You're a nurse. You are told a scenario as follows:
A coworker at a Children's hospital spends a few weeks caring for a sick child as primary nurse. Child is eventually discharged to home with home health referral. Same nurse is asked by mother to serve as nurse for child at home. Nurse agrees.
Weeks pass. Nurse's wife comes to hospital, furious. Describes situation where nurse and mother of patient have been engaged in a sexual relationship. Another gossiper implies that nurse and mother spend his shifts drinking adult beverages, and etc. at home of child. Wife files for divorce. Nurse tells mother of child that he can no longer have relationship or serve as nurse for child. Mother of child threatens to contact board of nursing.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.
This kind of scenario does indeed happen. I've seen it. Clinic nurse married to a physician had serial affairs with fathers of her patients. More than one divorce ensued. It got quite ugly, but I don't think she was ever disciplined by the BON.
I had an instructor in nursing school who rumor has it walked into an OR to confront the other woman. Fired from the hospital. Still licensed, and not a bad instructor. Just couldn't go to that clinical site.
Nothing worthwhile to contribute, I just have to say that my coworkers and I often joke that we could write a book...this 'possibly hypothetical' situation sound like it would be a great chapter in the book of NICU craziness lol
I had an instructor in nursing school who rumor has it walked into an OR to confront the other woman. Fired from the hospital. Still licensed and not a bad instructor. Just couldn't go to that clinical site.[/quote']
The nurse in this situation is completely wrong. The entire situation is unethical and he could face discipline from the BON. He should not have been having an affair with the mother of his patient. There was a similar true life situation where the home health nurse had an affair with a male patient with ALS. She became pregnant and I believe she faced discipline from the BON.
I would say, rumors get started all the time. I would ask if the wife or anyone else had proof. If they did not, I would continue my job as usual.
If they did have proof that this did indeed happen, find a good lawyer for the ensuing divorce. I'm not sure how this would work with the DON but I would check it out and see what the ramifications are and maybe hire my divorce lawyer to represent me in this situation also.
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.
I wasn't the one being hostile, but people who cheat on spouses and behave unethically with a vulnerable person while supposedly acting under their license in the best interest of their patients....well, that tends to make people feel rather......prickly. Hypothetically speaking. Of course.
Specializes in Early Intervention, Nsg. Education.
This kind of scenario does indeed happen. I've seen it.
Yes, it happens. In fact, it happened to a friend of mine. She was dealing with a high-risk pregnancy along with her TPN dependent, developmentally delayed pre-teen who was having escalating behavior issues. By the time the night RN arrived, my friend was exhausted and immediately went to bed (she was supposed to be on bedrest, but couldn't always get afternoon/evening PDN coverage.) Hubby/child's father worked second shift and had been sleeping in the guest room so that he "didn't disturb" his sleeping wife. Night nurse and child's father got quite "cozy", eventually became "cozy enough" to result in the nurse becoming pregnant by the child's father.
To make a long story short, when child's Mom discovered hubby and nurse in the throes of passion, she immediately threw them both out, reported the nurse to the agency, the insurance company, and the BON. Filed for divorce and moved out of state. Nurse went after "big daddy" for child support. It's been several years since all this occurred. Fortunately, my friend had a healthy, term baby, and her disabled daughter is doing well in a voc training program and is off TPN after surgery for her SBS. "Big daddy" filed bankruptcy and ended up losing his marriage, home, and job. What a crazy world. You just can't make this stuff up.
NotReady4PrimeTime, RN
5 Articles; 7,358 Posts
This kind of scenario does indeed happen. I've seen it. Clinic nurse married to a physician had serial affairs with fathers of her patients. More than one divorce ensued. It got quite ugly, but I don't think she was ever disciplined by the BON.