could get fired!

[RNmoms]

Nervous, my daughter is a very good nurse and after 6 months on the job got a really good raise. However, the other night a male nurse was really busy and he asked my daughter if she would take a test for his other nurse friend because she didn't finish and is on vacation and the test was due by midnight. Erin tried to help out and said yes, and he gave her this other nurses codes and passwords. Well, my daughter got caught and was yelled at. Now she is worried she will be fired. Does anyone know if this has ever happened before to anyone and do you think she will get fired. she is so mad at herself. she knows better.

[elkpark]

No one here can tell you for sure what will happen to your daughter, but hospitals take computer security very seriously. Logging in under someone else's account is a very serious offense (not to mention cheating on the test ...), and every place I've ever worked has made that very clear in orientation.

I hope things will work out for your daughter. If it's her first problem, maybe they'll just write her up and impose some kind of remediation. Best wishes --

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

At my workplace, she would be fired.

[Wile E Coyote, ASN, RN]

I'd expect to be fired for this, myself.

Edit: I'm being presumptive, but resist the urge to intervene in any way with said employer.

[That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Edit: can't say anything nice don't say anything

[mago8388]

She will most likely get fired, hopefully will just get a yelling from the managers. The person who ask for her to take a test on someone's behalf should be the one getting fired for being dishonest.

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

Accessing via another staff member (who is on vacation) user name & password alone is grounds for termination. Cheating for a coworker not present on mandated education regardless if asked to by a male or female nurse coworker does not speak we'll for your daughters morals & ethics and is also grounds for immediate termination regardless of previous performance reviews. Parental involvement in an adult's workplace issues is frowned upon. "Erin" being on the job for only 6 months has gotten herself into a heap of trouble that she's going to need to face as an adult and accept the consequences of her poor choices.

Logging into a workplace computer under a vacationing coworker's user name and password violates many rules and can be considered a risk for future HIPAA violations.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

Mine too. These "tests" are done for CEUs and this can jeopardize many other areas. Tell your daughter to please refrain in the future (referring to MeanMaryJean)

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

She will most likely get fired, hopefully will just get a yelling from the managers. The person who ask for her to take a test on someone's behalf should be the one getting fired for being dishonest.

Yes, he should be in hot water and get the same punishment. But unfortunately, the daughter was caught doing the deed, so she will have some repercussions as well. Hopefully just a write up...but in the current market, who knows

[Mavrick, BSN, RN]

The confidentiality statement we all sign, the constant reminders of internet and password security keeps me and all my co-workers from even remotely considering such foolishness. Logging in under a false username is the ultimate violation of that security agreement. She has no excuse and should beg for mercy.

I clicked on a link in a fake phishing e-mail sent by our own IT department and got a severe warning at my workplace.

What your daughter did goes beyond poor judgement and makes one wonder why she was so gullible. Does she feel intimidated by this male nurse or is she trying to start a dating-type relationship with a co-worker?

We all learn by our mistakes but this was so avoidable.

[Emergent, RN]

You daughter gave in to peer pressure. It's probably not the first time that's happened to her. Her weakness is a huge liability for any organization.

She also violated several codes of ethics and no doubt a signed agreement.

The guy who gave her the password should also should be called on the carpet.

When I told my dear mother that all the kids are doing it, she always answered "If they told you to jump off a building, would you do that?". Never in a million years would she have run to a website trying to solve my problems that I created.

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

I'm just curious does your daughter do her own research? Previously you were searching for answers if she could get a PA nursing license with a 10 year old DUI now you are asking if her lack of judgement and ethics could get her fired. Your daughter violated company policy, chose not to follow basic moral & ethical codes, showed her new employer that she does not comprehend the seriousness of cheating or accessing a computer system using another coworker's name & password, subject to peer pressure and poor judgement. She has demonstrated that she is a risk to data safety and security. If she expects you to help her to solve her workplace issues she needs to seriously reconsider working as a nurse as independent critical thinking, morality, ethics and good judgement even when faced with adversity are mandatory for success. Everyone makes dumb mistakes the key is to learn from them and move forward.

If I did something similar and went to my parents the response would be "where did you go wrong and what do YOU think you need to do to fix it?"

If asked she needs to reveal who gave her the coworker's access. Clearly they know who she was cheating on behalf of based on the user log in. If this was facility based education it's possible the access was flagged by IT as being active when an employee is off the schedule on vacation.

There are so many issues with this story. Your daughter needs to be prepared for the worst. Termination for cause, ineligible for rehire, ineligible for unemployment and in some states termination for cause must be reported to the BoN (in this case ethics and data security would be the complaint). This could be a very big deal.