My [26F] sister’s [22F] friend [22F] is a nurse and told my sister some test results of mine. Should I report her?

A woman (26F) is grappling with whether to report her sister’s friend (22F), a nurse at the clinic where she received a TB test, for sharing her medical results without consent. Her sister’s friend told her sister about the test results, which were later discussed at a party.

The woman is concerned that the nurse’s actions violate patient confidentiality and could jeopardize her career, especially considering another incident where the nurse accessed a patient’s medical records without permission. Read the full post to understand the details of the situation and the dilemma the woman faces.

‘ My [26F] sister’s [22F] friend [22F] is a nurse and told my sister some test results of mine. Should I report her?’

I had to get a TB test done for some clinic work I’ll be doing this year in my grad school program. My sister’s friend works as a nurse at the clinic I go to. She wasn’t the one who took my blood for the test and as far as I know, the nurses don’t actually do the lab work.

Anyway, I got a call from my sister a few days later saying “Tina” told her my TB test was positive. Now, due to the nature of my grad school subject I know that sharing medical information is HIGHLY prohibited and she could get fired or worse.

I don’t really care if my sister knows my test results, but apparently she was talking about this at a party. It just really bothers me that someone from the clinic I go to would share my information like that.

Initially my sister didn’t want me to say anything because she doesn’t want to cause drama with her friend, but now she’s conflicted as well. Apparently someone else they knew came into the clinic recently and requested not to have Tina as her nurse.

After that, I guess Tina deliberately searched for this girl’s test results and information because she wanted to know what she was hiding. Neither my sister or I really want someone like this working at our clinic, but at the same time, I don’t want to ruin her life by getting her fired or possibly blacklisted from working in nursing.. Thoughts?

TL;DR My sister’s friend shared my medical test results. Should I say anything to the clinic? Oh and regarding the TB, I had further testing done and it’s latent. I’m going to get treated for it but it’s not active or contagious.

Here’s the feedback from the Reddit community:

[Reddit User] −  You should absolutely say something. That’s a massive violation of patient confidentiality. If she loses her job for it, she has only herself to blame.

kaohn22 −  Yes, absolutely you should report her and she deserves to lose her job. That’s ridiculous and the clinic she works at needs to know this information. They could get sued.

Nekomama12 −  Yes, report her. That is a massive breach of privacy. The clinic needs to know also, before they get blindsided by a lawsuit. I cannot believe she was that unprofessional. I would NEVER breach patient confidentiality like that.

thebabes2 −  She broke the law, report it. If she does it to you, she probably does it to others. It’s a massive breach of privacy and needs to be addressed. Lawsuits happen because of stuff like this.. Also… I don’t want to ruin her life by getting her fired or possibly blacklisted from working in nursing.

She’s done this to herself. She is violating every bit of training she has been given and even purposefully went out of her way to spy on a friend’s medical data. She has NO business being a nurse. I would not want such a person treating me. She belongs behind the counter at McDonald’s, not in medical care.

Rosebunse −  Wait…she said this at a party? She told someone your TB test at a party? That’s incredibly illegal. If she’s going to do that for TB, then I shudder to think about what she’d do for a really juicy piece of gossip. You need to report her or else she’s going to ruin someone’s life.

Doodle-Cactus −  Yes, that is a violation of your patient rights.

[Reddit User] −  Yes. She is unfit to be a nurse. This is a no-brainer. And remember – SHE did this to HERSELF.

[Reddit User] −  Yes. I am a nurse. Sharing medical information about a patient to another person is a federal violation. Even if it was not it is a huge ethical breach and here in the US we are bound by a code of ethics and you can ALSO report this to her board of nursing who can subject her to discipline. Finally it is just s**tty. I am privy to tons of private personal and medical information and part of the trust relationship is maintaining confidentiality.

walk_through_this −  Apparently someone else they knew came into the clinic recently and requested not to have Tina as her nurse. After that, I guess Tina deliberately searched for this girl’s test results and information because she wanted to know what she was hiding.

…and you kind of *have to* report her at this point. Tina is so far out of line that I would say she has no business in this profession. She has forgotten that she’s there to help people. Instead she’s trying to be a gossip queen.

stink3rbelle −  I don’t want to ruin her life by getting her fired or possibly blacklisted from working in nursing. OP, if she can’t handle her s**t, she shouldn’t be a nurse. She’s playing games with private information. I don’t know if she could get fired or blacklisted, but it seems unlikely to me.

This is a difficult situation where privacy and trust have been violated, but also one where the consequences of reporting could impact someone’s career. What would you do in this scenario? Would you prioritize protecting your privacy and reporting the violation, or consider the potential consequences for the nurse’s career? Share your thoughts below!