Seeing your patient in the news

Published

We have a patient who is involved in a legal issue and due to the patient's job it makes headlines. It hurts to read the stupid comments people are making on Facebook when the newspapers post the headlines. I just want to say something about how this person just made a mistake and is doing his/her best to make it better.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

don't. You said it here and that is enough.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/urology.
don't. You said it here and that is enough.

I agree. When I worked in corrections and I saw my pts(inmates) quite often on the evening news. It's never okay to comment about them via Facebook or whatever.

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If you speak up, it'll be too damn easy to connect your relationship to this person as because of your job; even if you try to mask it, someone will connect the dots. HIPAA violation.

I worked in a place once where I regularly saw who my patients would be in the evening by reading the morning paper; we also got celebrities fairly often. Learn professional discretion and you'll never regret using it.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

As much as you want to help repair this person's character, hold your tongue. Your intentions may be noble, but you risk doing the patient--and YOUR career--more harm than good.

This is doubly true since you are clearly--by your username, at least--a psych nurse. All the media needs to see is a mental health professional commenting out of the blue on the patient's mistake...

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I would never comment or say anything. I should have clarified this. I was just venting my feelings, not meaning I was considering it.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Yeah...it is best to keep you thoughts to yourself. People find social media for a venue to be mean.

Cowards behind a keyboard.

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Specializes in Acute Care Pediatrics.

I am on the other side of it - I see the horrible stories involving the kids that I take care of on the news - and there are often people defending their parents, etc. UGH. :( I get the urge, I really do!!

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HIPAA. Enough said.

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Specializes in Pedi.

I see my patients on the News all the time. I just saw one of my patients on TV about 2 hours ago, actually. A patient I saw earlier today in person. When I worked in the hospital, we got a lot of high profile cases... shaken babies, mostly, that made the news. It's only a matter of time before one of the kids whose parents I've reported to CPS over and over again ends up making the news. And then, I'll WANT to scream out loud "they've (CPS) been doing nothing for MONTHS!" But, I'll leave discovering that to the investigative journalists.

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Specializes in Acute Care Pediatrics.
I see my patients on the News all the time. I just saw one of my patients on TV about 2 hours ago, actually. A patient I saw earlier today in person. When I worked in the hospital, we got a lot of high profile cases... shaken babies, mostly, that made the news. It's only a matter of time before one of the kids whose parents I've reported to CPS over and over again ends up making the news. And then, I'll WANT to scream out loud "they've (CPS) been doing nothing for MONTHS!" But, I'll leave discovering that to the investigative journalists.

You nailed it!

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