Resident with STD

Published

The other day i was at my lunch break with several other cnas. I was telling one of them how much of a monster one of the residents is she then told me that this resident had herpes and to wear gloves when ever I took care of her. Later that day I asked the Rn if it was true and she looked me in the eye and said no so that was that. A couple days later I was mentioning to her that I had applied to the nursing program at my school and for some reason I was nervous about doing care plans so she told me I should go through some of the resident's charts and check some out. So there i am going through the monsters chart and there it says along with some other conditions genital herpes. So my question is did she have the right to lie to me. Oh by the way i told all the other cnas on the unit about the monsters little problem.

Specializes in cardiac/critical care/ informatics.
technically the RN did not have to inform you of the STD because of universal and standard precautions stating that when in contact with a patient you should always wear gloves.

You also violated HIPPA law by sharing confidential information with other people.

Not really because the cna's take care of the patient so they have the need to know.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

you cannot be serious calling the resident a "monster"???. first of all it is not the RN's responsibilty to tell you anything about the resident. your job is to do the research yourself. and secondly, you are supposed to assume standard precaustions on everyone, regardless of the circumstance. if you look at this patient as a "monster" for having herpes, i can just imagine what you will say about the patients with HIV/AIDS.

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No, they shouldn't have been gossiping about the patient, but I doubt HIPPA can say anything as most long term care places share CNA duties, so most likely the individuals she was discussing this with were all involved with this woman's care. Again, I agree, they shouldn't be gossiping, but this was in there work setting and could potentially be regarded as work related.

Oh you don't think HIPPA can say anything (you might want to refresh your HIPPA info)? Oh they sure as h*ll can. She was at her lunch break discussing a patients medical condition with others. Pt info is only for those who are involved in the pts care. The dietary aids also are involved in this pts care..they provide her with food. Does that mean they should also have access to the pts medical file or info? Nope. Discussing this pt amongst other CNA's in the work place (while on break) isn't considered "work related". If you were in the hospital w/a conditon that was personal, how would YOU feel if a CAN who called you a "monster", was going through your chart reading your personal info, and then taking that info to the LUNCH BREAK area, and sharing it with others..ok, yea, other CNA's but ANYONE in the area they were talking in could have overheard, and they might not necessiarly be part of your "medical team". Now, a lot of people have your personal medical dx. Would YOU think it was ok??

Also, the nurse actually broke HIPPA by allowing the CNA to go through the charts to see the care plans..again..info thats only on a "need to know" basis. She didn't NEED to know. The CNA again broke HIPPA by parroosing though the charts.

Oh and where in the Care Plans do you put "pt has genital herpes"?? I've not come across ANY care plans with actual medical diagnosis on them.

HIPPA was broken all the way around.

I work for an insurance company, I do my job from home. I CANNOT have my computer up and running with pt/client info on it if anyone is within eyesight of it. WHY? Because they have no authority to see it. HIPPA is very, very stict in its rules/regulations, and they WOULD see this whole senerio as a big ol' HIPPA violation. I can guarentee that.

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Specializes in RN- Med/surg.

It's not "need to know". I was a CNA for 5years and yes...it would have been nice to know what the residents conditions were. But necessary...absolutely not. Treat every pt as if they're infected. THat's what everyone in healthcare are taught. How could you possibly be worried about getting genital herpes from her? I can't think of anything I did as a CNA that would cause concern for me from that. I can't imagine you cared for her "genital's" without gloves. If so...there are more issues here than even your lack of compassion and disregard for the pt's confidentiality.

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Specializes in Psychiatric, Geriatric.

I definately agree! :lvan: Hippa laws are very strick for a reason!

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Specializes in Psychiatric, Geriatric.

I agree that not everyone involved in pt. care should have access to pt. records, but CNA's do provide quite a bit of personal care and if there is something that could endanger their health or lives, CNA's should be allowed to have access to basic information about their patients. As for Nurses getting into trouble for sharing health info with co-workers, because of HIPPA laws, some Hippa laws vary according to state law.

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some Hippa laws vary according to state law.

That's Federal law. If a state has more stringent privacy acts in place that's one thing, but HIPAA is the same in every state.

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Specializes in Lie detection.
Just to add something...I hope you really consider a different career. It sounds to me like you have absouluty NO compassion or respect for those you are caring for. Your post has made me more upset that you could ever know. People with your attitude should NOT have the responsiblity of caring for human lives.

