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I went on the site but could not find the article you mention under the forum.  However, I share your disgust with this behavior. The term "professional" is used loosely and means nothing. Everyone in today's world is referred to as a professional. From your banker, auto mechanic, real estate person, plumber, landscaper, hair stylist, nail salon,  and on and on.  The word means nothing.

The administration of the facility should take appropriate action. 

Nurses should realize that one day their man will be naked and cared for by females. How will they feel then? 

 

Go to http://allnurses.com     then do a search under  whoa inappropriate

 

         Involves a 25yo male pt comatose in micu. The nurse caring for this patient apparently told other nurses that he was well

     endowed and nurses came from other units to look under the sheets at him.  This is simply sexual assault. It involves voyeurism

    which when you think about it is what peeping toms do. In this case it's worse. The patient's bill of rights were violated, hipaa laws

    were broken and it's a case of sexual assault by people who call themselves professionals. This all done to a patient in the

    privacy of his room. Done to someone who is paying their salary.  Very very disturbing!

I found the thread and read all of it. Extremely disturbing. This kind of voyerism goes on in the operating room as well when a patient is "under."  According to health code and laws regarding patients' rights this is a violation, however, this kind of violation is very difficult to pursue in a legal arena.

Winning a malpractice suit is difficult enough, but something of this nature is nearly impossible. There is no retalliation available for a patient.  It is truly a violation of a patients' dignity, privacy, and respect. 

Upon hire, healthcare facilities should provide inservice with this legal issue. These legal issues need to be covered as part of on-going inservice education. There are codes and regulations provided through JCAHO, HIPPA, and the Department of Health with regard to Patient's Rights. Healthcare workers are not educated in this area. The number one criteria of patient satisfaction is the staffs' concern for a patients' privacy.

Actually, there are a number of avenues that a patient or their family can pursue. As a bioethicist these issues concern me greatly. I'll tell you that every single hospital, medical facility and dr.'s office are more than willing to avoid a HIPAA fine. The minimum fine is $100 and the maximum is $250,000.  The various state BON are now under considerable pressure to aggressively pursue  license revocations based on behaviors such as the one mentioned above. In many states in addition to the fine for a HIPAA violation there is a misdeamenor charge as well. No facility wants this kind of attention so they move quickly to terminate those involved.

Where and how does a patient or family pursue in a complaint alleging privacy violations?   

From personal experience I can say that we pursued a privacy complaint. Multiple agencies were contacted and formal complaints filed. Only JCAHO posted the violation under "ethics" abuse for the surgery center. This remains on the facility record for three years and then dropped. No other agency or licensing body did a thing. 

How many consumers' check with the quality check of JCAHO for a particular hospial or surgery center prior to using that facility. I would gander to say "none."  The general public does not even know what JCAHO is.   So basically whatever damage, abuse, violation of rights is done to a patient ends up hurting the patient and their family...that's it. We also found that the people employeed at these agencies do not have the time, interest, resources, nor do they personally care about someone elses' anger or hurt.

The BON in California (BRN)  had over 1000 complaints with one case worker (and they had many case workers-- the case workers are not nurses) and it was only May of the year! 

Another violation on the same website www.allnurses.com  search:  "surgeon snaps picture of patients genital in the OR shows it to ...". 

All professionals ....right!

A post note with regard to photos in the OR.  There are standard forms routine used for surgery that have in small print:

I hereby consent to the pressence of other person(s) for observation.

I hereby consent to the use of video-taping, or photography.

I think few people are aware that these statements are in the long consent form of 17 different items. Few people read all the fine print or question the authority of healthcare professionals in a surgical facility.  

A family member went for elective surgery. Once in the OR holding area they were handed a form to sign. They no longer had their corrective lenses. They were told by a nurse the form was to authorize a blood transfusion if necessary. They signed the form.  After the surgery the medical record was obtained. Reviewing this form we then learned that they had consented to photos, video-taping and other persons to be present while they were in the OR suite.  To say we were upset is an understatement. 

