Discussion 3

Review your state’s mandated reporter statute. Provide details about this in your post. If faced with a mandated reporter issue, what are the steps in reporting the issue? Create a mandated reporter scenario and post it. Respond to one of your peer’s scenarios using the guidelines for submission/reporting in your state. Be sure to include a reference to your state’s website related to mandated reporting.
Reply 1

The purpose of mandated reporting is to identify suspected abused and neglected children as soon as possible to be protected from further harm. According to VDSS (2021), Virginia law for mandated reporter states that anyone can report suspected child abuse or neglect. Under Virginia law, certain professionals are required to report child abuse when acting in a professional capacity. But if you are identified in the Code of Virginia as a mandated reporter or you have received training in recognizing and reporting suspected child abuse and neglect, you are required by law to immediately notify your concerns to the local department of social services or the Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline.

The steps in reporting a mandated reported issue are; when you suspect that a child is being abused or neglected, you should immediately report your concerns to the local department of social services in your community. When making a report, it helps if provided as much information as possible; mentioning the victim’s name, age, sex, type of abuse, and address can also include your contact information, which will aid in carrying out an investigation. Reports can also be made to the Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline (1-800-552-7096), seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Section 63.2-1512 of the Code of Virginia protects a person who either makes a CPS report or participates in a court hearing that results from a CPS report from criminal and civil liability unless proven that the person acted with malicious intent.

A couple brought their seven-year-old boy with multiple injuries on the back, and visible scars on thighs come to ER. On assessment patient appeared to quiet and terrified; parents refused whole-body skin check and had doubtful answers about the occurrence of injury. The assigned Nurse identified it as child abuse and reported it to the provider and head nurse. Then management team in ER reported the abuse to the child abuse hotline. The child was taken for further assessment and parents for questioning for possible child abuse.

Reference

Virginia Department of Social Services (2021), A Guide For Mandated Reporters In Recognizing And Reporting Child Abuse And Neglect. Retrieved from

https://www.dss.virginia.gov/files/division/dfs/mandated_reporters/cps/resources_guidance/032-02-0280-03-eng-07-19

Reply 2

3 postsRe: Topic 1 DQ 3

The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) advocates for a position statement developed and implemented by NCSBN that nurses ought to embrace an awareness of potential consequences for disclosing confidential patient information on social media. The NCSBN also incorporates a policy for nurses to manage professional boundaries, ethics, and compliance with state and federal law when engaging in social media platforms. The obligation to protect patient privacy and confidentiality extends to all environments, including the health facility and social media platform. For example, in Texas, when a nurse is accused of breaching and disclosing a patient’s privacy, any nurse within the department must report the matter to Texas BON. 

The breaching of trust involving identifying patients by names on social media platforms attracts the board action immediately. The 22 Tex. Admin. Code 5 217.11(1) (E), (K) on BON regulation laws in Texas provides a legal system platform on which the state board can pursue individual nurse contribution to disclosure of patients’ information without owner consent. In code 15.29 of Texas BON, the standards statements provision address professional boundaries, including social media use by nurses. The guidance from definitive statements prevents boundary professional violation, as depicted in provisions of 22 Tex. Admin Code 5 217.11(1) (E), (J). This Admin policy requires evidence tabling for communication on patients’ issues in a reproachful manner. Failure for nurses’ colleagues or individuals to share mistrust breach incidents by other nurses with Texas BON can result in disciplinary action for cover-up and firing of the incident’s perpetrators. 

Social media platforms have saturated various industries, including nursing, where nurses can connect to personal and professional lives. The significant facilitated conversations include sharing ideas with colleagues on health care advancement measures and best current practices in healthcare. Incidents of nurses’ harmful use of social media platforms have been on the rise through breaking patient confidentiality and privacy (Casella et al., 2014). The profound impact of break-in confidentiality leads to a breach of trust leading to a long-term rift between nurses and patients.

(Permalink: https://www.bon.texas.gov/practice_bon_position_statements.a