Patients adding me as a friend on facebook...

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I have had several cases recently where patients have added me as a friend on facebook. I never add anyone I don't know but I realized on several of the occasions that they were patients I had recently.

I declined each one of course.

Anyone else have this problem?

i am completely creeped out by how easily accessible personal information is over the internet. i don't have a facebook account. i have a basic myspace account i set up years ago, but never use it. i have an unlisted phone number. despite this, i looked myself up on whitepages.com the other day, and was distressed to find my name, age range, home address, and work address. clearly, my information has been sold. there's an "edit" function on this website, so i am trying to have this information removed. but i know anything is available for a price...

when i was a nursing assistant, one of my coworkers was assaulted with a bat by a patient who was waiting for her in the parking garage. i have been stalked by an ex. i have received inappropriate letters from a patient, sent to my work address. and of course, there will always be patients who make line-crossing comments.

my new manager gave me a hard time when i covered up my last name on my i.d. badge. i pushed back. he just has no idea. several of the other nurses covered theirs up as well. one of my current coworkers has had to get a restraining order against a former patient.

i think it should be our choice about sharing our last names or other personal information.

as a patient (i recently was in the hospital), i was happy to know my caregivers' first names and roles (RN/LPN, CNA, housekeeping, dietary, etc.), and that's about it. if they felt like sharing other details, i would listen. the only time i figure i might "need" to know their last name is if i were going to lodge a formal complaint against them for some reason.

by nature i am very cautious and private (there seems to be only the illusion of privacy these days). i love my patients, and have gladly disclosed personal information to those patients i've known for a while. i feel fairly certain a little 80 year old man and his wife are not going to do something inappropriate, but...still, i like to keep what feels like a safe, healthy, and respectful professional boundary. some would call me paranoid & that's fine. judge as you will. experience has taught me that one can't be too careful. i was raised that everyone was nice, but have learned this is not true. the majority of people are not threatening, but the select wackadoodles make self-protection necessary.

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.
In my hospital you are required to introduce yourself by first and last name. Required. Revealing my last name isn't "sharing my personal life." Sure, you don't need to add anyone as a facebook friend and shouldn't, and go ahead and set those privacy settings so you can't be easily googled. But hiding your last name is paranoia.

In my hospital, you can choose whether to include your last name on your ID badge or not. Those in ED and psych tend to choose not.

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Specializes in ED/trauma.

If you research a little, even on this site, you will find a plethera of information on nurses being either assaulted or stalked by patients, and many times it is outside of the workplace. 1/3 of nurses are assaulted by patients, most are in the workplace, but many also are not. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, protect yourself! Patients are not always innocent, ill, people who are looking for care-some have other agendas-especially if they do not get what they want. I personally know 18 coworkers (nurses) who have been assaulted by patients, 15 at our job, and 3 either at a public place or their home. And I am not talking about a punch or slap in the face. One has permanent paralysis of her hand, one has extensive damage from being stabbed in the neck, and one had her jaw wired shut fot weeks after it was broken in 3 places.

I don't know what else to say, if people are that niave...you can also find a lot of facts on www.ena.org, who have made it their mission, because this problem is so huge, to make sure that all states have laws in place to make it a felony to assault a health care worker.

I hope none of you become a statistic because you didn't protect yourself.

I have been assaulted at work several times, I do feel that working in a county ER increases my odds, but I was once assaulted and held at the home of an elderly couple. I was doing HHC and taking care of an elderly woman, when I was at their home, the old man told me not to leave that their son was very angry with me and was on his way over to talk to me. I pulled out my cell to call the police, which I was able to do, but then the elderly man knocked the phone out of my hand and punched me in the face, resulting in a huge shiner. When the police came-thank GOD they beat the son, who knows what would have happened, the man finally let me out the door.

See, its not always young, psychotic men, this family was mad because the patient was getting worse, they were upset and wanted me to "fix" it, and when I couldn't they lashed out. What if he would have had a gun, what if the son would have showed up? I shutter to think of what would have happened. After that I vowed that I would always be cautious and protect myself, my children should not have to grow up without a mother because I deal with the public.

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Specializes in onc, M/S, hospice, nursing informatics.

Funny you should bring this up and I should come across at this particular time. I have read with interest all of the previous comments.

One of my patients last week asked if I would be her FB friend. We had much in common, and she was leaving the hospital the next day to go home quite a distance from the hospital. I trusted my judgement and added her as my friend, and have not regretted it thus far.

