If a healthy nurse-patient relationship is established from the get-go, the nurses can help the patient feel more at ease in their situation and encourage questions and participate in their care. A doctor I know became friends with a person that was their patient. They were my Facebook friends prior to being my patient. Both of my grandmothers were nurses. The doctor is wondering if the patient should pick another doctor. Because of the nurse’s position of power in the health care setting, it should be left to the former patient to make the first move. This friend/patient is still being treated by the doctor. Sometimes it is not just the nurse who is affected by lack of professional boundaries, but the patient can have poorer outcomes as well. Nurse best friends … Most of these are diminishingly shallow in terms of the depth and seriousness of the relationship, but they can be misconstrued. I'm an adult nurse and a guy that came in a few weeks ago in A&E sent me flowers and on the card asked me to go on a date with him. Unprofessional behavior and comments can affect the relationship of trust between the nurse and the patient. They are just friends, but they are of opposite sex and have get togethers alone sometimes, just the two of them. Any therapist who denies having ever been tempted is either lying or is simply deluded. The reality of knowing you can lose your license over a simple comment made over Facebook (or other social media) is quite scary, but very easy to do and something I would like to share to make other nurses aware. Consequently, whereas one physician might harmoniously pursue a relationship with a former patient, another physician may not be so lucky. It wasn’t until after he was no longer a patient, but his sister was when my grandfather asked out my grandmother. Not unless they know them from outside the nurse patient relationship. For these, the best we can do is to follow the advice of the College's Ethics Manual: “Because it may be difficult for the physician to judge the impact of the previous professional relationship, the physician should consult with a colleague or other professional before becoming sexually involved with a former patient.” From your own romantic pursuits, you know that if someone is really interested in you, they will find a way to make contact. A patient is withdrawn and suspicious and states he or she has always preferred to be alone. What nurses said about relationships with patiets ‘A blanket ban on dating former patients is an infringement on our civil liberties’ ‘It is never appropriate to ask a patient on a date’ ‘When my nurse manager started a relationship with a patient while he was critically ill it was hushed up’ “It can put that nurse who is stressed in a better frame of mind. Never accept a patient’s friend request on your personal social media accounts. A nurse should not enter into a friendship or other personal relationship with a patient, their family members or their substitute decision-makers. There are steps you can take to minimise the chances of patients contacting you via social media. Whether or not the patient is always vulnerable can be debated. I work in the ER and I took care of a really nice guy a few weeks ago. Now, I have had patients that I've known from elsewhere (coworkers, neighbors, friends' parents, etc). You’re my patient. If the relationship doesn’t work out the way the patient wished, he or she could bring charges against the physician - even if it was the patient who initiated the relationship - and that can present big problems for the physician. For example, there was a situation in which a nurse wrote about the difficult day she had at the hospital, and while she was not friends with her patients, they were friends with her friends. In exchanging personal details with a patient such as those commonly posted on sites like Facebook you may increase the likelihood of ethical difficulties. Their responses may surprise you. Yes,” says McCormac, “but they should take precautions. I'm unsure of this because although I want to go on the date, I don't want my career at risk. Yes, they can. “Can nurses be friends? I am newly divorced, and my former in laws blame me. Kaitlin probably did believe that their nurse-patient relationship terminated when her young patient was discharged but there is rarely a 100% guarantee that they would never re-enter a nurse-patient relationship. The patient’s family saw her posting (which did not include names), and the nurse didn’t think it was her fault because she considered her Facebook page private. Yes, I know the OP said the former patient initiated it, but it should have been nicely but firmly rejected from the get-go. the doctor-patient-friend relationship is essential to the creation of this sense of 'home' for patient and provider; it is built on bidirectional communication and transparency. Our patients can also search for us on social media pages. Nurses who have friends in their workplace can also assist each other during stressful situations by giving each other someone to vent to. The therapy relationship can and should evoke strong feelings in both therapist and patient that are vital to effective treatment. As a nurse, can I date a former patient? This can quickly turn into a professional and social dilemma. Especially if you are a student nurse or new graduate, you should search your name on the web and make sure that what comes up displays a professional image. My father’s mother met my grandfather when he was her patient. There are Facebook friends, Snapchat buddies, and Twitter followers. 2. Many patients even use physicians who are already a personal friend. I have an ethical question. Uncomfortable scenarios can occur if a nurse becomes privy to information about a coworker friend not performing effectively or ethically on the job. Your nurse friend can truly relate because she’s been there too – whether it’s being covered in body fluids, a demanding patient or relative, a death that touches you deeply, a crisis or the workload that’s putting your head in a spin, or issues with other co-workers or management. RELATED: Beyond the Bedside: Nurse Navigator. When a nurse asks a newly admitted patient to describe social supports, the patient says, "my parents died last year and I have no family. It almost permeates an entire unit if one nurse is stressed and could cause others to become stressed, says. Occur if a nurse should not enter into a professional and social dilemma feelings in both and... 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