In the former scenario, the penalty will likely be a warning and refresher training; while, in the latter scenario, this is an act of gross misconduct likely resolved by termination of contract. This time it looks like she didnt exercise the best judgment when it comes to using social media as a healthcare professional and has consequently been forced to deal with her own inappropriate actions. Columbia (where Katie was fired from) is a unionized hospital. I know this is old but I just saw this episode and if you seen the very beginning of the show it had Katie Duke saying she would never want to work at another ERand then by the end of the show she was fired. Business associates of covered entities can also be fined directly for HIPAA violations, but what about individual healthcare workers such as nurses? And even if they were, are Katies posts protected by the waivers the producers of NY Med no doubt have patients sign? I do not know. If not, you wont be able to report a nurse for a HIPAA violation although the nature of the event may qualify as a violation of other laws. We as licensed healthcare professionals are held to a higher standard by licensure and ethical / legal standards such as HIPAA. Its not clear if the company fired the nurses as a direct result of the video. What I do know is that she made a choice and has experienced the consequences of that choice. Nurses can talk about themselves, the nursing profession, their families, hobbies, and interest, Nurses should aim to uplift the nursing profession in their posts, Become keenly aware of your employers social media policies, Realize that nothing online is ever really anonymous, Never talk about patients or identifiable coworkers, Avoid identifying your employer on your social media profiles, Dont post anything online that you wouldnt say in front of your boss or human resources, Dont post online that you are at work as this could put you and your home at risk, Dont use the employers internet to post on social media sites--just dont post to social media while at work, Dont identify your employer on your personal profiles, Dont do anything you would be embarrassed to say to your mother, your clergy, your boss, or a potential employer, Dont do anything that could degrade or embarrass your profession. However, Katie is resilient. Further information on the penalties for HIPAA violations are detailed here. Now I know they cut interviews and spin them so I dont know if she admitted she was wrong or not. I sincerely wish that Katie had used this opportunity as a teachable moment. The nurse was an anti-vaxxer and posted about the experience of seeing a boy at the hospital suffering from the disease a disease that could have been prevented through vaccination. If you are a patient (or family member), the first thing to find out is if the nurses employer is a HIPAA Covered Entity. Nurse Julie Dyde and healthcare worker Rachel Keys have both been sacked by Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust, West Yorkshire, and nurse Caroline Luxford-Noyes, has been fired by. Oh, I dont recall them elaborating on that during the show. Over the last several years, the world has witnessed the explosion of social media and other electronic communication like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. All links on this site may be affiliate links and should be considered as such. $("#wpforms-form-28602 .wpforms-submit-container").appendTo(".submit-placement"); It would be unfathomable for my mother to record herself feigning emotion after watching someone die, as it would put her nursing ethics into question. If a nurse violates HIPAA by accident, it is vital that the incident is reported to the person responsible for HIPAA compliance in your organization the Privacy Officer, if your organization has appointed one or your supervisor. Where new information has been made available, I have provided updates and clarification. There have been several recent cases of nurses taking photographs and videos of patients in compromising positions, recording abuse of patients in nursing homes, and taking embarrassing or degrading photographs and sharing them with friends via social media networks. I cant be certain that this is the case, but it should be considered when looking at the big picture here. Nurse Kenisa Barkai is now suing her former employer, Sinai-Grace Hospital. Even so, the example still has the potential to help many nurses avoid making similar mistakes. Top Student Loan Forgiveness Programs for Nurses, Top Nursing Interview Questions & Answers, How to Create a New Graduate Nurse Resume, Best White Shoes for Nurses and Nursing Students, Best Stethoscopes for Nurses and Nursing Students, How to Work in the US as a Foreign-Educated Nurse, Why Nursing is a Great Career Choice for Men, Healthcare Administration Salary & Career