Report an online post hinting suicide?

[sandyfeet]

Say that you find posts in an online group that seem to hint that the writer will attempt suicide. My question is, as a nurse are you legally obligated to report it (i.e. have the authorities perform a safety check) as a mandated reporter? Would this fall under the tenet of neglect?

I don't want to debate whether you feel you would report it as a person. I am only asking if our profession as nurses legally requires us to report to the authorities when someone online seems to post a plan outlining their suicide. I have already looked on my states BRN and did not find anything specific about our legal obligation regarding online posts.

[TriciaJ, RN]

I really don't see how this could be enforced. Someone would have to review the online presence of the person who attempted/committed suicide, review the online activity of all the people who might have seen that post, determine that one of them is a registered nurse and report that person to the Board, alleging that they had a responsibility to intervene and failed to do so.

As you can see by my run-on sentence, that would be a long shot. If I was encountering such a post, I would probably call out the writer and ask point blank if he was hinting at self-harm. If he doesn't deny it in a convincing manner, I'd flag the post for review. If he was someone I knew personally, I'd notify the authorities. And that's it. Additional intervention from you would be seen as harassment.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

What I would do in this situation is something I have indeed done in the past, both here and elsewhere, and that's report it to the admins/moderators of the site and ask them to reach out to the sufferer. I don't confront the poster directly, although I may offer them words of comfort and advise them to call the suicide prevention line or crisis text line, or go to the closest ER if they feel they are in imminent danger. Otherwise, like TriciaJ said, I would personally call the police for a welfare check if it's a person I know IRL.

[FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN]

Even therapists, psychiatrists, case workers, parents, spouses, and other people intimately involved with a person are not always able to recognize or respond adequately to prevent suicide in a person.

You, as an online observer, have far less influence. Especially if you don't even know the person.

If you are only asking from the perspective of your legal obligation as a nurse, then I advise you to do nothing. If you have a genuine feeling of compassion, sympathy, heartache, then I would encourage you to reach out personally in whatever way you can.