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I just wondered... Has anyone out there been in trouble due to anything on facebook? On my old unit we took care of VAD (ventricular assist device) pts, and they are in and out all the time so you really get to know them in and out of the hospital in some cases. I was taking care of a pt who I was also friends with out side of work. My mom worked with me on the same unit as a secretary and he wanted to get a picture with us after I had discharged him. So we all took the picture and he said to make sure we tagged him on facebook, which we did. Someone that we were friends with on fb and worked with took it to management. We both got suspended with pay for a week pending the investigation and eventually fired. During the investigation they never contacted the patient, and when he found out he was very upset. I just wondered if anyone else had been through this. It has opened a new door for me though b/c I am going to do some travel nursing.

Specializes in geriatrics.

Even taking into account those privacy settings, I would still avoid discussing work at all, except maybe "I had an ok day" or something vague. Anything in print, whether it be email or facebook can come back to haunt you, no matter how innocent it may seem.

Specializes in M/S, Travel Nursing, Pulmonary.

I never got "in trouble" per say, but I've had things I said on FB affect my work. We used to have a charge nurse who was KING of dodging the admits. Everyone has worked with one of these, you know the type.

I made a comment one day on FB "I'm a little tired of being the only one on my shift who can do admits. I think at this point I may as well just go to the admit team, cause thats all I am on the unit, the admit nurse.......but I have an assignment to boot."

See, the problem was, I made the comment on a friends page, as a response to something they said. This friend's page didn't have the tight privacy settings mine did. People I wasn't friends with saw it, and it got back to said charge nurse and my manager.

Nothing came of it. No names were mentioned. Actually, from that day on, the charge nurse who abused her position had a complex and started picking up at least a few of the admits. lol

It doesn't always end that well though. I know don't mention work at all on FB unless it's to say something as simplistic as "Off to work tonight". I avoid negative comments and of course don't use names.

To take this one step further:

You (collectively) should be careful what you send in a private message on Facebook or in an email to a co-worker. Once it's in print and sent, it's potentially available forever. Things you write in an email can come back to haunt you, and there's no way to weasel out of it. It's all right there in black and white.

I have said this once and i will say it again. Leave work at work don't pose for pictures. Don't speak about family friends. When will people learn the people you work with are not your friend's they may act like it but once they have something on you It's freaking game over. Please Please tell me you found the person who did that to you. Hire a Lawyer and try to go after them or whoever is responsible. If that doesn't work If no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the A-Team."

May i add to this and this is just me talking. If it was me i would seek revenge on them See i have learned in the past people who mess with people they think its ok. Wreaking someones life or getting them fired from a job they might really need is ok with them. I have learned people understand one thing that's pain they might not understand much but everyone understands pain.

The way you get people to feel pain is through their pocket book. And i would go after the place you work. See if you sue that person for this say cost of wages or something along that line and the place for wrongful term if you win you can get her pay docked then they will feel the pain you felt.

So i would really speak to a lawyer find out what you can do and go after them. Ok i'm done. Don't take this lying down really try to do something. Because the next time it could be more then just your job. These are my thoughts use them as you wish

Specializes in Med Surg, Ortho.
I made a comment on mine last night about how upset I was for floating the second night in a row when it wasn't my turn and that I was tired of our floor being treated like the second float pool.

I got an email from my manger this morning about being careful of what you post on facebook. Someone that I work with is a tattle tale. And oh was I angry when I read her email. I'm sorry, it's my personal space, I never mentioned the hospital by name (which were the stipulations they gave us) and oh yeah, it's my own space.

In my opinion...Your co workers are just that, co workers, not friends. I'm friendly with my coworkers and would Love to find some true friends, perhaps one or so. But I can't trust people I work with and that's unfortunate. I've seen too much backstabbing in nursing, so that is why I will NEVER mix facebook with my work.

I value my privacy and want to be able to post anything my heart desires!

Specializes in Med Surg, Ortho.
I totally agree. I went one step further . . . I deactivated my Facebook account, that way I don't worry about it at all. I'm in touch with people I want to be friends with already . . . I don't need Facebook.

I did the exact same thing.... But I miss it!

Specializes in Med Surg, ER, OR.

Yeah Fb is so risky as are any social networking sites. I like Fb and don't get me wrong I do enjoy it and it is great to get in contact with old and current friends but is a risky thing when dealing with work. Almost safer to just text about work to someone,but we just got a policy handed out about social networking site at my facility.

Ne er mention work and make a second page for real friends. Mispell your name for second page. It gives you the best of both worlds people can find you but you can avoid them. Some of my friends are not work or family safe.

I don't have a FB account-----and I'm just glad I don't have one.

Unless I'm misreading the OP, it was not the patient who posted the photo, it was either the OP or her mother who posted the photo and tagged the patient. If this had been done without the patient's permission, it would be a HIPAA violation, because revealing that someone was a pt at a particular hospital without their permission violates HIPAA. Since the patient had asked them to do this, they did have the patient's permission, but would their employer have known this?

OP, did you or your mother tell your employer that the pt had asked you to post and tag the photo? If so, then I agree that you shouldn't have been fired. Otherwise, it makes sense to me, since it would appear to the employer that the employees had violated HIPAA.

Ooops! You're right. A very fine line was crossed. In all honesty, she probably shouldn't have posted the photo...even with the patient's permission. It is so hard to know what is right and what is wrong and what might get you into trouble.

:-(

Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

I never "friend" patients on FB and I don't talk about work on FB. I hardly ever post anything on FB. Too many people have gotten into trouble over what seemed like innocent remarks.

Specializes in Emergency, Trauma, Critical Care.

Some people at my old job got in trouble, no one got fired but they got warned. Someone went to the length of posting a difficult patient they had that night and the patients Room #! It says where she works on the site. That shocked me. Another nurse tried to give her and a bunch of us a heads up. Everyone got mad at that nurse, which I think was wrong because she wasn't trying to do anything but protect.

I will post that I was at work or off that night, or that I'm excited about a new job. Otherwise, I don't mention it. We have a job to protect our patients and ourselves, so nothing of the sort goes on my page

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