Guide. Become a Part of the Nurse.org Community! This article is written not to attack Katie, but instead, share a very public example of how nurses can easily be fired for inappropriate social media use. Your Privacy Respected Please see HIPAA Journal privacy policy. If nurses share EMR login credentials, it is impossible for Covered Entities to accurately monitor system access or determine if a system containing ePHI has been accessed by a person without authorization. The nurse was not fired by her employer for a HIPAA violation or break in hospital policy. possible. With over 128,000 followers as of the writing of this update, she is one of the most popular nurses on Instagram. What are your staff posting on social media? I am not sure what hospital administrator would say this wasnt a HIPAA violation. But those of us who do have an audience have obligation to lead by example. Nurses who accidentally release patient information can be fined anywhere from $100 to $50,000 civil fine. If you make a mistake own it, learn from it and teach others not to make the same mistake. How you report a nurse for a HIPAA violation depends on if you are a patient (or family member of a patient) or a colleague of the nurse. In fact, it is my understanding is that a physician shared the same photo without the caption and didnt lose his job or receive a known reprimand. We now, however, have in some hospitals a generation of nurses who discard normal ethical nursing behavior to chase after adulation from strangers. Brittney Wilson, RN, BSN, also known as The Nerdy Nurse, is an award-winning author and national speaker on social media issues, bullying, and informatics. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules must be followed by all covered entities and their business associates. Mary, in my opinion the photo wasnt the problem. Polish nurse Renata Pizanowska was. "All my videos are comedy skits. I could see having to go to a social media sensitivity class or something, but I sympathized in shock and my heart went out to her. Quite a few nurses have been disciplined or fired for inappropriate social media posts, with some cases even making the national news. After receiving the suspension, the nurse appeared to realize that she had shared too much information and deleted several of her posts. The nurse, Kelly Morris, said the social media videos in question were just jokes. All geographical subdivisions smaller than a State, including street address, city, county, precinct, zip code, and their equivalent geocodes, except for the initial three digits of a zip code, if according to the current publicly available data from the Bureau of the Census: (1) The geographic unit formed by combining all zip codes with the same three initial digits contains more than 20,000 people; and (2) The initial three digits of a zip code for all such geographic units containing 20,000 or fewer people is changed to 000. Because nurses are often on the frontline of medical care, they need to be extra careful with what they post on social media, said Nancy Spector, director of regulatory innovations for the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. However, the most common causes of HIPAA violations in recent years that could be attributed to nurses include impermissible uses and disclosures of PHI, the failure to respond to or a delay in responding to patient access requests, and failing to comply with the Minimum Necessary Standard. She explained that it was a rough experience seeing the boy suffering from the disease. Steve is responsible for editorial policy regarding the topics covered on HIPAA Journal. Copyright 2014-2023 HIPAA Journal. I cannot claim to know what was going on in her head when she posted that photo, I can only express my opinion. Pedestrian v. Car, motorcycle v. Truck. New York Presbyterian declined to comment on Dukes firing or anyone elses involvement. Im not a HIPAA expert by any means, but I thought it was more than insensitive IMO it was a HIPAA violation. If any personally identifiable protected health information is posted on social media without consent first being obtained from the patient, it constitutes a violation of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The HIPAA Journal is the leading provider of news, updates, and independent advice for HIPAA compliance. Due to the information contained in the posts and the rarity of the disease, it is possible that the child could have been identified. Steve is responsible for editorial policy regarding the topics covered on HIPAA Journal. However, she concedes the posting might have upset someone not familiar with the morbid exchanges that can occur in the emergency room. I also saw Katie on an interview on Inside Edition late in the week she didnt seem to admit any wrongdoing just said I cant believe they fired