Nurse Privacy Rights

[sweetmuffin48]

My hospital began posting large pictures of the patient's nurse with their first name on the door. I think that this is an invasion of my privacy. I am seeking the opinions of others. I could see putting the name on the door, but i feel that the picture is a bit much.

[pinksugar]

Another dumb idea, courtesy of management. Shocker.:chuckle

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

There are some pretty strict laws regarding pictures a photographer can take and privacy. http://rcfp.org/photoguide/stateindex.html however, I think when someone is employed there may be something in the contract stating the institution can use your photo. This sounds like it is the age old response to patient complaints of "I can't tell the difference between nurses and others here" instead of requiring all to buy a certain color uniform etc. I definitely wouldn't like it either however, and am sure they will eventually not look too good when mustaches/beards/glasses etc. start being drawn on them.

I can see a form of vandalism such as the drawing of beards and such on some of the pictures, which can make it unpleasent to the victim. But flags of your likeness with full name, department, floor, etc; is disrespectful to the nurse, in my opinion. I know this is an exaggeration, but what if you are being stalked? Or just don't want outsiders knowing what you do for a living? If a person driving on the parkway can point at your picture and say "Hey, that's Fran..." and that is not what you want is unfair. I say take the time to introduce yourself, maybe write your name on a board and call it a day. Each task they add brings on more aggrevation...now it is make sure my picture is on 10 boards in patient's rooms or I'll get written up? Stop it already...

[*LadyJane*]

Hi Scorpiostudent,

At my hospital, a whiteboard is used, at the beginning of each shift when the CNA and nurse come in for their data collection or assessment, they write their names on the whiteboard, so the patient meets the nurse/CNA, and has a name. It's hard to remember a name when someone is fully stoked on morphine, but the whiteboard helps alot.

As for the picture, well, it's easier to see a staff member out in the hallway and ask them for Susan, than it is to ask for "that blond nurse with short hair and the purple teletubbies scrub top".

I wonder if the pics are for foreigners who don't speak english???

[Blee O'Myacin, BSN, RN]

That's better than what my hospital did when they were applying for Magnet Status...they had enlarged pictures of nurses' pictures placed on large flags placed all over the front of the building with the full name, title and department they worked for that was so large you can see them on the parkway. They didn't ask for the permission of these nurses and MANY of them were angry!!! Understandably so, in my opinion. I would just make time to introduce myself and show them my ID...that is all they need. And, I hate to have my picture taken, also.

And doing away with the unions to attain magnet status is good for *us* how again?? Oh yeah, staff nurse council and scripted patient encounters.:chuckle

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

my grandfather is in the hospital right now and when my mom went to visit him she said they could never tell who was who, and who was his nurse from one shift to the next. she said it was very stressful for him.

i think that color coded uniforms and giving a patient a picture of their nurse along with her name, etc, is a good idea (although admittedly i hate looking at myself). not sure about the whole on the door thing. just seeing this from a family member's perspective... i definitely think extreme measures of some form should be taken to make sure the patients know who is who. being in the hospital is so scary as it is, yk?

color coded uniforms only work if the patients are going to remember that "the nurse is white, the lady who helps me to the bathroom is burgandy and green is for the guy who gives me my respiratory treatment." but patients who are stressed out aren't going to remember the color code. so color coded uniforms are a bad idea in terms of the patient perspective and worse in terms of the professional standing of the nurse.

our hospital just started getting tricked out nametags with "rn" or "rt" or "md" in enormous letters. no missing that!

and the pictures are a supremely bad idea. i'm sure he's got other priorities now, but for years, my abusive ex-husband was stalking me. i moved across the country, remarried and changed my name (including my first name!), but if i were still in the same state and had a picture posted where it could be seen from the highway (or even in the hospital lobby) it could have been dangerous for me.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

There are some pretty strict laws regarding pictures a photographer can take and privacy. http://rcfp.org/photoguide/stateindex.html however, I think when someone is employed there may be something in the contract stating the institution can use your photo.

Well, there's nothing in my hiring agreement that says they can do this, and I'd personally have a cow if admin did this to me. What would fair compensation be? How about paying me for the use of my name and likeness for advertising purposes, IF I agreed?!

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

color coded uniforms only work if the patients are going to remember that "the nurse is white, the lady who helps me to the bathroom is burgandy and green is for the guy who gives me my respiratory treatment." but patients who are stressed out aren't going to remember the color code. so color coded uniforms are a bad idea in terms of the patient perspective and worse in terms of the professional standing of the nurse.

our hospital just started getting tricked out nametags with "rn" or "rt" or "md" in enormous letters. no missing that!

and the pictures are a supremely bad idea. i'm sure he's got other priorities now, but for years, my abusive ex-husband was stalking me. i moved across the country, remarried and changed my name (including my first name!), but if i were still in the same state and had a picture posted where it could be seen from the highway (or even in the hospital lobby) it could have been dangerous for me.

stalking issues is a major concern to me. i haven't experienced it myself, but there are some nurses that have ex-husbands and boyfriends that have come to the hospital in the past and made scenes. we do not know who is escaping what in this life...maybe some of them have done what you did...changed names and locations to escape abuse and here we go, placing their likeness on banners that the entire world can see. a friend can tell a friend and before you know it, the problem arises, yet again, making that nurse have to run for her life once more.