When Is What You Know Considered Confidential?
Five years ago, Jane Doe* was an inpatient at the XYZ Psychiatric Medical Clinic, being treated for long-standing cocaine use. Hers was a voluntary admission; she'd never been arrested, charged, or convicted of a crime.
After her discharge, Jane made a number of life-changing decisions, among them to pursue a nursing care. She entered and graduated from a 4-year nursing program and now works as a staff nurse in the critical care unit at St. Elsewhere Hospital. During the application process, she didn't mention her previous problem with substance abuse. When asked during her initial interview whether she'd used drugs in the last 5 years, she truthfully answered, "No."
Sisella Roe*, RN, works with Jane. Actually, Sisella first encountered her when Jane was a patient at XYZ Clinic and Sisella was working her way through nursing school as a certified nursing assistant. Jane doesn't remember Sisella, but Sisella remembers Jane well.
In recent months, the ICU where they both work has fallen under scrutiny because an unusually large amount of controlled substances have gone missing, triggering an investigation. No one has been accused of impropriety, but Sisella suspects Jane is "using" again. She has no proof. No one, including Sisella, has seen Jane take anything. But Sisella thinks Jane acts "strange" sometimes. She wonders whether she should go to her manager to report what she knows and how she knows it.
Jane, for her part, is fully aware of the unit's problems regarding the missing controlled substances. And she's petrified. She wonders if she should divulge her past drug use to her manager and explain that she has been in recovery for the last 10 years since her voluntary hospitalization at XYZ Clinic.
So the questions before us are: What should Sisella do? And what should Jane do?
Abstract and Introduction
Introduction
Five years ago, Jane Doe* was an inpatient at the XYZ Psychiatric Medical Clinic, being treated for long-standing cocaine use. Hers was a voluntary admission; she'd never been arrested, charged, or convicted of a crime.
After her discharge, Jane made a number of life-changing decisions, among them to pursue a nursing care. She entered and graduated from a 4-year nursing program and now works as a staff nurse in the critical care unit at St. Elsewhere Hospital. During the application process, she didn't mention her previous problem with substance abuse. When asked during her initial interview whether she'd used drugs in the last 5 years, she truthfully answered, "No."
Sisella Roe*, RN, works with Jane. Actually, Sisella first encountered her when Jane was a patient at XYZ Clinic and Sisella was working her way through nursing school as a certified nursing assistant. Jane doesn't remember Sisella, but Sisella remembers Jane well.
In recent months, the ICU where they both work has fallen under scrutiny because an unusually large amount of controlled substances have gone missing, triggering an investigation. No one has been accused of impropriety, but Sisella suspects Jane is "using" again. She has no proof. No one, including Sisella, has seen Jane take anything. But Sisella thinks Jane acts "strange" sometimes. She wonders whether she should go to her manager to report what she knows and how she knows it.
Jane, for her part, is fully aware of the unit's problems regarding the missing controlled substances. And she's petrified. She wonders if she should divulge her past drug use to her manager and explain that she has been in recovery for the last 10 years since her voluntary hospitalization at XYZ Clinic.
So the questions before us are: What should Sisella do? And what should Jane do?
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