Comments on: What Can Nursing Students Blog About?

By: Kyle

Kyle — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:00:19 +0000

Though nursing student Nina Yoder’s blog entry was crude and uncalled for, it did not violate any codes that would cause her expulsion from Louisville’s nursing program. She was within the limits of HIPPA, she did not break the school’s honor code, confidentiality provisions or principles of the profession; what she did was outside the program’s walls and an exercise of her freedom of speech. What she did was not a reason to get expelled from the program and I am glad she fought this decision and won in court. However, I believe Mrs. Yoder may need to rethink her choice of profession. Nurses must be compassionate and considerate and though she did not give any identifying information about the woman she blogged about giving birth, it would be mortifying and upsetting if this patient found the blog entry describing her labor and newborn child in such crude language. Mrs. Yoder’s blog entries may just be satirical in nature, used to blow off steam after long days, but if she can even discuss patients in this way, then she needs to seriously ask herself if nursing is the right career for her. I find it appalling that she would describe something as special as a newborn child as “…ugly as hell, covered in god knows what, screeching and waving its tentacles in the air” or that she would even joke about alcohol addiction being a choice. As a nursing student, she should have at the very least the scientific evidence to know better.
So, even though I am glad Mrs. Yoder fought her expulsion from nursing school and won in court, I do not believe Mrs. Yoder would make a good nurse. Nurses need to be compassionate, understanding and patient with the people they care for. These values must translate both inside the hospital and outside its walls. Blogging about patient’s personal experiences and struggles may be considered lawful under HIPPA, but I cannot help but ask: “What if she was MY nurse? What if she was blogging about ME?” That is enough for me to argue that though her blogging does not constitute a need to be expelled, it does bring about a need for Mrs. Yoder to consider if nursing is right for her. Because as another responder says, “Do you want her as your nurse? Do you want her on your floor or in your hospital?” My answer would be no to all of those questions.

By: Safe Blogging Practices: It’s Not WHAT You Say… - Better Health

Safe Blogging Practices: It’s Not WHAT You Say… - Better Health — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:01:56 +0000

[...] you haven’t heard the story, check out What Can Nursing Students Blog About? at Code Blog, with an update at Kevin, [...]

By: RehabRN

RehabRN — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:26:52 +0000

I blogged as a student. I never told anyone I went to school with, because I was using that blog as a journal to learn from.
I anonymized as much as possible.

For a while, I linked to my current blog. I finally decided that if someone were clever enough, they could figure out who was who and end my blogging career.

After that, I went more with topics that describe my life as a rehab RN rather than much about details.

The topics of this business get so little press and really are fascinating. They make me want to learn, and I just use my blog as a vehicle to share what I find.

It is much more rewarding that way than a he-said-she-said journal of the floor. What goes on where I’m at happens all over the place with a different set of characters.

I’d rather be unique in my perspective.

To students: use your journal wisely and keep it to yourself. Share it with the folks on the internet, but have the ability to make it go away later if you’d like.

By: It’s Not WHAT You Say… // Emergiblog

It’s Not WHAT You Say… // Emergiblog — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:21:40 +0000

[...] you haven’t heard the story, check out What Can Nursing Students Blog About? at Code Blog, with an update at Kevin, [...]

By: Amber

Amber — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:19:57 +0000

Well, she’s certainly free to express her thoughts and she apparently did not violate HIPPA. As a student nurse myself, I have been warned by my University to not do anything like this. Her University should have had something specific written out if they were going to try and expel her. That being said, I hope she’s not going into L&D. ;-)

By: Reality Rounds

Reality Rounds — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:47:10 +0000

I am way late on this thread. It is about the law…period. It does not matter if we do not like what she thinks, or writes, it is her opinion, and she has a right to express it. If she is not violating HIPAA or naming the school or persons in the school, she has a right to express herself just like any other citizen. Does she sound like a crass, ignorant nurse…yes. But legally that does not matter. To try and shut down and shut up medical professionals for writing or blogging anonymously who are not violating any laws, is un-American and un-Constitutional.

By: man-nurser

man-nurser — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:23:22 +0000

I don’t know how nursing students even have TIME to blog. Oh wait, I do it.

I really anonymousized myself after realizing that even if I think something is okay (and I don’t use my blog to vent or complain or tell voyeuristic stories), if my instructors ran across even the slightest inkling of something amiss could get me thrown out of school.

Employers can be like this too. I’ve thought about asking my hospital’s Risk Management people what they think of blogging about healthcare without violating HIPAA or linking my opinion to their company. I mean, just to get an expert opinion by someone versed in the law. But I’m sure the answer would be “don’t”. It’s a knee-jerk safety issue, because they can get sued. I’m sure anyone would say no rather than try to fine-tune the right way to do it and ensure that your student or employee is going to follow the rules at all times.

With that said, I do think that nursing instructors have a right to discipline and even expel if they don’t think someone is fit to be a nurse, and this can be for fairly nebulous reasons. You don’t have to actually kill someone for them to think you’re unsafe to practice. I don’t think whining online makes you unsafe to practice, but I would probably judge that she’s unready to graduate, and maybe hold her back a semester. It takes a fair amount of maturity and objectivity to be a nurse, right?

By: NurseJoc

NurseJoc — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:25:22 +0000

Instant karma typo! **thinks like she types**

By: NurseJoc

NurseJoc — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:24:29 +0000

If I were an instructor or a dean, I wouldn’t want someone like that graduating from my program. She’ll make a terrible nurse if she truly things like she types…

By: Not Nurse Ratched

Not Nurse Ratched — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:51:46 +0000

I had faculty gunning for me in nursing school because of my blog, but it was because I was complaining about the program and instructors—not patients (and even with that, I was careful to use no names). My school asked me to stop but recognized I had freedom of speech. I stopped.

Nursing students should, I think, be given more leeway unless they are clearly violating HIPAA. It is an opportunity for education regarding professionalism and can be a good way to open a dialogue on the subject. That applies to RNs and MDs as well, actually, although I do hold myself to a much higher standard now that I’m employed officially as an RN. Right or wrong. I should have all along, but it’s been a process, and one that I’ve learned from.

Blowing off steam in public is a bad idea because anonymity does not exist anymore. Have I done it? Yes. Have I regretted it? Yes. But I feel strongly that the online medical community needs to retain the ability to appropriately discuss patient issues, maintaining HIPAA safety, because we can all learn from many of each other’s experiences. This lawsuit was important because it gives us that freedom. We need to use it responsibly.

Still, I hope Yoder doesn’t go in to OB!