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visibility

You are the Nurse Manager for the trauma unit. Which of these staff comments or statements indicate the need for you to provide an educational activity relating to confidentiality and information security?

  • A

    “A computer in the hallway was left unattended and a client’s medical record was visible to me.”

  • B

    “I just saw a nursing student looking at the medical record for a client that they are NOT caring for during this clinical experience.”

  • C

    “As I was walking past the nursing station, I saw a dietician reading the progress notes written by members of the laboratory department in addition to other dieticians’ progress notes.”

  • D

    “I refused the nursing supervisor’s request to share my electronic password for the new nurse on the unit.”

Correct Response: C

A staff members comment, “As I was walking past the nursing station, I saw a dietician reading the progress notes written by members of the laboratory department in addition to other dieticians’ progress notes” “indicates the need for the Nurse Manager to provide an educational activity relating to confidentiality and information security because dieticians often have the “need to know” about laboratory data so that they can, for example, assess the client’s nutritional status in terms of their creatinine levels.

The report that the nursing student was “looking at the medical record for a client that they are NOT caring for during this clinical experience” indicates that the reporting staff member is correctly applying the principles for maintaining confidentiality and privacy of information; the report that a “computer in the hallway was left unattended and a client’s medical record was visible to me” indicates that the reporting staff member is correctly applying the principles for maintaining confidentiality and privacy of information; and lastly, “I refused the nursing supervisor’s request to share my electronic password for the new nurse on the unit” also indicates that the staff member is knowledgeable about privacy and confidentiality.