rse3

You're right. I'm letting myself get very defensive. It's hard not to be defensive when I've been accused of everything from stalking to being the subject of nepotism to doing more than just observing a delivery to having my picture taken with a school name tag on (??), all when seeking what I was hoping to be a simple answer (HIPAA violation vs not a HIPAA violation) to an honest question. And you're right that I probably need to check out from this discussion for the night (if not permanently).

That's kind of how I interpreted it. She definitely wasn't saying that to get permission to put it on Facebook. She was just telling me it was on there. If she had not have told me it was on there, I never would have looked for her.

You're correct. I did ask strangers on the Internet about something totally different. I never asked anyone if they thought it was okay that I was working with my dad. My feelings aren't hurt. That's why I said "luckily." If the school or the clinical sight had a problem with it, I would be screwed.

Neither the school (I just looked in the handbook), nor the hospital (I know because I work in the hospital, and know plenty of people working with relatives) have policies that one cannot work with a relative. Even my peers said that they thought that it was really neat that I got to have that experience. Luckily, it seems that the only people having a problem with it are some strangers on the Internet.

My motive for searching her was that she took the pictures and told me she was posting them to Facebook. I later thought that I would like to have a copy of the picture, and thought that if her profile was public (I didn't know that at the time; it was a big "if"), I could possibly get a copy of it. I was not trying to check up on her or pry into her personal life or anything. It was honestly an innocent motive.

Not calling you anything. I was asking. You clarified.

You still haven't explained what's inappropriate. Just the nepotistic angle? Or are you immaturely (or creepily) implying that it's inappropriate in another way?

The patient and her husband both took the pictures.

Wow. This may only be a discussion between professionals, but it may be a bit too dramatic for me. It's not good for my psyche. :) I know that it is not MY moment. In no way am I trying to take it from this new mother. I didn't really think anything about it in the moment, but the patient is the one who wanted to take the picture. She and her husband even asked me to cut the umbilical cord. For the record, I did not cut it (not that I would admit it here for fear of being accused of practicing outside of my scope or having a better clinical experience than my peers, even though this is something that is customarily done by people with absolutely no medical experience.) As far as having a better clinical experience than my peers, you're right. I do get more out of clinicals than my peers because I am more assertive and prepare more for each clinical experience. I have a better clinical experience because I ask for a better clinical experience. On postpartum, I asked to spend several hours with the lactation consultant as she made rounds. At the nursing home, I asked to go around with the wound care nurse. On med-surg, I asked for the patients with the more complex issues and interventions. My better clinical experience has pretty much nothing to so with whom I know, and almost everything to do with seeking that better clinical experience for myself. And conflict of interest? That's interesting. Is it also a conflict of interest to work where a family member works? Work with a close friend? I don't see how being a student is any different as far as that goes. We have no rules about taking pictures (even pictures for social media) or where we can wear our uniforms. I don't really understand the problem with taking pictures of uniforms. However, I wasn't even in my uniform (and no name tag) because I changed into surgical scrubs for a possible emergency c-section per my instructor's orders (I explain because I would hate to get flamed on here for possibly being out of uniform, too.) I honestly did not think I was doing anything wrong by searching (and only searching. No stalking. No downloading pictures. Searching only.) on Facebook. I did not write her name down and take it home to look her up. I simply remembered it. Do I regret looking her up? I'm not sure, but y'all have certainly given me a lot to think about.

How is it not "appropriate"?

As a student, am I only supposed to be observing and minimally involved? I was told the opposite by my clinical instructor, the director of the program, etc. Perhaps I've been given erroneous information by my school?

1. Again, I have no intentions of posting to social media. 2. My #1 (and honestly only) idea about trying to legitimately contact this person: have my dad ask her about it at her 6 wk follow up. He said he would do that for me. 3. Why do I want this picture? Well, it's my first (of hopefully many) "deliveries." I don't see it as any creepier than wanting to have a picture of my child with his teacher on the first day of preschool. 4. I was a nursing student, there with school. This was the patient assigned to me by school. My father, my preceptor, and I were in there. I'm not sure what is being implied as far as my "helping" goes. I'm sorry to have caused such a heated discussion. The world of Facebook and publishing private pictures is relatively new in the medical world. I was obviously unsure of this situation, and thought I would ask for some insight. I guess I learned my lesson.

Thanks, MunoRN. That's what I thought, but I wanted to double check. I have no intent to repost these pictures on social media, regardless of how I get them. I simply want a picture to print off and put in a personal photo album. I will make ever legitimate (and non stalker) attempt to contact this girl. I'm 99.9% positive that she would want me to have them. I just need to find out how to contact her now.

Let me just clear something up: there was no "Facebook stalking" about it. As a user of Facebook, one knows that if one has a public profile, the general public has access to it. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding, but I don't appreciate the insinuation that I'm doing something morally wrong or sneaky by accessing these pictures. Legally wrong to posses them? Perhaps, but that's why I'm asking. Morally wrong to access public pictures on the Internet of myself? I think not.

So do you think that a picture of my dad and me (no baby, no pt info, literally 2 people in scrubs standing against a blank wall) that she posted to her public Facebook page is protected by HIPAA? Oh, how I wish I had addressed this issue the other day, but it didn't even occur to me at the time.