Yelled at for posting on AN

[Bormio]

Hi there,

I got called into my nursing instructors office and was admonished for posting online! They looked at my profile info to find out it was me. What do you all think about this? My mistake for posting or invasion of privacy?

Thanks,

Bormio

[2ndyearstudent, CNA]

I have a question that probably no one really has an answer for....why is it not OK to state an opinion about a school/employer online, when it is perfectly acceptable to say it verbally? The delivery is different, but the message is the same.

Do you really think no one ever got yelled at, reprimanded, laid off or fired for verbally saying something that later got back to their employer? Well, many people have.

There is a trend in this thread that is rather pervasive: It seems that many people think that the right to say anything they want somehow accompanies an immunity from repercussions for what they say.

That isn't the case.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I have a question that probably no one really has an answer for....why is it not OK to state an opinion about a school/employer online, when it is perfectly acceptable to say it verbally? The delivery is different, but the message is the same.

I'm not going to go into whether something is OK say/post or not because a lot of that depends on what you're saying :)

However, one major difference between saying something verbally and saying something online is that if you say it online, it can stay around to haunt you forever. It can be hard if not impossible for you to retract something online: if you act fast, maybe...but all it takes is Google or archive.org to cache a copy, or for someone to copy/download/save what you wrote, and that copy is now out of your control.

[Saysfaa]

mspontiac, I agree with 2ndyearstudent. Also, it may feel more like it was "perfectly acceptable" because verbally usually does not leave a record so it is not easy to prove what was actually said. Also, it is usually to a person or a few people rather than hundreds or thousands. For both of those reasons, it is less likely to garner direct repercussions even if something got back to the brass.

I agree with Meriwhen also, including not getting into what is okay to say/post. (I like the quote on the end also, Meriwhen, sadly too true).

[fromtheseaRN, BSN, RN]

it's not invasion of privacy, it is a public forum.

i'm sorry this happened to you, like nursing school needs to be any more stressful.

however, you did state the specific school and block you are in, and said you were "hazed"... so, if someone said specific things about me like that publicly online, i would for sure talk to them about it.

you should be able to post freely and seek advice- but for the sake of everyone, identifying information should be left out.

good luck!