How do you protect your identity?

[mcknis]

Just curious what methods you all use in order to protect yourself while at work?

I'll start:

I try to keep my last name secret to my patients and block out my last name on my badge as well.

[Fiona59]

Only our given names appears next to our pictures on the front of ID cards. Our family name is on the back. I am the only person with my family name in the city I live in (well there are none listed in the 'phone book).

Luckily I use my birth name. My phone number and bills are all addressed to my husbands family name.

[CritterLover, BSN, RN]

i understand what you're saying about nurse safety, especially concerning women. however, should nursing be the only occupation that allows women to not reveal their full names? what about female doctors, who may have the same stalking issues as female nurses? or female teachers (you never know about that angry parent!) and lawyers (you never know about that angry client!)? i totally understand safety issues, but if female nurses (and men can be stalked, too) don't have to reveal their full names, than shouldn't all occupations allow women to do the same?

those other professions don't give the same level of personal care that nurses give.

i'm sure that there are physicians out there that have been stalked by their patients, and teachers that have been stalked by either student or parents. but i doubt as many of them have had problems like nurses have.

doctors are sheilded, in part, because of the skilled nature of their profession. patients don't see them as their peer.

nursing is perceived primarliy as a "caring" profession, rather than a "skilled" profession. we can argue about whether or not this perception is accurate (and we have, in other threads :) ); but the reality is, that is how the public sees us.

physicians may do "intimate" exams, but those are done in a clinical, impersonal manner. they are done for a reason, and while we hope they are done in a gentle manner, they certainly arn't done for comfort.

we are expected to give baths, pericare, listen when our patients talk, hold hands, all with a gentle/caring attitude. it is expected of us. if we seem clinical or impersonal, it is considered to be negative. if a doctor is called impersonal, that is just seen as part of their profession.

i'm not saying we shouldn't be compassionate.

however, in the mind of some patients (or even family members), such as an imbalanced, social awkward one, that caring touch they get from the nurse or the cna can easily become something more.

we also spend more time with our patients than the doctors do. the patients depend on us, and come to feel as though they know us.

i used to white out my last name on my id badge. i recently changed jobs, and haven't done so yet, but i probably will soon.

i'm single, i live by myself, and while i don't have a rare last name, it isn't very common, either. my phone number is unlisted, and i live almost an hour from where i work, so those things help me.

however, i have been stalked in the past, and that makes me very leary.

we have to be careful.

[jackson145]

Our hospital actually told us not to cover our last name. The solution is to wear the badge backwards so patients don't see the front of the badge. Then you can act like it is backward by mistake.

Some employees tried this at my workplace. They were verbally warned once and written up the second time, even when they said it was a mistake. Administration told us if we were that fearful we should stay home.

When my husband was a detective we had several death threats in the mail and a few offers to hurt me and the kids. Regardless of all that, he always had to disclose his full name to anyone he had legal interaction with. It was a big part of his career and he wanted to remain at his chosen profession.

[mikethern]

Some employees tried this at my workplace. They were verbally warned once and written up the second time, even when they said it was a mistake. Administration told us if we were that fearful we should stay home.

I get a kick out of hospitals who want to retain nurses yet treat them like dog crap.

[jackson145]

It does seem kinda crappy, doesn't it? I've been told that it's no problem at all to replace nurses. They always tell us that there's a line of them just waiting to be hired at my facility.

[bethin]

I lie. We don't have last names on our badges, but when asked by a pt I'll give them a common but not too common last name. My last name is not common at all and it would be too easy for a pt to look me up. I've had problems with pt's following me before. I feel bad lying, but I really don't want to have to get another restraining order.

Also, when asked where I live I give them the wrong town. I worked yesterday, and the first thing out of a new pt's mouth was "what's your last name and where do you live?"

My number is unlisted and my employer only has my cell number, which I mostly use anyway. My landline is for internet use only.

[mikethern]

I lie. We don't have last names on our badges, but when asked by a pt I'll give them a common but not too common last name. My last name is not common at all and it would be too easy for a pt to look me up. I've had problems with pt's following me before. I feel bad lying, but I really don't want to have to get another restraining order.

Also, when asked where I live I give them the wrong town. I worked yesterday, and the first thing out of a new pt's mouth was "what's your last name and where do you live?"

My number is unlisted and my employer only has my cell number, which I mostly use anyway. My landline is for internet use only.

I always lie about my phone number whenever a store asks me for it. I give them a fake number. I avoid telemarketers this way.

[DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN]

I always lie about my phone number whenever a store asks me for it. I give them a fake number. I avoid telemarketers this way.

:yeahthat::yeahthat::yeahthat: Me Too!

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

i always lie about my phone number whenever a store asks me for it. i give them a fake number. i avoid telemarketers this way.

i ask them why they need it -- almost invariably they either don't know, can't answer or want it for marketing reasons. then i refuse to give it to them. although if someone wants my phone number so they can call me when my order comes in, i'll give it to them. i give them the number to the land line, which we never answer unless it's someone we want to talk to at that moment. (love called id!)

[Plagueis]

You are assuming that all patients and family members are safe respectable people. That is an unwise assumption. Like it or not, they are strangers.

While I agree that patients and families are strangers, so are potential employers and new coworkers. Should we not reveal our full names to our coworkers (and some people have been stalked by them), our supervisors, and to potential employers because they are technically strangers, too? (That interviewer could stalk someone.) I loved the advice about protecting ourselves with the passwords and being careful about who we give our Social Security number to. However, how far should we go in order to protect ourselves from the bad people in the world? I have had to take out a restraining order myself, but it was against someone I "knew," not a stranger, so we are not even "safe" from people we know! Anyone can be a potential stalker, so who should we give our real names to?

[DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN]

Anyone can be a potential stalker, so who should we give our real names to?

Those whom we trust and those who have a legitimate reason to know. You're right anyone can potentially be a stalker but why take chances by giving away personal information to just anyone and yes I consider my last name personal (only need to know) information.

I went to a Minute Clinic today. The NP had on a name tag.

Keith, APNP.

I was fine with it. No problem.

[mikethern]

Anyone can be a potential stalker, so who should we give our real names to?

People who need to know it.

You cannot make yourself completely safe, but you should try anyway.

Locking your front door won't stop a determined burglar, but you should still lock it.

A seatbelt might not save your life, but you should still wear one.

If someone wants to find you, they might be able to, but you should still make it as difficult as possible.