Is this really slander?

Nurses Activism

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Hi! Recently I was talking to a few nurses about my blog. My blog is where I talk about my family and rarely ever talk about work. Well, one nurse told another nurse and before I knew it there were multiple people reading my blog. Many people liked it, saying it was cute. Next thing I know a friend/nurse informs me in private that upper management has a problem with my blog and what is written in it, and are pursuing action. Whatever that means. So, I confront the DON and ask her what the problem is since I do not write about work, and the only thing I wrote one afternoon was, "I'm off to work, I hope we're not short." She said that was slander and action was being taken. She said to me at least 5 times as I was trying to explain myself, "We are never short." She basically wouldn't even let me speak. Does this make sense?

Holy crap. I have absolutely NO tolerance for this kind of B.S. Every single day I go to work I think to myself, "I hope we're not short staffed." As if they have no other issue at their hospital to focus on that they have to take issue with a non issue. What complete B.S.

I've had something simialr happen to me in the past, though not becasue of a blog, of course, and it was in the corporate world instead of healthcare. I chose a very teorificely worded statement to my boss: I've always learned to pick and choose my battles very wisely and you are free to take issue with anything you like. However, if you choose to pick this battle all I ask is that you come at me with everything you have. I'd like you to get your boss involved, the DON involved, the CNO involved as well as the legal department. As soon as I receive your statement at my home addresss with the appropriate attention and signatures, we'll pursue it at that time.

Guess what. Never heard a word after that. It was compeltely forgotten. And I had a great relationship with my boss and worked for him later, too. It was a very not-so-subtle message that I wasn't going to eff around with such piddly, meaningless stuff, and that idle threats do not work. I'm not going to be put on my heels or making ANY concessions for something that I did nothing wrong, and neither should you.

Tell me again why there's a nursing shortage? :rolleyes:

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This is a little off-topic, but hospitals are companies like any other type of business and their success or failure depends on being able to keep and retain qualified and skilled labor. It costs ALOT to train a new employee, the orientation, perceptorship, whatever set-up they have.

What blows my mind is that you see top executives of companies every day on the news wondering where all of the "quality" help has went and how they work so hard to recruit top performers, only to have them leave a couple of years later for another company.

Why oh why, does these same execs NEVER look at lower-level management as a massive part of their problem?

I'm not saying there are not great managers out there...I have met tons...but petty stuff like the OP is running into...does her boss not have time to do something more productive than investigate a webpage?

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

I figure it this way:

1. It's a blog, not a legal document. I am not on the witness stand and I have taken no oath to tell the truth. I do not have to tell the whole truth or any part of it. I may have told the truth. Or not. I freely admit that I fictionalize a lot of my blog stuff.

2. I'm a writer, not a reporter. I'm under no obligation to anyone whatsoever with whatever I write. I take a few basic facts, truths, thoughts, or circumstances and I go off in whatever direction I like. I may tell a deep dark secret or I might tell a huge fish story. Which is which? Does it matter? It's purely for entertainment purposes.

3. I disguise the most pertinent information about my patients and coworkers. They wouldn't recognize themselves if they read my stuff because that's how I keep their stuff--and mine--private. So most of the people that I write about are exaggerations or combinations of people that I know or worked with at one time.

Therefore, anyone who accused me of saying bad things would have to figure out who and what I was talking about first. Since it's a fictionalized version, it would be impossible to make all the pieces fit into the same scenario.

I had a creative writing class once in which everyone was to view a scene and write their "truth" about what happened. The variety of "truths" that were told by each eyewitness was so astonishing, it was hard to believe that we'd all seen the same event.

Same with Blogging. What you say is your version of your reality. It might be quite true for you as the eyewitness, so to speak, but not true at all for someone else with a different view of the same scene.

IMO, saying something as ordinary as, "Gee, I hope we're not short tonight," is hardly grounds for a reprimand because it's such a common statement, I doubt you'll find an employee who hasn't ever said it.

But I would take it as a warning that the wrong people are reading things into your Blog that you did not intend. Might be time to change your web address and not share the new one.

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This nurse eventually won her case. She even got punative damages. Her defense was that she told and wrote the truth. He laid off registered nurses and replaced them with unlicensed personnel. Not certified nursing assistants.