That may be a bit harsh. The OP did make a mistake and needs to work on the name calling thing but that's what learning is all about. I think as seasoned professionals, we can educate and encourage her.

This info was not passed on to personnel so that they could take extra precautions.

I disagree. Half of my caseload is HIV/AIDS and I deal with a lot of misinformation and prejudice against this disease. I don't think there should be "extra" precautions. There are just universal precautions and that works best. ANYONE can potentially have a communicable disease, not JUST the known dx'd patients!

Using universal prec. as standard practice protects everyone.

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Specializes in Rehab., Home Health, Geriatrics, MR/DD.

Well, thought I would give my 2 cents, for what it's worth.....

I've worked as an aide on and off for over 20 years....and I don't believe the OP is a troll, flamer, etc..... I would venture to say this type of situation happens WAYY more often than one would even realize, and I can think of several times throughout my aide career that this has happened.....so, given the fact that my experience has seen this commonly, this, to me is a very realistic situation.....

Ok, so that having been said, I do believe HIPPA says info. should only be transmitted on a 'need to know' basis, and yes, when I was taught universal precautions I was told "assume EVERYONE has AIDS".....however, I think in this situation given that HSV 1 and 2 are virtually the same virus with the only difference being site location, were I an aide taking care of this patient, I would want to know....I hate to get too detailed but what if while changing a patient from let's say an episode of diarrhea a very small splash occurs, say on my forearm.....maybe it's not even visible to the eye, and I don't notice it...ok, often with gloves on I may scratch my nose, face, etc with my arm, as I don't want to touch my face with gloves......well next thing I know a week, month whatever later, I'm breaking out with cold sores around my mouth......granted we don't usually

wear masks/splash precautions with HSV patients, but at least we'd have a clue as to where I got it.....and not have my significant other thinking i've been out fooling around, or inadvertently pass it on to someone in my family.....so that would be why were I the aide doing DIRECT care for this patient I would think I had a need to know....especially given the fact the OP described the pt as a 'monster'....(:trout: Keep those types of thoughts to yourself!!!!), but anyway it makes me think that she had a heck of a time with the pt...and if I'm wrestling with someone to provide care that increases the likelihood of splash, sputum, etc.....

Now, as far as discussing it with other aides in the breakroom....big NO NO......:o:sasq: Bad Aide!!! lol....I've seen it and heard it time and again between aides, but unless you are providing direct care, none of your business, and yes....MAJOR HIPPA VIOLATION....

I think this can be a learning experience for you, as I believe becoming a good healthcare worker is a growing experience, and we ALL screw up....never heard of a Jesus Nurse yet......but anyway.....Learn from it, protect yourself from ALL and don't talk about it except to those that HIPPA says you can...and I'm pretty sure you've had an inservice on that.......:idea:

So anyway, like I said...my 2 cents..... Nazarite, RN

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Specializes in ER/ICU/Flight.

a lot of people have told the OP to find a different career and slammed her pretty hard. not that I disagree with their message, but I just truly hope that she takes all the replies to heart (I"ve noticed she has not responded to any of the posts) and conducts herself differently from now on. calling a patient a monster, seemingly not understanding what constitutes a HIPPA violation, perusing through other patient's charts, etc.

IF she does end up in nusring school, maybe the reaction she got here will help to shape the way she conducts herself in the future. That way she might have a chance to turn it around, if not...then she will have proved everyone right and that she's not the kind of person who should be privileged to be a nurse.

I will add my .02 though, what do you all think about the grey areas of HIPPA violations? I"m at work now and I know certain things about the other patients here. I"m not involved in their care but I know the results of a paracentesis, heart cath, etc. I got some of it in report this am and the rest just by being physically present in the ICU. We definitely don't share information that isn't needed, but to follow the exact letter of the law is almost impossible.

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Whenever I am caring for a pt with any kind of communicable disease or infection- be it a cold or HIV, I quietly, respectfully and discreetly inform my co-workers who will be providing hands on care to the pt.

Also, I am grateful when a co-worker informs me of this important information.

As health care workers, it's our right to know.

By the way- it's HIPAA, not HIPPA.

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Specializes in Telemetry, Med-Surg.

I am a pre-nursing student and have learned some valuable lessons from the responses to the OP's post. The circumstances that brought on the post are unfortunate, but I'm thankful for the responses so that I won't make the same mistake! I hope the OP learns from this as well, and please do not be discouraged. Just learn from this and hopefully this will help make you a great nurse one day! :specs:

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