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.
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.
LOL.
Free speech means that you have the freedom to say whatever you want, it does not mean you are free of the consequences however.
When you petition the public for the privilege to serve them in a regulated profession it also means you agree to abide by the rules and regulations they set forth.
She should have followed proper channels (not Facebook) to lodge a complaint.
We are all well aware of the potential repercussions of social media. Time after time, there are similar disciplinary accounts reported in our nursing magazines.
IMO, it just isn't worth the risk.
We have freedom of speech, but as another poster mentioned, there are consequences.
Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
I think the problem here was not that she bad mouthed the hospital but also said in the same mouthful I'm an RN
People should be free to rant about crappy healthcare however when they bring their occupation into it they are no longer ranting as a private citizen but a health professional and subject to all that entails.
I am just curious, what makes an RN any different. I realize that generally when you start a job you sign a social media release form, that i understand may be different everywhere, that basically says not to violate patient confidentiality or post anything about YOUR facility in bad taste. What i was able to read from this is that she violated neither of these. --what i'm trying to get at here is what makes her different than anybody else, besides that she holds a nursing degree?
(my bold)
Even if there are other differences, I don't think that any difference between the nurse and others, besides holding a nursing degree is relevant. It is the fact that she is a RN that matters here. (I tried to demonstrate this in my previous post by providing the link that I'll post again below).
Why is she being held to a different standard? Well, because she is a nurse and the motivation behind this is explained in the SRNA discipline decision:
If you or anyone else doesn't want to read the whole thing (although I think it's best if you want to fully understand the reasoning behind the decision), just read the final four pages or so.
It's about "professional misconduct" due to breaches of the Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses. We can all agree with it or not, but the SRNA clearly explain which parts of the code they've based their decision on. (As I understand it the "penalty" hasn't been decided yet by the SRNA, but I hope that it'll be lenient. I think as lapses of judgments go, this one was pretty minor).
This is the final paragraph of the discipline decision:
58. The Discipline Committee accepts that Ms. Strom's Facebook post and the subsequent online communication she engaged in was motivated by perhaps grief and anger. It is accepted that Ms. Strom was not driven by malice. Carolyn Strom is a professional bound to act with integrity and in accordance with the Code of Ethics. The Discipline Committee does not seek to muzzle†registered nurses from using social media. However, registered nurses must conduct themselves professionally and with care when communicating on social media.
Some posters are making this out to be a matter of different laws between the U.S. and Canada regarding freedom of speech. I don't think that's the main issue at play here. The nurse in question isn't facing legal charges as she hasn't broken any laws that I am aware of. This is strictly a matter of her professional/nursing license/status.
It seems that some (but not limited to) of the things expected of a Canadian RN are:
A.1 Nurses have a responsibility to conduct themselves according to the ethical responsibilities outlined in this document and in practice standards in what they do and how they interact with persons receiving care as well as with families, communities, groups, populations and other members of the health-care team.
STANDARD 1 – PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
8. Demonstrates effective collaborative problem solving strategies, including conflict resolution.
(partial quote)
STANDARD IV – SERVICE TO THE PUBLIC
76. Participates and contributes to registered nursing and health care team development by:
a. promoting interprofessional collaboration through application of principles of decision-making, problem solving and conflict resolution;
f. using appropriate channels of communication;
78. Uses established communication policies and protocols within and across health care agencies, and with other service sectors.
(quotes from the link above)
As I understand it; by only posting the complaints against other nurses/the facility on social media while not bringing it to the attention to the nurses/the facility who are the target of the critique, the SRNA thinks that a nurse hasn't fulfilled her professional obligations as they are described in the above quotes.
Surely there are things a U.S. nurse could say or post on social media under the protection of the First Amendment that could still have consequences in his or her professional life?
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
My personal rule for social media: I don't put ANYthing out there I would not like my boss or company CEO ( or my own parents) to read. And further, I rarely, if ever, discuss work or politics on FB. I have been caught up in the political thing recently and promised myself to stop it. I don't want that sort of thing out there for my boss or any potential employer to use against me.
So, for me, the answer to the question in the title is a "no".
The nurse in question has been licensed for 12 years. It's not as though she's a recent grad who could plead ignorance. The standards and the code of ethics are very clear as well, and I'm speaking as a Canadian educated nurse.
She likely wasn't thinking about the potential ramifications when she posted, but they were there.
Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
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.
Health care in Canada is not nationalized; it is administered provincially. Nursing homes in Saskatchewan are not all run by the same entity. Some are private, some are run by religious denominations, some by local governments, etc. So she is not necessarily criticizing her employer.
The SRNA is the licensing body and not affiliated with any healthcare provider. Their only beef is her ability to practise safely as a nurse or if she is engaging in behaviour unbecoming to the nursing profession. If their big issue is that she is undermining people's confidence in a particular facility, then that is heavy handed of them in my opinion. To paraphrase Mr. Davies, if nurses can't speak out about problems in the healthcare system, who can?
Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
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.
Nope, dead wrong on many counts. Unless she works for a federal facility (not sure if there are any in Prince Albert) her paycheque does not come from the federal government. This is a big misconception on the part of many Americans.
Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
LOL.
Free speech means that you have the freedom to say whatever you want, it does not mean you are free of the consequences however.
When you petition the public for the privilege to serve them in a regulated profession it also means you agree to abide by the rules and regulations they set forth.
I though free speech meant you could criticize the government and not be jailed. Otherwise, there are of course, consequences.
Asystole RN
2,352 Posts
LOL.
Free speech means that you have the freedom to say whatever you want, it does not mean you are free of the consequences however.
When you petition the public for the privilege to serve them in a regulated profession it also means you agree to abide by the rules and regulations they set forth.