RN fired and sued for patient advocacy:

http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Blau_Esther_17466876.aspx

A county Superior Court judge ruled yesterday that a libel lawsuit filed by a Marin General Hospital administrator against a registered nurse lacks the necessary evidence to show she acted in malice.

http://members.aol.com/mshcc/news-66.htm

MGH official sues nurse for libel

http://members.aol.com/mshcc/news-56.htm

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Thank you all for your responses. The DON has not spoken to me again about this since our first discussion. Maybe it occurred to her that it was ridiculous. I only wish that I had all the info that you all have provided me with. Next time I plan on knowing my rights. As for my blog, it is not that personal. There are pics of my animals, stories about life in general, etc. I do not care to write about the intimate details of my life. Thank you all again. Last but not least? I agree, I must work in a pretty nice facility if the only thing the DON has to do is question me about my blog! I better be careful, they might be reading!;)

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

We've had a few members report workplace repercussions for posting info here, even minor stuff. Admin/Mod team often will pull threads to protect the innocent when we feel too much info been posted re work/life situation. Team has suggested/offered name changes to members to avoid any real life names being associated with post.

Once something posted in cyberworld, it circulates freely and QUICKLY around cyberworld. PLEASE USE CAUTION.

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Specializes in ICU;CCU;Telemetry;L&D;Hospice;ER/Trauma;.

Apparently your DON has not kept up with the recent Allstate Insurance settlement which was awarded a former employee who wrote in a blog his personal opinions about particular issues. He did this on his own time, from home, not a work computer, and mentioned no one at work, and was fired because "his views did not reflect the views of Allstate".

He won a multimillion dollar lawsuit against them for unlawful dismissal, and for harming his reputation when he sought employment elsewhere.

Your DON is whacked. The legal definition of slander is:

SLANDER - A false defamation (expressed in spoken words, signs, or gestures) which injures the character or reputation of the person defamed; distinguished from libel.

LIBEL:LIBEL Published material... meeting three conditions: (1) the material is

*defamatory* either on its face or indirectly; (2) the defamatory statement

is about someone who is *identifiable* to one or more persons; and (3) the

material must be distributed to someone other than the offended party; i.e.,

published.

I agree with the others that your DON doesn't seem to know the difference between a written defamatory statement (libel) and a spoken one (slander.)

You cannot be held accountable for what you FEEL....and HOPE is a feeling...

You didn't say, "well, that dang ole place is short staffed again!"

There's a difference both in TONE and INTENT....

Furthermore, she would have to prove you somehow HARMED HER, OR THE HOSPITAL BY THIS STATEMENT....AND THEN IT WOULD HAVE TO BE SOMETHING THAT WAS MEASURABLE...IE SOMEONE STOPPED COMING TO THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE THEY SAW YOUR BLOG, AND DECIDED THEY WON'T USE THEIR FACILITY ANYMORE....

The whole thing is completely bogus on her part....

WHERE DO THESE CRONES COME FROM??

You might want to send her a complimentary copy of the Allstate Case story....(just kidding...)

If it was me, I would ask that she put in writing what she said to you.....

that alone will stop her dead in her tracks...

she's probably still pissed cuz' that house in Kansas fell on her sister!

To read about the Allstate thing:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44961

Allstate ultimately offered an out of court settlement because they knew their fannies were in a sling over this....

A person under federal civil rights code has a right to express their opinion, in writing or in spoken word without fear of retribution from their employer on their own time....

You did nothing wrong...but your DON sure did! hehehe!

Look up Title VII ...under federal codes....under civil rights law...unless she decides her hospital is not part of this country anymore, she might want to re-think her words to you...

Good luck...

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i've never understood the need to expose all your thoughts and feelings to the world, and a "cute" blog probably isn't something i'd want my bosses and co-workers to read anyway. i agree with hopefull -- take away the ammunition. and then be very, very careful about getting yourself into the same situation in the future!

be verry, verry careful.

fear rules the employment marketplace.

retribution rules "management".

it's a minefield out there.

tread lightly, or boom !

(unemployed via principle)

[email protected]

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Yeah get a lawyer if anything happens and counter sue for stalking. :)

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

Post started in 2007..no further update from OP...closed.

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