Nurse having personal relationship with patient

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My friend being a quad and having a HH nurse is also having a personal relationship with her when shes off the clock. Can that get her in trouble??

Specializes in Critical Care.

I can only speak to my State, Texas.

ftp://www.bne.state.tx.us/sexmis.pdf

From the Tx Bd of Nurse Examiner's (BON) 'Disciplinary Sanctions for Sexual Misconduct':

'In keeping with its mission to protect the public health, safety and welfare, the BNE believes it is imperative to take a strong position regarding the licensure of individuals who engage in sexual misconduct towards patients or former patients.'

'The Board's position applies to all nurse license holders and applicants for licensure. The Board adopts the following assumptions as a basis for its position:

Patients under the care of a nurse are vulnerable by virtue of illness or injury, and the dependent nature of the nurse-patient relationship.

Nurses are frequently in situations where they provide intimate care to patients or have contact with partially clothed or fully undressed patients. Nurses may also care for these patients without direct supervision.

Nurses are in a position to have access to privileged information and opportunity to exploit patient vulnerability.

There are appropriate boundaries in the nurse - patient relationship which nurses must clearly understand and be trusted not to cross.

Sexual misconduct towards patients . . . raises serious questions regarding the individual's ability to provide safe, competent care to vulnerable patients.

A nurse's duty to maintain boundaries extend beyond a patient's discharge from nursing care.

Even if a patient initiates the sexual contact, a sexual relationship is still considered sexual misconduct for the nurse.

BNE Position:

Sexual misconduct towards a patient or former patient is never acceptable and grounds for limitation, denial, or revocation of licensure."

That seems pretty straight forward.

~faith,

Timothy.

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.
it is not illegal like a doctor/patient relationship.

better check your states nursing act:

pa state board of nursing: (pg. 8+ 9)

http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bpoa/lib/bpoa/20/nurs_board/nurseact.pdf

section 14. refusal, suspension or revocation of licenses.--(a) the board may refuse, suspend or revoke any license in any case where the board shall find that--

(1) the licensee is on repeated occasions negligent or incompetent in the practice of professional nursing or dietetics-nutrition. ...

(9) the licensee has been guilty of immoral or unprofessional conduct. unprofessional conduct shall include departure from or failing to conform to an ethical or quality standard of the profession. the ethical and quality standards of the profession are those embraced by the professional community in this commonwealth. in proceedings based on this clause, actual injury to a patient or individual or group need not be established...

state board of nursing releases disciplinary actions

http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bpoa/lib/bpoa/disciplinary_actions/4th_quarter_2004_pr-nursing.pdf

roger...., had his professional nursing license revoked and was imposed a civil penalty of $2,000 based on findings he entered a plea of nolo contendere to a crime of moral turpitude, is guilty of immoral or unprofessional conduct and he engaged in conduct defined as a sexual violation in the course of a professional relationship. (9-13-04)

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

I think it's a dangerous proposition for patient and nurse. And highly unethical, if NOT illegal. Karen and Timothy make good points, read and heed.

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Specializes in tele, stepdown/PCU, med/surg.

The simple rule I follow is "a nurse and patient should not have a romantic/sexual relationship until significant time has passed from the time of the nurse/patient relationship." Does this mean that a nurse and guy who was discharged yesterday under her care can now date? No. Significant time is the key here. Is that three months, six months, a year? It's not specified but hopefully clearmindedness reigns.

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I would disagree w/ the Texas board's standard of 'patient or FORMER patient'...that is taking too strong a stance, IMO. I agree it shouldn't occur while someone is a patient, but after they aren't anymore is no one's business.

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Specializes in I do it all baby!.

I am a home health nurse, have been for almost 2 years, and I have never even entertained the idea of even being friends with any of my patients, let alone have an intimate relationship with them. I know, according to Ohio law, that nurses can lose their licenses for such behavior. I don't even go there. I am married anyway, but I have had a few patients, male and female, that want to be "friends" even after I have discharged them. I don't even go there, it's not worth losing my hard earned license over.

The other thing is, say someone does start a relationship with a patient, what happens when the Board finds out, takes away your license, and after all that, the relationship ends. Then what? Your left with a permanent consequence for a temporary relationship.

Something to think about.

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Specializes in Psychiatric.

Wouldn't do it, even if I were single...not worth losing my license over. Furthermore, I work in psych, and those patients are very emotionally fragile as a general rule. Nursing is my job. The patients I come into daily contact with are part of that job, and while I very much enjoy my interaction with them, I keep a professional distance. I am always friendly, upbeat, and polite, but I maintain my boundaries, and if someone gets fixated on me in an 'overly-friendly' way, I redirect that person's energies elsewhere. I also make sure to educate that person on social skill, as many of my patients simply lack social skills and/or confidence to interact with their peers. A good portion of them are also just plain lonely and are reaching out to someone, and once they gain skill and self confidence they fixate less on me and come to view me as their nurse again. That being said, there are some patients that just tug my heartstrings and I do get quite attached...it's difficult not to when working with people. I work in a clinic so I have daily contact with some of the guys, and we are on great terms, much as I suspect any long-term patient/nurse relationship would be. Anyway, in short, I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but engaging in the type of behavior suggested here is, IMO, unprofessional, unethical, and puts both patient AND nurse at great risk.

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They should resign from this patient's care immediately. If they are in love they can continue their relationship outside of a patient/caretaker situation. Tell them to get assigned to someone else pronto.

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Specializes in ..

From my understanding, nurse/patient relationships that step outside the clinical settings and boundaries, are unacceptable.

A question: I've been in a new job for about a month as a NA (whilst a student). I work in a LTC hospital for profoundly disabled children (that require full care, for the most part, include gastrostomy feeds.) One of our younger patients lives about five minutes away from me, which I noticed while I was writing her notes. This afternoon I was sitting on the floor by the nurses "desk" nurses this particular child and talking to my DON and I happened to mention the close distance. My DON smiled and told me that I should tell the pt's mum because this particular mum often had trouble finding a babysitter (especially one capable of/willing to administer gastro feeds.) I asked her whether that was entirely professional and she said that it had nothing to do with the facility so it was okay. What are your thoughts on this?

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