Facebook almost cost me my job

Nurses Relations

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Hi AN family,

This topic has been discussed throughout many threads but I wanted to designate a single thread to this issue. I am a Facebook junkie just like many people from my generation.

I would never post anything patient related or anything that would breach HIPAA. I posted a very tongue-in-cheek status about the daily struggles of nursing (such as drug seeking patients, non-compliant patients, and the patients with a grand sense of entitlement to name a few).

It was meant to be sarcastic and humorous. Well, long story short, HR got a hold of it and almost fired me for it. They said it made me look like a cold, callous nurse and that doesn't sit well with their core values as a facility.

My point of this thread is to be extremely careful about what you post on the internet. My page was as private as it could be but they managed to view it through a "friend's" page.

Luckily, I was able to keep my job and learned a valuable lesson. Don't post work related ANYTHING on your social networking sites.

You can't be too careful.

I've found that Facebook is useless to me. I'm going to be taking it off pretty soon. I've made it a birthday present to myself.

i've never been a facebook or no other social network fan other than this one....everybody i know that does facebook end up in some type of mess generated by...what else...facebook...people put too much information on that site...you can track someones every move by their facebook page....:uhoh3: smh!

Specializes in RN CRRN.

DOn't put anything at all on there. Anything. I see others put things like "wow work was tough tonight" etc or "How many patients are on the floor now?" I am just flabbergasted. Just Don't. Nothing. And I wouldn't friend patients or their family either.

Ouch! It is good that they didn't fire you. I also found something I never expected to be public - googletalk status updates are available to the whole world to see!!! I wanted to see what comes up when I Google myself and found my Google profile (that I didn't even know about) with all my statuses posted there (which are never meant to be seen by anyone except a few friends that I actually added to GoogleTalk).

Check yourselves online, people, and make your Google profiles private.

Specializes in Med-Surg Nursing.

Well, sounds like one of your 'friends' ratted you out to HR. I have very few people from work as friends on facebook and DEFINITELY NO supervisors or management, in fact I have those people BLOCKED from my facebook.

Now, years ago, about 10 as a matter of fact, I posted a situation at work on THIS WEBSITE. One of my coworkers at the time, read what I had written, printed it off, took it to the DON and I got a 3 day suspension. NO WHERE did I ever list where I worked, ANY identifying pt information or anything like that.

They said that because at the time I had my then geocities webpage linked to my Allnurses ID that they could tell who I was talking about from what I had described. OF COURSE they could! The pt's family members were in the DON's office daily complaining about this or that!! ANYONE who worked in this facility would know who I was talking about because the pt was a frequent flier and at some point had been a pt in every unit of the facility! Now Joe Schmoe, RN in Kalamazoo MI would probably have NO clue whom I was talking about because I was THAT vague. I left that facility shortly after that because I could not work with someone who I could not trust.

I do use facebook but I don't list WHERE I work, just that I'm an ICU RN in a hospital. I rarely say anything neg about work other than it was a crappy night. I vent to my mother on the way home from work(not about pt specifics of course--just rantings about my lousy coworkers sometimes).

Yeah, I guess I'm wondering why people think it's safe to post negative things on here if it's not safe on Facebook.

I understand Facebook has a lot more identifying information, but I wouldn't think it would be that hard to figure out where someone works by little details. I hope it is safe, though... I like the idea of a safe haven where people protect each other.

Specializes in SNF/ ER tech.

If there is facebook stalkers..there's bound to be AN stalkers lol

Specializes in Ortho and Tele med/surg.

I know I'm going to be the black sheep here, but isn't America a free country? Since when does your job limits your speech. I mean I'm not going to go onto facebook and post anything, but this could a huge lawsuit. If she's not violating HIPPA and she didn't mention the hospital's name why she not allowed to speak her mind. Hello people??? Free Country, Freedom of speech? Constitutional rights? Hmmm.... (Please don't attack me. I'm just looking at it from a different perspective).

I know I'm going to be the black sheep here, but isn't America a free country? Since when does your job limits your speech. I mean I'm not going to go onto facebook and post anything, but this could a huge lawsuit. If she's not violating HIPPA and she didn't mention the hospital's name why she not allowed to speak her mind. Hello people??? Free Country, Freedom of speech? Constitutional rights? Hmmm.... (Please don't attack me. I'm just looking at it from a different perspective).

I think you are right and I think there have already been lawsuits regarding this issue. But the law is usually several years behind technology.

Save your rants for Allnurses :)
soooo tru
Specializes in Critical Care.

I worked at another facility that forced you to use a disclaimer stating that anything on your facebook was not associated with the facility. The other option was to not even list you were working there.

One of the girls I knew there got in trouble several times because SOMEONE ELSE was reporting her to HR . It was a large facility; HR didn't scan everyone. Someone was reporting her. Did the same happen to you?

I just leave my place of employment off of my facebook...

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