Possible hippa violation

[Trama_junky]

I am a student nurse in my first semester of clinicals. I chose a pt and followed my nurse, turns out I knew the patient and she was uncomfortable with having me on her case so I left and no longer discussed said pt. Fast forward to tonight I made a general fb post about how great my week was and how I'm starting to feel like a real nurse, thanking everyone for putting up with my nonsense. I have been extremely discreet about the situation as a whole as I would hope would be the case if I were in the same position, but I just want to make sure there's no possible HIPPA breach. 😅😅😅. Guys I just don't want to lose my liscence before I have it...

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

No HIPAA breach (it's AA for accountability act). You did not reveal any confidential patient information.

To be safe skip the FB posts unnecessary and someone looking to complain will start there

[vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN]

To be safe skip the FB posts unnecessary and someone looking to complain will start there

^^this!

Skip FB pretty much completely when it comes to school. Instead, vent/explain here, under the cloak of anonymity.

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

A HIPAA violation would require disclosing protected health information about a specific patient.

I third what has been said about avoiding posts on Facebook related to your clinical work while in school AND any future jobs. It's a great policy to adopt now. Whether it includes patient information or not, an errant Facebook post can cause a lot of trouble for you, and the internet is forever.

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

You will be wise not to discuss anything on FB about your clinical experiences. If you need to vent or talk with someone come here.

[springchick1, ADN, RN]

You will be wise not to discuss anything on FB about your clinical experiences. If you need to vent or talk with someone come here.

This!! And you should read your school handbook very carefully about this. You could end up in a load of trouble if your school has a policy about it.

[bigskygirl]

there was not a HIPPA breach, however, I would strongly encourage you to avoid posting anything on FB related to work, especially patients.

[RNKPCE]

Just because something isn't a HIPAA violation doesn't mean it can't break a school or work's social media policy. If a posting makes your place of employment look bad or unsafe a posting can be a reason for discipline or termination. Your posting sounded fine but like other's have said just don't post about work or school.

[vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN]

Just because something isn't a HIPAA violation doesn't mean it can't break a school or work's social media policy. If a posting makes your place of employment look bad or unsafe a posting can be a reason for discipline or termination. Your posting sounded fine but like other's have said just don't post about work or school.

You hit the nail on the head! While HIPAA in its strictest sense means not divulging another person's protected health care info, I've seen different schools and instructors interpret it differently.

(To be honest, I think schools use the guise of HIPAA in an overly broad sense that's not entirely accurate) but that doesn't matter. You have to play by your schools rules.

You should assume that anyone could see your post and report you. So you have to be extra careful!

For example, in my LPN/LVN school, we used pt initials on our paperwork. However, in my current RN school, we can't use initials or any dates!! No DOB, no mention of the clinical date, no pt ages over a certain threshold- I think >89, etc. this is considered a HIPAA violation.

For this reason, the only thing I post on social media is "great day today at school"

And I only post pics with students outside of the hospital with a phrase like "great clinical day!" Or "nursing school friends are awesome."