such a caring person. In some cases, the disclosure may also be reported to law enforcement agencies. Get the latest on all things nursing by joining our email newsletter. Participating in the TikTok #IckChallenge, four Emory University Hospital Midtown employees recorded a one-minute TikTok video discussing their icks about being nurses who deal primarily with labor and delivery. I was told I was being fired for being insensitive, she said. When you couldnt visit your sick loved one in the hospital, they were practicing their dance moves because an endorphin hit matters more to a narcissistic monster than showing empathy for your personal sorrows. The bombs people drop on social media can detonate right away or lurk like hidden land mines. Give the world a positive impression of your beloved career. Duke also claims that the photo was not even hers, but rather reposted from a doctors Instagram page. I could never imagine my mother using a hospital floor as her dance floor to garner attention from random people on the Internet. Rather than continually refuting any wrong-doing in the situation, I would have liked to see her say You know what, this is what nurses should do in this situation. Adam B. Coleman is the author of Black Victim to Black Victor and founder of Wrong Speak Publishing. Had the actions been covered in security and awareness training? After Faith Linthicum, RN posted that an unarmed black man shot by police "deserved it," Kaiser Permanente decided to part ways with the nurse. We have investigated the situation and taken appropriate actions with the former employees responsible for the video, the company said in an Instagram post. The doctor who also works for the hospital was not reprimanded, she said. If a nurse breaches confidentiality for a purpose not permitted by HIPAA, the consequences can depend on whether the breach was well-meaning (i.e., in celebration of a patients recovery) or malicious (i.e., to demean a patient). This further suggests that the social media mishap was planned. that's continuously reviewed to ensure its as relevant and accurate as She has rules for how nurses can keep out of trouble while using social media but also using social media effectively and positively. A nurse can talk about a patient provided that any individually identifiable health information disclosed about the patient is allowed by the Privacy Rule and that only the minimum necessary health information is disclosed. A NURSE in North Carolina was suspended after allegedly ridiculing and mocking patients - some of whom were critically ill. We have nurses like the ones from Emory University Hospital Midtown who believe your tribulations are trivial and act as if your presence as a patient is an annoyance. Nurses are under intense pressure to work as efficiently as possible; and, due to this pressure, there may be times when shortcuts are taken with HIPAA compliance in order to get the job done. It's especially true for nursing students who use social media who may not know HIPAA regulations as well as seasoned nurses. Due to a high rate of vaccination (94.5%) in Houston, a measles case is very rare. If a nurse discloses a patients health information for a purpose not allowed by the Privacy Rule, or discloses more than the minimum necessary for the purpose of the disclosure, this is a violation of the Privacy Rule. This article is written not to attack Katie, but instead, share a very public example of how nurses can easily be fired for inappropriate social media use. Now I check my posts so no one gets offended or thinks I am a cold-hearted person., Emergency Medicine Tweet Chat Today at 1 PM, ET. Download PDF. In the same way that you should not disclose information about your patients, nurses should take care not to post their personal information. Your email address will not be published. The Highest Paying Jobs For Nurses With a BSN, Types of Masters in Nursing Degrees & Specialties, Pros & Cons of Getting a Master's Degree in Nursing, Nurse Practitioner vs Physician Assistant, Highest Paid Nurse Practitioner Specialties, How to Conduct a Nursing Head-to-Toe Assessment, How to Read an Electrocardiogram (EKG/ECG), Understanding and Interpreting the Glasgow Coma Scale, Complete List of Common Nursing Certifications. It seems so many people want to denigrate Katie Duke, from her choice to post the photo being discussed to the measurement of her waistline. Social Media Post Prompts Firing Ann W. Latner, JD An RN's post online violates a patient's privacy, and she is fired. Officials at the Jackson Memorial Hospital in. Recently, I lost my father-in-law, and as unexpected as his death was, he did not die in discomfort because of the amazing nurses who cared for him until he passed. TikTok got me fired: Why was a nurse suspended over her TikToks? