Nurse as Writer, Writer as Nurse Theresa Laurel Brown, BA, MA, PhD, BSN, RN, OCN®

Nurse as Writer, Writer as Nurse

Theresa Laurel Brown, BA, MA, PhD, BSN, RN, OCN^®

 

The first column I ever wrote for The New York Times, called “Perhaps Death Is Proud, More Reason to Savor Life,” generated a firestorm of attention. Literary agents sent me e-mails, my piece hit The New York Times “most e-mailed” list, and within three days I’d been offered a book contract with a major publisher.

 

The column described a sudden and grisly cardiac arrest where a patient with lung cancer exsanguinated. I felt happy and lucky when The New York Times accepted it. I thought the piece would come out and my friends would read it, and that’s where the endeavor would end. Instead, from that one piece, I ended up becoming a professional writer about nursing. My book, Critical Care: A New Nurse Faces Death, Life, and Everything in Between (HarperCollins), was published in June 2010 and comes out in paperback in April 2011. In addition, I am a regular contributor to The New York Times’ Well blog.

 

Whenever I talk about my two careers, people often ask the same questions. I have answered some of those recurring questions here, in part, because that is what interests other nurses, but also because those questions get at the heart of how I combine these two very different jobs.

via ons.metapress.com

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Nursing and Social Networking - Think Twice About What You Write

With the ever-growing popularity of social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, the lines become less clear between what is public and what could potentially be a violation of patient privacy.

With social networking becoming an integral part of our daily lives, the boundaries between social conduct and professional misconduct are becoming increasingly difficult to navigate.

 

This social connection between patient and healthcare provider can open a myriad of breaches of patient privacy.

 

Pictures of patients posting comments regarding care provided, or even a simple “don’t forget to take your medicine” to a patient on a social media network, could be a violation of patient privacy and conflict with HIPAA rules and regulations.

 

HIPAA, (the law that protects us all against unauthorized disclosure of protected health information) can result in fines up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment. The discovery of a “nurse-patient” relationship via Facebook or other social-network could be considered a violation of protected patient or health information.

 

In June of this year, Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside CA fired five nurses for allegedly discussing patient cases on Facebook. 

via nursetogether.com

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Andrew Lopez, RN
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Hospitals should not ban access to social media

by Howard Luks, MD

“Instead of focusing on treating him, an employee said, St. Mary nurses and other hospital staff did the unthinkable: They snapped photos of the dying man and posted them on Facebook.”

What can you say about an article like this? I bet there is not a single physician or nurse who are not reasonably conversant about the basic tenets of the health care privacy laws under which they practice.

Stupid is as stupid does. Perhaps more appropriately, stupidity is demonstrated by the actions of the one — or in the case, the many.

It still amazes me that people do not realize what the implication of hitting the “Enter” or “Post” or “Like” button is in our connected global society. In the health care space it is obvious that there are still a handful of doctors, nurses, orderlies, and ancillary providers who still don’t get it.

But what should an institution’s policy be? Ban access on the network? Perhaps naive, but my answer to that is a resounding no. Most people still have smart phones with WiFi or 3G access and can just as easily post to Facebook or Twitter and I doubt that the hospital’s liability is diminished.

Hospitals need to embrace social media, develop a comprehensive social media engagement policy, educate their staff, set acceptable parameters, track or monitor usage, remain vigilant and continue with the education process in perpetuity as social media is fluid and evolving and changing everyday.

Education, clarity, transparency and engagement is the key.  Not banning access.

Howard Luks is an orthopedic surgeon who blogs at The Orthopedic Posterous.

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Tagged as: Facebook, Hospitalist, Social media, Twitter

via kevinmd.com

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Andrew Lopez, RN
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38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
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856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

Oakwood Hospital Employee Fired for Facebook Posting

Oakwood Hospital Employee Fired for Facebook Posting:"Cheryl James enjoyed her job at Oakwood Hospital. She never imagined posting something on Facebook from her own computer on her own time would get her fired. "He died for us, protecting us," said James. Like so many others, James was emotional following the shooting death of Taylor Police Corporal Matthew Edwards. She worked for the hospital organization that treated the police officer and the shooting suspect, Tyress Mathews"
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/oakwood-hospital-employee-fired-for-facebook-posting-20100730-wpms

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