However, I do understand the concern for her professor "telling" all the other students about the incident. While it is a learning experience, it is also a medical occurrence and some people can be sensitive about that information.

What is difficult to say is if the professor directly told the students about your daughter's needle stick or if the students overheard/saw the incident. It's near impossible for the small clinical groups to keep information from each other because everyone speaks about the occurrences of the day.

Since your daughter was very upset by the occurrences of the day I would bring it up to the Dean. Maybe the policies in this particular clinical setting needs to be revamped - and it's something you should speak about to prevent this from happening to another student.

[Guest1204365]

CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN

This information came directly from the hospital's occupational health department.  This is a huge hospital organization in my state as well as various other states.  

[Guest1204365]

Nurse Alexa, MSN, RN

I could maybe understand the need to tell everyone in her group if it was a teaching experience, but it wasn't.  The professor simply blurted it out and excused the class. No follow up, no educational teaching and no room for questions. 

[klone, MSN, RN]

Dili said:

CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN

This information came directly from the hospital's occupational health department.  This is a huge hospital organization in my state as well as various other states.  

What information came from the occupational health department?

[NICURNTN]

I'm glad it worked out well for your daughter. I'm sorry if some of the comments may seem a little unkind because I  know you're well-intentioned and have a mother's heart.  I've been nursing for almost 30 years. Nurses can be some of the meanest people to their own. I'll never understand it. Best of luck to your daughter in nursing school.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Oh, for Pete's sake. Nobody is being mean here. Blunt, sure. But no, we're not being mean.

And I will repeat - yes, HIPAA applies to the HOSPITAL. The occupational health department is correct that when your daughter became a patient by virtue of being treated for the BPE, then privacy laws take effect for the hospital and its employees. However, the nursing instructor is not a hospital employee. She was told about the BPE from your daughter. It's unfortunate that she acted the way she did and she did not use it as a teaching experience for all the students. I'm glad your daughter had a conversation with her and they have resolved the conflict.

[Guest1204365]

No one said you were being mean, unkind and cut-throat were the words used. 

Thanks for the input. 

[CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN]

Dili said:

CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN

This information came directly from the hospital's occupational health department.  This is a huge hospital organization in my state as well as various other states.  

What information?  Is this in response to your HIPAA question that we all already answered?

If it is, I'll just repeat. YES, what you read on the hospital website is correct. YES as we all said, she is covered by HIPAA for her needle stick treatment, of course. NO that doesn't mean her instructor can't talk to the other students about what happened. The instructor is not treating her. The instructor is not her medical provider. She is her teacher. 
 

If your daughter asks her instructor to keep the info private, she should do that to be a nice person, because it is important to respect one another's boundaries. That has nothing to do with HIPAA. 

[CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN]

klone said:

And I will repeat - yes, HIPAA applies to the HOSPITAL. The occupational health department is correct that when your daughter became a patient by virtue of being treated for the BPE, then privacy laws take effect for the hospital and its employees. However, the nursing instructor is not a hospital employee.

Thank you, you said it more clearly than I did.