burd24

I'll try to give the quick version. I'm a nursing student in an ASN program. I was in class when my brother texted me, telling me our mother had been admitted into the ICU but was being held in PACU at the hospital where I do my clinicals. Obviously, I was worried. My brother also said she was unconscious, and I needed to come see her because the docs were saying she wasn't going to make it. I went to the hospital, and PACU staff wouldn't allow me to see her because they have patients coming and going at the moment. I was anxious, thinking my mother was dying, and I couldn't get to her so I did something stupid and looked up her chart in the EMR. When I did this, the thought didn't even occur to me that it was a HIPAA violation. Only after I saw that she was, in fact, sedated - not unconscious - did I calm down enough to think. I immediately logged out, having been in the chart maybe 5-7 minutes. What should I do? Should I report myself? Is it likely this will show up on an audit? I want to emphasize, again, how I now realize how stupid this was and would never do such a thing again. I'm so nervous about this, I can't think about anything else. I'd appreciate any input. Thanks.