I'm seeing a lot of unprofessional posting here related to venting about patients

prep8611 · Jan 17, 2013

Be in the field for a while before making such an opinion. This is simply a means to vent so we don't take our frustrations out on family or the patient. We mention no names.... No harm done. I don't even post on them but it helps me when I read them.

DoeRN · Jan 17, 2013

OP why are you trying to start a war on here?

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prep8611 · Jan 17, 2013

Brand new nurse already with the greater than thou mentality.

Trauma Columnist · Jan 17, 2013

Okay - everyone is entitled to their opinion and we try to respect all of our posters.

OP - AN wants to be a supportive places for All Nurses: whether you are a student, new grad, seasoned nurse, etc..

Many times when we do have a bad day or need some assistance with a bad interaction with a pt/family/MD, etc., we come here and ask what others have done in this situation.

We do strive to keep HIPAA in the forefront of our posting - one of the reasons that we have a HIPAA forum.

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · Jan 17, 2013

Garethaus,

I recently joined a professional forum specific to my specialty. Postings in this forum require one to register one's real name and the postings are not public. This kind of setting may better appeal to your community board needs and you may seek that kind of environment. I enjoy both approaches. I have also read several (other) nursing forums that were entirely too offensive for me and I chose not post and to merely read them. At a certain point I simply quit going there. There are certain threads here on AN that I know will not be my taste and I skip them.

Just some thoughts.

SaoirseRN · Jan 17, 2013

I respectfully disagree with you, though you are entitled to your opinion. I do wonder if your opinion may change after you've gained a few years of experience.

Even if somebody read a story that "kind of" sounded like them, unless the nurses come right out and say when, where, who, etc, it is unlikely to confirm with any certainty who any specific patient is.

I also notice, OP, that you have said nothing about nurses sharing positive stories. If your theory is that the unprofessionalism lies with the "details" shared, then would not those nurses also be "offenders", as you've put it?

Everyone needs to vent, and doing so amongst colleagues, others who understand where we are coming from, is one of the biggest coping tools we have as nurses. It doesn't make us unprofessional. It makes us human.

Garethaus · Jan 17, 2013

I respectfully disagree with you, though you are entitled to your opinion. I do wonder if your opinion may change after you've gained a few years of experience.
Even if somebody read a story that "kind of" sounded like them, unless the nurses come right out and say when, where, who, etc, it is unlikely to confirm with any certainty who any specific patient is.
I also notice, OP, that you have said nothing about nurses sharing positive stories. If your theory is that the unprofessionalism lies with the "details" shared, then would not those nurses also be "offenders", as you've put it?
Everyone needs to vent, and doing so amongst colleagues, others who understand where we are coming from, is one of the biggest coping tools we have as nurses. It doesn't make us unprofessional. It makes us human.

Its healthy to vent. I'm not suggesting that nurses / nurse students not vent. Just not in a public forum. About patients. Despite what you say about it being amongst colleagues, that's not the case.

Even a story that's positive mentioning patient details can be inappropriate. The patient may not want to share their story with the rest of the world in a public forum.

SaoirseRN · Jan 17, 2013

Okay, here is another angle for you:

If I vent to people I actually work with, they ALL will know who I am talking about.

Venting here? Nobody knows who my patients are. Public forum, yes, but actually more anonymous.

allnurses Guide · Jan 17, 2013

Hi,
I'm just a newbie here but I have to comment on what I'm seeing here. Specifically nurses sharing their stories of their interactions with difficult patients.
Surely it is unprofessional to be sharing patient details? Even with the names changed, enough specific details are being provided by certain nurses that could identify a patient.
Anyone can access this website. Any patient can check out this website. I admit, the chances are not great that this will happen, but it could happen.
I don't think it is appropriate or professional to post here and ***** about patients, difficult or not.
Usually the unprofessional offenders mention that they just gotta vent. I don't think as nurses / nurse students collectively we should be initiating some of the threads here; or participating in them. I think nurses who have to ***** about a patient should find a more appropriate outlet to do so.
Just my two cents.

If you follow the Terms of Service and the advice of the staff you'll be very careful about including much identifying information about yourself in your posts, and follow the law(s) about sharing specific patient information (HIPAA) the odds of someone discovering that a poster is talking about them or someone they know here being "difficult" are very low.

As to the broader question, I think the general public knows everything isn't Utopia in any job, so won't think less of us for writing about the obvious. I don't think it's unprofessional for teachers to vent about difficult students and difficult parents. I don't think it's unprofessional for a cashier to vent about difficult customers, or the mailperson to write about difficult dogs, etc.

eatmysoxRN, ASN, RN · Jan 17, 2013

I'm sure many vents here have been experienced by others, probably with amazingly similar details. Now, if a poster stated even their facility name and only a few details that could be problematic. But many times I read things that are similar to situations I've experienced and it's helpful to read the advice more experienced nurses contribute. The staff and administration here seem stealthy in being sure hipaa is followed. Let nurses vent.

~ No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent -Eleanor Roosevelt ~

VANurse2010 · Jan 17, 2013

Everyone is entitled to his opinion, but consider that you're not the arbiter of professionalism in the world, OP.