Since I worked in oncology, we have many patients whom we see week after week, oftentimes all the way from initial diagnosis through death. I have shared personal information with several of them, and would not hesitate to do so again. A couple of times I have taken my son to meet my patient when he was at work with me for whatever reason. When you think about it, they trust ME with everything, I meet their whole family, and even have access to their SSN, address, employer, etc. I have never abused that knowledge, nor will I ever.

Of course, there are many, if not most, of my patients I would NEVER share personal information with. But, again, it comes down to personal judgement.

BTW, only my first name and title/unit are on the front of my badge. My last name and badge number are on the back.

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If you research a little, even on this site, you will find a plethera of information on nurses being either assaulted or stalked by patients, and many times it is outside of the workplace. 1/3 of nurses are assaulted by patients, most are in the workplace, but many also are not. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, protect yourself! Patients are not always innocent, ill, people who are looking for care-some have other agendas-especially if they do not get what they want. I personally know 18 coworkers (nurses) who have been assaulted by patients, 15 at our job, and 3 either at a public place or their home. And I am not talking about a punch or slap in the face. One has permanent paralysis of her hand, one has extensive damage from being stabbed in the neck, and one had her jaw wired shut fot weeks after it was broken in 3 places.I don't know what else to say, if people are that niave...you can also find a lot of facts on www.ena.org, who have made it their mission, because this problem is so huge, to make sure that all states have laws in place to make it a felony to assault a health care worker.

I hope none of you become a statistic because you didn't protect yourself.

I have been assaulted at work several times, I do feel that working in a county ER increases my odds, but I was once assaulted and held at the home of an elderly couple. I was doing HHC and taking care of an elderly woman, when I was at their home, the old man told me not to leave that their son was very angry with me and was on his way over to talk to me. I pulled out my cell to call the police, which I was able to do, but then the elderly man knocked the phone out of my hand and punched me in the face, resulting in a huge shiner. When the police came-thank GOD they beat the son, who knows what would have happened, the man finally let me out the door.

See, its not always young, psychotic men, this family was mad because the patient was getting worse, they were upset and wanted me to "fix" it, and when I couldn't they lashed out. What if he would have had a gun, what if the son would have showed up? I shutter to think of what would have happened. After that I vowed that I would always be cautious and protect myself, my children should not have to grow up without a mother because I deal with the public.

holy crap, I_Love. what a scary and harrowing experience. i am happy that you are okay!!! thank you for sharing this. not everything is what it may seem. reading your post has made me even more cautious, which is not a bad thing. thank you.

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.

Since I worked in oncology, we have many patients whom we see week after week, oftentimes all the way from initial diagnosis through death.

Oncology is like that.

Not all ED patients are nice people that you would want to meet in a dark alley.

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In Georgia, you can go to the Secretary of State website to look up license numbers, and guess what? You know a nurse's first and last name, you can pull up their address. That's how little information it takes to find where a nurse in Georgia lives. Just a first and last name. You can remove your address from google. You can have a cryptic listing in the phonebook. But just a quick search, and your crazy patient or crazy family member knows where you live.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
Oncology is like that.

Not all ED patients are nice people that you would want to meet in a dark alley.

Agreed, my husband works outpatient PT, and has very close and personal relationships with many of his patients that he has cared for for years. I'm often very jealous of those relationship, because in med-surg we just don't get that chance often. He'll even bring home food home that patient's cook for him before they come for their appt! It's just a different type of work.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Tele, DOU.
In my hospital you are required to introduce yourself by first and last name. Required. Revealing my last name isn't "sharing my personal life." Sure, you don't need to add anyone as a facebook friend and shouldn't, and go ahead and set those privacy settings so you can't be easily googled. But hiding your last name is paranoia.

Hmmmm, no it isn't paranoia. Especially when you're taking care of people in shackles being watched by more than 1 guard--with one of the guards carrying a loaded gun. Ummm, paranoia, not at all. In fact, where I live, policemen change into plain clothes before going home, with the specific concern of criminals following them home. This information is from my friend who is a police officer.

BTW, the policemen guarding the "patient" are not present for the safety of the nurses or other staff. They are only there to make sure the patient doesn't get away. Again, information coming directly from a police officer.

I personally make every effort in my places of employment, to keep my last name to myself, especially given the ease of finding personal information on the internet. When it isn't possible to keep my last name off my badge due to agency work, I conveniently, keep that badge flipped around. Anyone and everyone is welcome to view the NPSG on the back of my badge. Besides, that is additional information that I will be using to ensure that the patients receive excellent care.

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