Not just nursing but ANY job...

[weirdRN, RN]

I was in the video store this afternoon. I had become quite chatty with the former manager. She had said she was interested in nursing a few semesters back when I was checking out movies for psych. This afternoon, there was a new guy there. He was hanign out the door of the place, smoking a cigarette, and talking to this teen aged girl that looked like jail bait.

I asked where Cathy (not her real name) was and this fella proceeded to tell me that she had been fired for stealing movies. He said that the managers had known it all along and went into fair good detail about it. He could have just said she no longer works here and left it at that but he continued until I left the store.

I was irked for two reasons. One that I am such a poor judge of character, and two that he just blabbed that kind of information to me, a complete stranger.

So now I am wondering. What if....? What if I were fired and one of my co-workers blabbed like that to someone who might potenially be in a position to hire me or associate with me??? How embarassing for me and the person who now has to decided whether the information is true or not.

So, are there legal implications? I know with HIPPA there is. But in a situation like this one is there?

[LPN1974, LPN]

People do it all the time. It isn't right, but they do it.

I have a co-worker, that when she applied for this job, another co-worker, made a comment about her, not in the best light. She got the job anyway, but if the comment had been made to the hiring authority she might not have.

And people do say stuff about others behind their backs. It happens everyday at my job. Not a day goes by that someone is not downing someone else about some little piddly thing that doesn't amount to a hill of beans, but they do it. And the ones doing the talking are not angels, themselves. But of course they don't see it that way.

I think they have that holier than thou attitude and until they get knocked off their pedestal they have placed themselves upon, it will continue.

[texas_lvn]

Everyone (almost everyone) talks about others and EVERYONE has an opinion about everyone else. You can not usually change that opinion.

What are you worried about? As long as you are doing your job to the very best of your abilities, I wouldn't fret about it. Of course people are going to talk if you left because you were stealing anything (meds, bedpans, you get the picture.)

I am not a lawyer, but if "cathy" wanted to press charges I bet she could find some lawyer and settle out of court for some reason or another. I do not believe there is anything like HIPAA out there to cover that part of personal behavior.

I can understand about you being a little upset over feeling that you thought she was a good person, but you do not know all the details. It could be this guy is saying it and it did not happen. There are people on death row (I am an advocate of death row!) who are innocent. You do not know her side of the story. Give yourself another chance, and don't be so hard on yourself!

We had a unit secretary that was going through a nasty divorce. She started seeing a MARRIED maint. man. After a few good rolls, he called it quits, she ended up with a bullet going through her jaw. Everyone thinks it was attempted suicide (she is alive, thank God!) but we were told she tripped and the gun went off. Things happen, and people talk. We were put under a "gag" order by mngt. to not talk about her anymore because there is a possibility she will come back. I feel sorry for her. Either way, accident or not, she is scarred for the rest of her life emoitinally and physically.

I hope this somehow helps you. Good luck. Texas