Should RN's home address be posted on the BRN website?

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  • Specializes in Home health. Has 22 years experience.

I just received the new issue of ANA's The Nursing Voice. It seems Senator Negrete McCloud has introduced legislation called SB111 that would require the California BRN to post all nurses addresses of record on their website.

It states the argument is - it is a consumer protection measure. "The California Medical Board was mandated to provide adresses of record a number of years ago." Unfortunately, "unlike physicians, nurses do not usually have offices to have as their address of record. Additionally, many nurses cannot get mail at their workplace. A nurse has the option of getting a P.O. box at their expense."

The ANA/C does not think this is fair or safe (I don't either). The ANA/C states " posting a home address of a nurse could be dangerous. We do not believe an irate or dysfunctional patient should be able to get our home address."

The ANA/C urges us to let our assemblyperson or Senator know how we feel about this measure. The bill will be heard in April or May.

linRdsNay

196 Posts

Specializes in NICU.

wow that's kind of scary and a serious invasion of our privacy (one would think). i hope that doesn't get very far.

secondattempt

57 Posts

Maybe the workplace address would be better than personal home addresses.

Do you have more information? I tried searching the CA legislature site at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/index.html and found SB11 (Negrete McCloud) but that bill is inactive and says nothing about nurses. SB111 (Correa) doesn't say anything about nurses, and it is also inactive. I checked senator Negrete McCloud's website and don't see anything about this legislation. I can't find anything about it on the ANA/C's website or CA BRN either.

Thanks.

Its SB 1111 if you want to research it more.

allnurses Guide

nursel56

7,058 Posts

Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty. Has 47 years experience.

I'm an LVN but I imagine it would include us, too. Absolutely not. If he's worried about an "address of record" they can figure out a way to contact without giving the home address. I'm beginning to feel like just about everybody thinks we as a group aren't good for anything more than to wipe their shoes on. Maybe I've just read one too many story about nurses who are assaulted and told to suck it up, nurses who are told a herniated disc just what comes with the territory, and on and on and on. :-(

saltynurse77

3 Posts

Specializes in Psych!.

Yes, page 6 of the bill, see my link to the pdf on my previous post, says LVN, Psycch tech, RNs Veternarians, dentisits, Opthalmologists, Social workers, Marriage and family therapists, psychologists, etc.. ALL would have addresses posted. It is clearly listed on lines 27 through 40 of page 6 of the SB 294 bill pdf.

Here is the pdf's direct link:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_0251-0300/sb_294_bill_20090904_amended_asm_v95.pdf

caliotter3

38,333 Posts

As a nurse who has been assaulted more than once dealing with people from the job, I highly resent this suggestion. When I was actively being stalked and harassed, I went to the Board in person and asked about my contact info. I was told that a nurse can have their contact info kept from public disclosure, except for legal situations, by contacting the board with a request for (I forgot the term that was used, but it was a specific term). Whether this is viable or not, I do not know. However, I am adamantly against the entire concept. It is not necessary to publish our contact info in order to make our whereabouts easier to find for anyone who wishes us harm. We are sitting ducks as it is, just because we go to work.