Patient is a sex offender with a tracker on his ankle

[Alex_RN]

When I received shift report for my very ill, bed-bound patient, the RN giving report pointed out the tracker affixed to his anklet. She had admitted him a few hours earlier and did not know the details and there was nothing noted in his chart. Before she left, she looked online and he is a convicted sex offender (lewd and lascivious with a minor under the age of 14).

Is it appropriate to add this new information (pedophilia) to your shift report? To his chart?

[bathrobemom, LPN]

We know everything about the people we take care of, we see them naked, we ask them when they had their last BM and what it looked like, but it's a violation of their privacy to know why they're wearing an ankle bracelet? This is a safety issue, just because they got caught for "lewd and lascivious with a minor under the age of 14" doesn't mean that they haven't committed a crime with someone older.

That information would not influence my care, I don't need to have blinders on to make sure I'm at my best for the people I care for. I would want to make sure that I'm safe and that other people on the floor are safe, though. I don't want to freak out and make a big deal, but I do want to keep an eye out for inappropriate behaviors. It doesn't have to be a big issue to keep an eye out for yourself and others.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

This is a safety issue, just because they got caught for "lewd and lascivious with a minor under the age of 14" doesn't mean that they haven't committed a crime with someone older.

Using that logic, every patient should be considered guilty until proven innocent. A sick, bedridden patient with an ankle monitor is unlikely to be a danger to staff. A combative patient not wearing an ankle monitor is likely to be a danger to staff. All the nurse caring for this patient needs to know is what's relevant to her job: the fact that the monitor is there and the condition of the skin under it.

[AngelKissed857, BSN, RN]

And if the patient is allowed to be on an ankle monitor, he has been deemed by the court and parole officer not to be a threat to the community, he's being allowed to prove his ability to follow the rules. His criminal background is just none of our business!