Is it illegal to date a patient's family member (parent)?

Nurses General Nursing

Updated:   Published

Started working home health recently and I don't know if it's illegal to date your patient's parents. Obviously, if we were to date or have any relations, it would be outside of working hours when I am not on duty. I feel like their mother is coming onto me and I was just curious about the situation. 

I work part time PRN at home health so I don't care if I lose my job/get fired; I just don't want my license to be affected.

feelix said:

That is why company policies say you cannot date your patients. I would think they should include family members too. It is a conflict of interest. If a relationship existed before, it is the duty of the nurse to inform their supervisor before patient assignment started. This hands off policy protects everyone from suffering due to possible effect on the patient.

It protects the facility and nurse from possible social and legal risks if the relationship/care goes bad and the romantic partner blames the relationship for it. That can cause collateral damage to their license or finances.

There should definitely be a no romance with family policy of pediatric patients as the child is more vulnerable. 
Doing extra-curricular activity in homehealth can be even worse because there were no witnesses of the truth.

you are right. I will ask to not to placed with that case again. Thank you all for the advice.

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Emergent said:

If things went south in a relationship with your patient's mother, expect some fireworks that could damage your professional life. Yes, people make false complaints that are retaliatory to the Boards of Nursing.

At the very least, this would be extremely unwise. Steer clear!

I could see this scenario happening VERY easily...

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Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
carti said:

Interesting rule. But I would never risk my career dating a patient; I figured a patient's mother would be a different scenario LOL. 

And since I work PRN ( will probably be leaving to a different company next month anyways), I'm not even working full time with the patient since I have other patient's I visit for home health. 

Way back in the stoneage when I went to nursing school I learned that with pediatric populations the whole family is your patient. With this in mind the mother of your patient is also your patient. This is just wrong on multiple layers. What would happen if you went on a few dates and she got the wrong idea, it ended badly and she filed a complaint against you for unprofessional conduct or even worse (some sort of abuse of the children). You would be opening yourself to a BON investigation and possibly even litigation. 

Best look elseware for someone to date!

Hppy

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Just speaking out aloud. If a female nurse went to visit a patient and the father came on to her, the normal reaction would be saying: "That creep is hitting on me.” So yes, the mother of a patient who makes a move during a 45 minute visit, instead of devoting it for the healing of her child is probably a creep too. She sounds nothing but trouble.

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It is generally considered unethical for a healthcare professional to engage in a romantic or sexual relationship with a patient or a patient's family member. This is because such relationships may compromise the healthcare professional's objectivity and ability to provide appropriate care. In some cases, it may also be considered illegal, particularly if the healthcare professional abuses their position of trust to exploit the patient or their family member.

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Mental health facilities usually have or should have stipulations for not dating patients for several years after taking care of them. This is due to the special vulnerability of the population.

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Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
feelix said:

Mental health facilities usually have or should have stipulations for not dating patients for several years after taking care of them. This is due to the special vulnerability of the population.

The policy where I work is two years

 

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

Members have provided great advice.  Illegal, no; Unethical YES.

From Nurse Beth's The Unwritten Rules Of Dating As A Nurse

Quote

American Nurses Association Code of Ethics: "It tells us when there's a conflict between personal values and professional values, the conflict must always be addressed in a way that puts our patients' safety and concerns first. The intimate nature of nursing can lead to a risk of boundary violations and it's up to the nurse to establish the boundaries.

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

The fact that you are considering this should be the moment where you pause in your career to re-evaluate your place in the care team. Huge red flag, patients and their families are under your care, they are not to be considered as dates. 

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Specializes in Hospice.
carti said:

you are right. I will ask to not to placed with that case again. Thank you all for the advice.

Good for you. The situation sound pretty skeevy to me.

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Specializes in Prior military RN/current ICU RN..

Doesn't matter if you feel the mother is "coming onto you".  It is your responsibility to make good ethical decisions.  Patients (and their families) are often in compromised positions due to stress, anxiety, and other issues related to their personal or family medical challenges.  Do you take advantage of their condition?  I would hope not.  You are supposed to be the professional.  

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Reputation is its own currency. 

You might not lose your job, but becoming known as the nurse who had an affair with a pediatric patient's mother can give you trouble in the future. 

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