Question

Read the article: patient-targeted googling, then respond to question 2 in your own words?

10-2: Patient-Targeted Googling Registered Nurse Randy works on an inpatient psychiatric unit. He notices that his registered nurse coworker, Colleen, has a habit of trying to entice unit colleagues to discuss patients' per- sonal information. Randy believes Colleen's habit goes along with her general tendency to gossip about people. Randy views Colleen's behavior as unethical, but because he does not want to stir up trouble on the unit, he has not addressed his concerns with anyone, including Colleen. While he is at work today, Randy sees Colleen spending considerable time looking at her cell phone. He is irritated and tells her that she should be mak- ing rounds on her patients and spending time with them. She tells him, “I'm finding out some really interesting stuff about Mr. Carey on Face- and from Googling' him online.” This is the last straw for Randy. Questions

Answer 1

Yes, the Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements gives Randy the guidance to handle the situation. He can tell his co-worker Colleen that she is going against the Code of Ethics for Nurses. He can tell her that the going through the patients personal details is intruding into someone's personal life and this is against the Preservation of Integrity. Randy can warn Colleen about her behaviour and tell her to follow the Code of Ethics or she would be charged for violating these provisions.

Provision 1 states - A nurse is supposed to provide healthcare with compassion and respect the inherent dignity, worth and personal attributes of every person, without prejudice.

This provision is more that enough for Randy to reiterate to Colleen that she has to respect the Dignity and Relationship with her patients. She is not supposed to intrude into their personal life and make comments or cause others to make comments to her patients. This would violate the Code of Ethic for Nurses. Nurses should establish relationships of trust and provide nursing services according to need, setting aside any bias or prejudice. This respect for patient decisions does not require that the nurse agree with or support all patient choices. The respect for patient decisions does not require that the nurse agree with or support all patient choices.

Respect for persons extends to all individuals with whom the nurse interacts. Nurses maintain professional, respectful and caring relationships with colleagues and are committed to fair treatment, integrity-preserving compromise, and the resolution of conflicts. Disregard for the effect of one’s actions on others, bullying, harassment, manipulation, threats or violence are always morally unacceptable behaviors.