This may have been covered before but I have a few questions. I work in a small rural hospital in L&D. My coworkers are posting comments on facebook which I feel are inappropriate. Now these comments do not mention patient names or any specific identifiers. In fact, one of the coworkers insists its "legal" to post this content because there are no "identifiers".. But I feel some of the patients can certainly be identified. Some of the recent comments are:
We had a rough night last nite, three patients got cut and another one will probably be cut soon.
We had three new babies and one had a broken clavicle
There are eight newborns in the nursery and three are sick
We had a code last night but the baby is ok now
I have been watching this situation from my facebook page for a few months now. I have tried to "warn" these nurses. One nurse had just recently passed boards. But nobody is listening to me and now they believe that its "legal". I don't agree but I need to find it in writing if that makes sense. I finally told my manager and she was shocked. She doesn't know much about the internet and had no idea. I didn't mention names. I don't really care if I **** off my coworkers. I think its immature and unethical. I am no Florence Nightingale but this just seems to be common sense. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.
I just noticed that one of my coworkers has been publishing Facebook status updates during her entire shift.
My employer has blocked Facebook and similar sites from our internet access - which I couldn't care less about. I have a Facebook account, and I visit the system maybe twice per month - usually when I get an e-mail saying I've gotten a message from someone or have had a friend request from an old classmate.
I have my nursing supervisor as a friend on facebook, and I've posted about patients I've taken care of that have passed....never heard a word.
I'm not that comfortable tempting fate. It only takes one person to complain and you've got a world of trouble.
Not legal at all and since FB isn't anonymous - its stupid and foolhardy of these nurses to post anything at all about their workplace and/or patients.
Pat_Pat RN
472 Posts
Oh, well.....