I ran onto this article where a Canadian nursing board is punishing an RN for posting on her private Facebook page about care her Grandfather received at a hospital, where she DID NOT work at, charging her with Professional Misconduct.
I personally think nursing boards have to much control over what happens in our personal lives.
In February 2015, Prince Albert nurse Carolyn Strom posted a news article about end-of-life care on her personal Facebook page and then commented about the subpar care†her grandfather had received at a Macklin health facility. The post was brought to the attention of staff there, who filed a complaint with the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association (SRNA).
Strom defended herself at a two-day hearing in Regina this past February — the SRNA's first disciplinary hearing about nurses' behaviour on social media. She argued the SRNA's code of ethics did not apply to her when she posted on Facebook because she was not part of her grandfather's health care team and wrote the post on a personal page. She said it's important for people to discuss health care issues and argued her right to free speech would be violated if she was found guilty of professional misconduct.
The SRNA disagreed.
In a written decision published this fall, the SRNA pointed out that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is not absolute. It also stated that courts across Canada have found regulated professionals guilty of professional misconduct because of things they have done in their private lives.
Pending the outcome of a penalty hearing that has not yet been scheduled, Strom could be expelled or suspended from the SRNA or face some other form of sanction, such as a fine.
Strom's lawyer, Marcus Davies, said he will appeal the decision after the penalty hearing.
(The SRNA) have over-punished, over-sanctioned and responded inappropriately to a discussion on health care and they have held (Strom) to a standard that I think few of us would expect ever to be held to. You can't comment on your own grandparent?†he said.
If you remove nurses from a discussion of health care — which this decision effectively does — nurses will be reluctant or frightened to engage in a frank discussion of health care in public. Then you've made the discussion less valuable.â€
If the decision stands, it could have repercussions for other self-regulating professions such as doctors, accountants and lawyers, Davies said.
The SRNA said Strom, who identified herself as a nurse in her Facebook post, harmed the reputation of nursing staff at the Macklin facility, which runs contrary to the SRNA's broad code of ethics.
Specializes in Critical Care, Emergency, Education, Informatics.
It's never as black and white as we think it should be.
The problem started when she apparently identified herself as a nurse. This put her in a different category than if she was just a family member. The other issue was that she hadn't said anything to the facility itself prior to posting on Facebook. Posting on Facebook is the same as if you posted it on a bulletin board at the grocery store or at a local bar or standing on a street corner shouting. You have no control over who reads it, and in this case the wrong person read it, and reported it.
I don't know the rules/laws up there, but I do know about case law and administrative law here in the US. Right or wrong, I have no idea, this is going to have to work itself out in the system, and I feel sorry for this nurse. She is going to have to deal with those stresses as well as the stresses of having a family member pass away.
When you post online you have to remember it never goes away, and you don't control where it goes from there.
I will have to look into the charter of rights and freedoms.
This is a gray area. I would frown upon this, but don't think of this as a punishable offense.
Social media was once strictly social- you avoided politics, religion or deeply personal family matters. My family has had serious illnesses in the past year, and none of this is posted on Facebook. Some topics are meant for private communication only.
This is a gray area. I would frown upon this, but don't think of this as a punishable offense.
Social media was once strictly social- you avoided politics, religion or deeply personal family matters. My family has had serious illnesses in the past year, and none of this is posted on Facebook. Some topics are meant for private communication only.
Even this has changed a LOT though. A friend of mine recently used Facebook to communicate to friends, family, and co-workers that his wife had been diagnosed with breast cancer and would be undergoing surgery, etc. This was after telling close family and friends, of course. He did it because he tends to have a sort fuse as it is and wanted to give people an explanation as to why he may have an even shorter fuse in the coming months, without having to reach out to people individually, as well as to avoid having to talk about it again and again. He, of course, had his wife's consent to post it; she was tagged in the post.
You see this a lot with Go Fund Me campaigns that are shared on Facebook as well too. I've learned a lot about people's personal lives (sometimes more than I would like to know í ½í¸) through those things.
Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.
Whatever happened to free speech?
I think it is ridiculous that she was censured. What is this world coming to? While I probably wouldn't do the same thing I should have the right to just as the facility should have the right to say what they wish.
I don't think that social media is the appropriate location to express your frustrations/anger about nursing care. It would be beneficial for the nurse to talk with the facility that he or she is upset with. It might be an issue that is easily fixed by just communicating appropriately.
I think if you want to commit professional suicide that's a good way to do it. I hope she understand employers check and no it doesn't matter if FB is set to "private". When she applies for a job they will see that post and decline to hire her due to a perceived lack of critical thinking skills.
I would never knowingly hire a nurse that did this.
I'm not a Facebooker... if she truly was expressing a personal opinion not meant to be widely shared, why was her account open for public view? Social Media information tends to take on a life of it's own - with negative consequences that were not anticipated by the originator.
I think if you want to commit professional suicide that's a good way to do it. I hope she understand employers check and no it doesn't matter if FB is set to "private". When she applies for a job they will see that post and decline to hire her due to a perceived lack of critical thinking skills.
I would never knowingly hire a nurse that did this.
And the sad part is that even if she takes the post down (and she probably has, I haven't checked the link), the damage has already been done and thanks to the enduring nature of the web, it will continue on.
I think if you want to commit professional suicide that's a good way to do it. I hope she understand employers check and no it doesn't matter if FB is set to "private". When she applies for a job they will see that post and decline to hire her due to a perceived lack of critical thinking skills.
I would never knowingly hire a nurse that did this.
I agree. Social media makes it all too easy for people to sound off about things. Employers do check social media and I cringe when I read some posts by fellow nurses. Having an RN license doesn't give me the authority to criticize or scrutinize others publicly. Other than the occasional lighthearted "Nurses Rock" meme shared from the allnurses Facebook page, I don't share anything nursing related on social media.
Let's look at the real setting here. She is a Canadian nurse, they have nationalized healthcare. She effectively went on social media and criticized her employer, which I am sure is a violation of her employment agreement. This is the real basis for the complaint. Depending on the details of her letter, she may have broached into medical territory, but her unprofessional calling out her employer could be grounds enough in Canada.
Let's look at the real setting here. She is a Canadian nurse, they have nationalized healthcare. She effectively went on social media and criticized her employer, which I am sure is a violation of her employment agreement. This is the real basis for the complaint. Depending on the details of her letter, she may have broached into medical territory, but her unprofessional calling out her employer could be grounds enough in Canada.
Just to be clear, it's not her employer that she's in trouble with, it's her regulatory agency. In the US it would be the equivalent of her board of nursing.
Just to be clear, it's not her employer that she's in trouble with, it's her regulatory agency. In the US it would be the equivalent of her board of nursing.
She is a nurse in Canada, a nationalized system. Therefore all health care facilities in Canada are under the government, her employer. I am sure her tax documents at the end of the year show her employer as the federal government, as well as those in the palliative care facility she complained about. They are technically coworkers. She did complain about her employer, and by extension, the regulatory board is , wait for it, the government.
CraigB-RN, MSN, RN
1,224 Posts
It's never as black and white as we think it should be.
The problem started when she apparently identified herself as a nurse. This put her in a different category than if she was just a family member. The other issue was that she hadn't said anything to the facility itself prior to posting on Facebook. Posting on Facebook is the same as if you posted it on a bulletin board at the grocery store or at a local bar or standing on a street corner shouting. You have no control over who reads it, and in this case the wrong person read it, and reported it.
I don't know the rules/laws up there, but I do know about case law and administrative law here in the US. Right or wrong, I have no idea, this is going to have to work itself out in the system, and I feel sorry for this nurse. She is going to have to deal with those stresses as well as the stresses of having a family member pass away.
When you post online you have to remember it never goes away, and you don't control where it goes from there.
I will have to look into the charter of rights and freedoms.