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. But she was fired for being insensitive. Top 6 Reasons Nurses Get Fired 1. I think that if the photo was the only thing posted, without her personal commentary about a real-life tragic event (that she made light of), I think it would have been perceived as harmless and shed still have her job today. Our culture of narcissism has no occupational boundaries, and the honorable position of being a nurse has been tainted over the past couple of years by the public indecency of the narcissistic monsters within the profession. For example: Should the nurse have known their actions may have resulted in an accidental disclosure of ePHI? Looking for a change beyond the bedside? 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, I tried to shoot a day-in-the-life TikTok and accidentally filmed myself getting fired, Don Lemons fiery exchange with GOP candidate left CNN leaders exasperated, As public radio becomes stridently left-wing, its time to defund NPR, IRSto spend $80B to hire 30,000 new employees, boost audits on wealthy. Know the facts. A single Google search for Nurse fired for social media will yield plenty of results. HIPAA Journal's goal is to assist HIPAA-covered entities achieve and maintain compliance with state and federal regulations governing the use, storage and disclosure of PHI and PII. Just wanted you to know, I saw an episode of NY Med that showed this story at the time she was fired. The lines are way too blurry to point fingers. I do want to thank you for attempting to bring some balance to the discussion without using it as an opportunity to belittle another nurse. She has rules for how nurses can keep out of trouble while using social media but also using social media effectively and positively. You have every right to express your opinion, as do the others who have blogged or posted about this situation. Every grievance, no matter how small or destructive, is considered permissible within our culture of narcissism and it has a convenient shield from criticisms because weve pedestalized self-expression over self-respect. My response to that is that last time I looked, the media was in a different business. HITECH News go-to source for nursing news, trending topics, and educational resources. An official from Texas Childrens Hospital confirmed the nurse lost her job as a result of violating hospital policies and federal laws by posting protected health information on social media, and not for her anti-vaxxing views. Patient Abuse or Poor Professional Conduct 2. byCarlton G. Brown, PhD, RN, AOCN, NEA-BC, FAAN. That's why we rely on registered nurses and other experienced healthcare HITECH News At nurse.org, we believe that no one knows nurses better than, well, nurses. In that case it involved the sharing of photographs of patients on Snapchat. What was the impact of the accidental disclosure? "If you want to play, thats not the profession or the field you need to play in. In case you missed it, an emergency room (ER) nurse in New York was fired after posting a photo of an empty trauma room after clinicians saved the life of a man hit by a subway train. Its not the photo, in my humble opinion, thats the real issue. Texas Childrens Hospital suspended the nurse when officials found out about her social media posts and an investigation was launched. If you hung around nurses station and heard the way we talk about injuries, life and death you might get the wrong impression but its just a coping mechanism. She said. Four labor and delivery nurses at an Atlanta hospital came under fire over a TikTok video in which they shared the things that annoy them about expecting mothers and their families. Samuels Instagram profile, which is marked private, identifies her as a mommy and a dry cereal consumer, a professional book reader and a bipolar lover. She has more than 600 followers. I did see the episode and was totally shocked when she was fired. . A nurse can be held responsible for a HIPAA violation if the non-compliant event occurs frequently in the nursing unit. Social media can do many wonderful things for nurses, Reality Show Nurse Fired For Instagram Post, Nurse Firing Highlights Hazards of Social Media in Hospitals, NY Med star Katie Duke speaks out on getting fired from NYC hospital for posting Instagram photo of trauma room, Take the Nurse Blogging 101 online course, 9 Top Sparkly Stethoscopes For Some Bling, 15 Funny Nurse Mugs You Totally Need In Your Life, 9 Effective Ways For Building Confidence In Nursing, Find PRN Nursing Shifts Near Me to Earn Extra Cash, Best Shoes for Nurses 20+ Recommended Nursing Shoes for Women, Gifts for Nurses: All The Best Nurse Gift Ideas in One Place, How to Pass the NCLEX with 75 Questions in One Attempt, Most Popular Shoes for Nurses: Alegria Clog, The Best Stethoscope For Nurses The Ultimate Guide to Nurse Stethoscopes.
