Does your hospital allow shadowing experience?

[Yuppers21]

I have a friend who is interested in becoming a RN. I just found out my from HR department that the hospital I work for does not allow interested parties to shadow unless there is an academic requirement as part of the admission process into a nursing program, which they are unaware of any in our area that do. I was surprised and dissappointed to learn of this and frustrated for my friend. Anyone else run into this situation with their employer?

[mvm2]

I can understand why hospitals do not allow this. There are too many legal complications. Mainly I believe there are HIPAA problems...your friend is not an employee of the hospital and if she is following you around she Has access to a lot of HIPAA information such as names and dx. Information that should not be allowed to be heard and seen by an outsider.

[BiotoBSNtoFNP]

When I was trying to decide between two jobs, i shadowed at hospital A after the interview. When I asked to shadow for a few hours at hospital B, they would not allow it. I was very surprised at this as i think shadowing is a great idea not only for a prospective job but also for non-nurses to understand a little more of what nurses do as the OP said! I can understand that HIPAA complicates it. I had to sign some hipaa paperwork prior to shadowing.

[Yuppers21]

I can understand that HIPAA complicates it. I had to sign some hipaa paperwork prior to shadowing.

My thoughts as well. I understand we have to be protective of patient's privacy and rights and my employer obviously has the means to do so since they allow would-be students who are applying to nursing programs that require it to shadow. I'm curious to know why the powers that be want to discourage shadowing and if this is a growing trend.

[NicuGal, MSN, RN]

We do allow it, we even have high schoolers. They have trek down to HR and get the HIPAA lecture and sign a paper.

I think it is a great thing, a person can get a sense of the unit, exposure to something they may not otherwise.

[elkpark]

I've never worked in any hospital that will allow lay people to come in off the street and "shadow" the working professionals just to see what nursing (or any other occupation in the hospital) is like. There's more to it that just HIPAA (although that is a serious consideration). IMO, it's violating people's privacy for no good reason. If you are a legitimate student at a school that has a connection to the hospital, that's one thing. But general members of the public who are curious? No way. I'm v. surprised to hear there are hospitals that do allow this. I would never be willing to be a party to such an experience, either as a patient or as a nurse.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

My hospital allows shadowing under specific circumstances:

1. You've applied for an open nursing position, and...

2. HR and nursing management has interviewed you, and...

3. You sign a confidentiality agreement prior to shadowing, and...

4. They are interested in offering you a position, but want to ensure you do not have any red flags they may have overlooked while interviewing you.

During the four-hour shadowing experience, the nursing staff observes the candidate closely and reports their first impressions to HR regarding the individual's personality and perceived interest level.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

My facility allows shadowing by medical students (we aren't affiliated with a medical school), interviewees who move on to the second step, and select high school students who apply for a mentorship (partnership with select schools). There is also a lot of paperwork required to be filled out, sign offs by two higher management people, and anyone entering patient care areas is required to complete the same mandatory education (computerized modules that take about 4 hours) that we have to complete annually.

[verene, MSN]

My local hospital does not allow shadowing as in the traditional following someone around and seeing them do their job. They do however allow high school students, pre-med and pre-nursing students to conduct informational interviews with providers/staff and get a tour of parts of the facility which may include witnessing a procedure or two with patient consent.

[mirandaaa]

My hospital allows shadowing under specific circumstances:

1. You've applied for an open nursing position, and...

2. HR and nursing management has interviewed you, and...

3. You sign a confidentiality agreement prior to shadowing, and...

4. They are interested in offering you a position, but want to ensure you do not have any red flags they may have overlooked while interviewing you.

During the four-hour shadowing experience, the nursing staff observes the candidate closely and reports their first impressions to HR regarding the individual's personality and perceived interest level.

This is actually genius.

[loriangel14, RN]

Nope. Liability and privacy issues.

[Nurseeverywhere, CNA, LVN]

Can she get in as a volunteer? I am volunteering on three different floors at a local hospital and while I am not one on one with an RN I do answer call lights and interact with multiple staff on the floor. Maybe for someone unfamiliar with medical field work this would be beneficial if they cannot do shadowing. Just a thought.