Lesson learned:  Whenever you or a loved one is considering surgery, request and obtain ALL consent forms that you will be asked to sign for the procedure well in advance.  Read all forms and all fine print.  Once you are sedated or unconscious you have lost all control. Better yet have a advocate stand in.    

 

 

       My experience tells me that patients tend to be most vulnerable when they are comatose. There needs to a stronger advocate for the patient during these times. The responsibility of healthcare is to get you from point a to point b and its irrevelant what happens to you along the way at least in their eyes.I'm very familiar with the recent event that occured at Mayo hospital, arizona. The Chief resident was terminated for taking a picture of a patient's penis and then showing it to other hospital staff.

I totally agree. It is a macheavellian approach.  Their eyesight is myoptic and their mindset and thinking is skewed. There is an interesting blog on the allnurses website. It is by "fagley" #141 under the thread about male nurses working OB.  Great lengthy discussion from folks both male and female pertaining to these issues of privacy of genital based procedures and personal preferences and feelings of both male and female patients. "Fagley" sites several legal cases that challenged what "healthcare" refuses to address. Healthcare facilities approach this issue most of the time as, "we do it our way" never mind the patient's feelings. This is wrong and needs to change.

Hi Resdec

 

                     Go to Ultimatenurse.com then to general nurse forum. Topic by Muscleman lack of patient privacy. Make a comment!

Kay,

I think from my previous posts you know how I would respond to this scenario. It is absolutely horrid that healthcare personnel conduct themselves this way. And the comments from the other nurses on the discussion is ridiculous!  I hope the old saying what goes around comes around comes true with these people. No one deserves to be treated this way. One day when the husbands of these nurses must endure a medical experience perhaps they will then understand how personally violating this type of thing becomes.

The very unfortunate thing is that the nurses' lives go on without harm, however, this male patient has a memory of the experience and an anger that will stay with HIM for the rest of his days.  That is what these nurses don't get.  

 

Kay Feld,

I have been reading allnurses website and I can honestly say that I am shocked with the attitude of OR nurses on the blogs, especially discussing bioethics issues. They are arrogant, demeaning, and simply have absolutely zero understanding of respect and dignity of patients' feelings of modesty, etc.  I am very bothered. They also seem to really stick together and ban anyone from speaking against their ideas.

Resdec (hsmod)

From what I'm reading I don't believe any of you work in the nursng profession. It makes me very sad that you all seem to think this is a typical attitude with all nurses. Let me assure you, the nurses you speak of  are the exceptions. Most nurses do try to conduct themselve professionally. Also most nuses care very deeply for their patients and their patients feelings. It would break my heart if I ever thought one of the people I have cared for spoke of me the way you all speak of nurses.

Carla Young:

From what I'm reading I don't believe any of you work in the nursng profession. It makes me very sad that you all seem to think this is a typical attitude with all nurses. Let me assure you, the nurses you speak of  are the exceptions. Most nurses do try to conduct themselve professionally. Also most nuses care very deeply for their patients and their patients feelings. It would break my heart if I ever thought one of the people I have cared for spoke of me the way you all speak of nurses.

Carla,

I find it very disturbing because I have been a nurse for more years than I care to say!  I am saddened, shocked, and angry by many of the  blogs on allnurses.com especially the OR section and issues on patient modesty.

The nurses that post there on a regular basis all seem to pat each other on the back, come across as callous, cold, and very insensitive to a patients feelings and preferences.  All I can say is that I am sure there are many, many nurses that are not this way, but when you have experienced a lousey ordeal as we have, that is in your own profession and field it is taken even more personally.  

Patient care is about the patient not about the nurse. When a patients feelings are minimized by such statements as: "we're professional, it doesn't mean a thing to me, it's not sexual, it's our job, I've seen a thousand naked bodies, etc."  the healthcare field is wrong.  This means nothing to a patient.  It depends on who is standing (clothed) and who is lying on the table (naked).