So... Can you write about it?

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I am in need of ethical and legal guidelines. I have a pt with a darling little love story... A woman on hospise that comes to the SNF and finds the man of her dreams and proves true love really does concour all... she's even off hospice now. This is a really heartwarming story and Perfect womans magazine fodder...

So, can I write about it? If the pt (and pts Power of attorny) give concent can I package up the artical and sell it to a willing magizine? Or does the fact that I know these things because I AM her nurse prohibit me from doing these things, does it make it wrong for me to even ask...?

Guidence please!

Thanks,

Christina

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Specializes in Hospice, Med/Surg, ICU, ER.

Change the names and specific details (dx's, locales, biodata) and I think your OK. Sorta like "the names have been changed to protect the innocent" kind of thing.

That's the "legal" end. Ethically???? Hmmmm... if the principals don't mind, why should you or anyone else?

IMHO, it is never wrong to ask.

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Ethically... I don't know... I guess you could change details and all that jazz, but if someone asked to make my experiences into a fiction story for THEM to profit from, I wouldn't like that too much. And then there's the issue of conflict of interest. It's like, what, are you my nurse or my biographer?

From a writer's standpoint, I think using a true-to-life story as fiction isn't using much creativity in writing a story.

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I am in need of ethical and legal guidelines. I have a pt with a darling little love story... A woman on hospise that comes to the SNF and finds the man of her dreams and proves true love really does concour all... she's even off hospice now. This is a really heartwarming story and Perfect womans magazine fodder...

So, can I write about it? If the pt (and pts Power of attorny) give concent can I package up the artical and sell it to a willing magizine? Or does the fact that I know these things because I AM her nurse prohibit me from doing these things, does it make it wrong for me to even ask...?

Guidence please!

Thanks,

Christina

Do you have a nursing code of ethics that you can use to help you? Perhaps you could contact your state nursing board for guidance...

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I am in need of ethical and legal guidelines. I have a pt with a darling little love story... A woman on hospise that comes to the SNF and finds the man of her dreams and proves true love really does concour all... she's even off hospice now. This is a really heartwarming story and Perfect womans magazine fodder...

So, can I write about it? If the pt (and pts Power of attorny) give concent can I package up the artical and sell it to a willing magizine? Or does the fact that I know these things because I AM her nurse prohibit me from doing these things, does it make it wrong for me to even ask...?

Guidence please!

Thanks,

Christina

Do you have a nursing code of ethics that you can use to help you? Perhaps you could contact your state nursing board for guidance. If you think this is an ethical/legal issue, this may be a good place to begin.

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