Should nurses be forced to wear tracking device at work?

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Should nurses be forced to wear tracking device at work?

Dear Nurse Beth,

Can I refuse to carry a tracking device at work? Because I am already carrying a hospital-assigned cell phone so that I can be reached at any time. The relief charge nurse told me to take the tracking device back home. I responded "I do not feel comfortable taking hospital property back home" As a matter of fact, I am afraid that device can track my GPS location even outside of work? Isn't it a violation of privacy? Should I file a class action against the hospital? What is the procedure?

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35 Answers

Specializes in Tele, ICU, Staff Development.

Dear Afraid,

If your employer requires you to wear a tracking device, you will most likely have to wear it in order to keep your job. It's a condition of employment, the same as wearing navy blue scrubs or working weekends are conditions of employment.

Employers already have cameras, pagers, phones and can read emails. All sorts of employees in various industries use tracking devices, such as security guards and Amazon workers.  Hospital-based trackers now show alcohol in, alcohol out compliance rates. Nurse tracking systems and equipment tracking systems are an everyday part of doing business in many organizations.

Tracking devices transmit beams of light to sensors in the ceiling to track location, which is not the same as a GPS locator. GPS stands for global positioning system, and GPS devices receive signals from satellites orbiting the globe. I am going to assume your employer is using an internal locator system, not a GPS system. I'm sorry if I'm wrong, because yes, GPS locators on staff outside of work is definitely a violation of privacy. Probably that's not the case. Let's look at commonly used nurse tracking systems (NTS). NTS devices do not track your location outside of the facility, so hopefully, that will help set your mind at ease.

Why Tracking Systems

Hospitals purchase and install tracking stem to help with workflow and increase productivity. They can collect data towards these purposes. Some of the data they can collect include when a nurse entered and exited a room, and how long they were in the room. Often they can also correlate this to the call light system to track call light response times.

There are some pros and cons to the locator systems.

PROS

  • NTS devices can show that caregivers were actually in the room hourly or regularly when patients complain that "no one has been in here". In that way, it can defend staff.
  • Employees that are good workers have nothing to worry about.
  • It makes it easy to find a caregiver, for instance, if a nurse is in a room, gloved for a procedure, can't answer their phone, and a doctor is looking for that nurse.
  • When integrated with call systems, can be used seamlessly to show call light response times.
  • Could potentially be used by management to justify hiring more staff, for example, if the tracking records showed that all caregivers were busy, but there were not enough caregivers to answer the call lights in a timely manner.

CONS

  • They are not always accurate, meaning sometimes they don't cancel the call light as designed and as the manufacturer claims, and sometimes they don't track that a caregiver was even in the room. This makes employees anxious that they'll get in trouble for "not being in their rooms" when in fact perhaps the battery died or the tracker was not attached correctly. 

  • There are multiple backend reports that can be used to discipline and fire staff.

  • Signal interference can result in faulty information. Hospitals need to have the infrastructure to support the product. 
  • Employees may feel an invasion of privacy, especially around going to the bathroom and when on a break. 
  • Workaround-employees can leave the device in the room and go on a mini-break, for example, a sitter assigned to watch a patient can remove the device and leave it in her chair.
  • Employees may feel they are not being treated professionally.

Hospitals that manage nurses by tracking their every move can end up with unhappy employees, not surprisingly. When administrators spend their time, energy and money trying to catch people doing the wrong thing, it sends the wrong message.

It is particularly insulting when employers try to spin the use of tracking devices as helpful to nurses or patients when they intend to use it to discipline nurses. If the managers and administration are disingenuous, nurses will know.

However, not all organizations use the NTS in a punitive fashion. Education and trust are the keys for staff acceptance of NTS.

So, again, to answer your question- unfortunately, you cannot refuse to wear or carry a tracking device at work without likely losing your job. It will be able to locate you on the floor wherever the sensors are installed.

Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.

YIKES! 

Maybe get a line into the overhead, upon which you can report to the entire hospital, "I am in the nurse's restroom." or "I stepped into the stairwell to yell a very loud, rude cuss-word, to relieve my frustration with this facility."

Multiply that by the # of personnel who will be using the overhead to report their whereabouts.

Just a thought.

Paybacks are ****, you know!

My old job had a tracking device.  It stayed in my purse until I quit.  Then I handed it back. 

I saw zero reason to track me in the ICU.  Each pod was small, we could physically see every call light and most patients were intubated, therefore very few call lights went off and very few complaints from family members about how long it took me to get there.  

I’m in charge of my time management at work, I don’t need some faraway data CB person trying to decide if I didn’t enough time in my rooms or if I was charting too much.  I don’t need micromanaged from a distance.

