Need Advice-Agency LVN renting room from Family

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Hi,

I seem to have lost my way on this and could really use a reality check and advice. At one of my pt. homes I have just become aware that one of the night shift nurses(we work for the same agency) is renting a room in the up stairs portion of the family duplex where the Step Mom and Father live. The pt. lives on the bottom floor. This just seems so wrong to me-the nurse is attending family events, watching movies with the pt. when off duty and going out to dinner with family and pt.

Should I say something about this to the agency? It has been bothering me ever since I found out.

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Specializes in COS-C, Risk Management.

This is a serious boundary violation at the very least. You should make the agency aware and also consider contacting the board of nursing. This nurse has some issues with professional judgment.

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At one of our cases it was an RN and I believe the room was free of rent. All was very well known by the agency. The nurses were not as smart about the boundary hopping as they thought they were. The agency only tolerated the whole thing at their own discretion, and one of the 'bossy' LVNs found out when she got hauled to the office one day and found herself boss of nothing for awhile. The DPCS said that she found it interesting and amusing when the nurse wrecked one of the family cars. Quite a little nest of manipulation and a perfect example of a lack of professionalism. I was surprised that the DPCS had that candid conversation with me, but she had a reason.

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You should inform the agency. Forewarned is forearmed. Up to them what action they take. After you state your peace, try to stay out of any ensuing drama. It would not hurt to look for a new case. This one may not be long for this agency, with or without the problems down the road.

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As much a question as a statement, but:

Couldn't this be a HIPAA violation of the worse kind (using PHI for financial gain)?

Unless the room up stairs in the family duplex was advertised to rent to the public, it is likely that the existence of the room and the price of the room was gained soley through the relationship between the patient and the nurse.

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Hmm.. is this nurse actually caring for this patient? If not, then to speculate that the room/price of the room "was gained soley through the relationship between the pt and nurse" is out of line. To report to the BON?? for What?? If there is no professional contact between the nurse and pt, and since the pt's family apparently has no problems, why should there be concern.

Was this rental arrangement PRIOR to this pt being a pt of this agency? Just how long has this pt been in homecare? a wk , a month.. ready for discharge?

Many unanswered questions need information before making so called "reports"

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Specializes in COS-C, Risk Management.

Looks like someone else needs to evaluate their own boundaries. Seriously, if you see nothing wrong with this arrangement, you need to really take a course in professional ethics and research further.

Whether or not the nurse is caring for the patient has no bearing on the overstepping of the bounds of good, professional judgment. The relationship exists between the agency and the patient and if the nurse is an employee of the agency, then there also exists an implied relationship between the nurse and the patient. However, from the description of the OP, it sounds like this nurse is or has been assigned to care for this patient, so there is a definite professional relationship which has been compromised by the nurse's non-professional relationship. In many cases, this sort of situation is actionable by the board of nursing and certainly by the agency.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

Yes, I believe the agency should be informed, too. I find that it isn't uncommon for things like this to happen, where the nurse and client bond and cut the agency out of the loop except for the paycheck they collect from them.

Does the patient have an RN Case Manager? That is the first person I would have a conversation with.

Aside from that, even if nobody thought that unethical, the earth would have to be scorched and that duplex room the only building left standing before I would put myself in the position of being on call 24/7. I don't see them sitting there without a nurse for a call-off while your colleague is up there eating bon-bons and watching Lifetime Movies.:)

Maybe there is some sort of barter arrangement, which very likely amounts to the nurse having a second employer. If she wants to be a friend to the family, she should not be working there as a nurse.

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There has been no absolute evidence of "some sort of barter arrangement" nor of "being on call 24/7".. this is all speculation. Has anyone bothered to question if this nurse had lived here before this patient became a pt?? Has anyone bothered to ask if she is really caring for this pt?? Alot of innunedos written without full facts... just discuss it with the nurse BEFORE making reports.

So.. You would say.. in my apt complex. I live upstarts.. have been for years. The downstairs neighbor becomes a pt of my agency, whom I AM NOT assigned however I am considered a friend...(take her to the grocery store, run errands etc on MY time) I'd need to be worried that is unprofessional. Hmmm .. interesting.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
There has been no absolute evidence of "some sort of barter arrangement" nor of "being on call 24/7".. this is all speculation.

Yes, I know. That's why I used the word "maybe".

Has anyone bothered to question if this nurse had lived here before this patient became a pt?? Has anyone bothered to ask if she is really caring for this pt??

She works the night shift.

Based on my personal experience with lots of issues of this type, I am going to speculate she didn't live there prior to her being sent out on that case.

I'm going to further speculate that it defies common sense to believe that family never asks the nurse to do nursing actions when she is off the agency clock.

Alot of innunedos written without full facts... just discuss it with the nurse BEFORE making reports.

So.. You would say.. in my apt complex. I live upstarts.. have been for years. The downstairs neighbor becomes a pt of my agency, whom I AM NOT assigned however I am considered a friend...(take her to the grocery store, run errands etc on MY time) I'd need to be worried that is unprofessional. Hmmm .. interesting.

by me

Maybe there is some sort of barter arrangement, which very likely amounts to the nurse having a second employer. If she wants to be a friend to the family, she should not be working there as a nurse.

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I did not provide more details in my original post as to keep things less confusing but yes:

She asked to rent a room after working for the pt. She pays $500/month in rent. I have seen other boundaries crossed as well. I have informed the agency of it all.

Thank you for all the support.

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I did not provide more details in my original post as to keep things less confusing but yes:

She asked to rent a room after working for the pt. She pays $500/month in rent. I have seen other boundaries crossed as well. I have informed the agency of it all.

Thank you for all the support.

Thank you for coming back and clarifying. I really did not think you would have posted this if the facts had been otherwise. Hope you are able to find another case so that you can extricate yourself from this unpleasant situation, unless of course, the agency takes swift and appropriate action.

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