Trackers are another way for corporate to manage you care and time.  How they can make more money out if you.  

Glad to say I no longer work at that facility.  

My new facility chooses to invest in technological upgrades that help nurses.  They don’t feel the need to track how long it takes me to pee.

I'm learning so much on AN today. I had no idea trackers were being used. It sounds insulting and I can't see the upside. 

Are doctors wearing trackers?

Specializes in Dialysis.
On 7/17/2022 at 8:03 PM, TAKOO01 said:

I'm learning so much on AN today. I had no idea trackers were being used. It sounds insulting and I can't see the upside. 

Are doctors wearing trackers?

Drs aren't usually employees of the hospital, except maybe hospitalists, BUT, they are income generators, so that would never happen 

I agree though, this is beyond crazy and more than just a hair silly

Specializes in NICU.

We have Voceras at work. They use the wi-fi receivers in the ceiling to "sort of" track you. I can say "Locate Jane Smith" and it will say "Jane Smith is near room 502". Jane Smith may be somewhere in the area of 502, but not necessarily in room 502.

Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).

In my specialty, I would personally welcome a tracking device. I work psych and in the very rare instance that I might be attacked at least the staff would know how to locate me. 

Some Psych hospitals have panic pulls on their badge and the badge also alerts if the staff goes horizontal.

Specializes in Med-Surg.

I never minded wearing a tracker, it was nice to have the call ball go off automatically when I walked into the room.  It was also nice to be able to locate a coworker without yelling up and down the halls.  I usually left mine in the car along with my badge after work.

Once a patient did indeed make that accusation that no one rounded on her.  Not sure why she would lie, but the tracking devices proved her wrong.  Also they tracked a lazy night shift tech and it showed that after vital signs the tech never went into a room for 10 hours and this was a pattern.  

I never considered that there was anything shady about being tracked.  Also they only work so far and never could track someone off the premises. 

Ultimately though our new owners don't seem to be committed to them and they aren't required or being issued to new people.  I don't even know where mine is. 

We now have phones so it's easy to call a coworker and when a call bell goes off it rings on the techs phone first.  So trackers aren't missed.

Specializes in Community health.

Oh HELLLLL no!  What is this??  I have never worked in a hospital-- I went directly into outpatient.  I had no idea this level of spying was taking place!  Thank heavens I never had to deal with that.  I'm a grown-up, I don't need a nanny-cam on me making sure I really did round when I was supposed to!

Specializes in Dialysis.
10 hours ago, CommunityRNBSN said:

Oh HELLLLL no!  What is this??  I have never worked in a hospital-- I went directly into outpatient.  I had no idea this level of spying was taking place!  Thank heavens I never had to deal with that.  I'm a grown-up, I don't need a nanny-cam on me making sure I really did round when I was supposed to!

Many places in healthcare do use cameras- mainly outpatient facilities. It's to protect staff and patients alike (avoid he said/she said situations), as well as monitor staff activity. I don't care about that, as long as not in bathrooms, of course. But the badge type trackers are just odd to me, maybe because I've never been subjected to it. But in this new day and age, we have staff that hide to play on cell phones, goof off, and avoid work in general, I can see why an employer would do so. Not saying I like it, but saying I understand it. 

Specializes in Community health.
10 minutes ago, Hoosier_RN said:

Many places in healthcare do use cameras- mainly outpatient facilities. It's to protect staff and patients alike (avoid he said/she said situations), as well as monitor staff activity. I don't care about that, as long as not in bathrooms, of course. But the badge type trackers are just odd to me, maybe because I've never been subjected to it. But in this new day and age, we have staff that hide to play on cell phones, goof off, and avoid work in general, I can see why an employer would do so. Not saying I like it, but saying I understand it. 

You're right about the cameras, and my clinic does have some.  At the reception desk and in the hallways, etc.  I don't mind that, because it seems the same as security cameras generally (in the library, in a restaurant, etc), which are used in investigations if there's a crime.

Having a tracking device on nurses specifically to be sure they're doing their jobs seems totally different to me, and insulting!

Specializes in Dialysis.
Just now, CommunityRNBSN said:

You're right about the cameras, and my clinic does have some.  At the reception desk and in the hallways, etc.  I don't mind that, because it seems the same as security cameras generally (in the library, in a restaurant, etc), which are used in investigations if there's a crime.

Having a tracking device on nurses specifically to be sure they're doing their jobs seems totally different to me, and insulting!

It is insulting regarding good nurses/staff. But I've met some real doozies in my career! And I'm pretty sure that these folks (nurses, aides/techs, and ancillary staff) are the reason this is done, along with the patients/families who claim that no one checked in all day/night

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