Question

What signs might alert you to a potential professional boundary violation or crossing?

250 words please and no plagiarism. Thanks!

Answer 1

All healthcare staff should maintain trust in practice with professional standards and should be knowledgeable regarding professional boundaries. They must know each and everyones responsibility towards the patient to provide ultimate care for the patient. They should follow the professional ethics and pledge while we receive our degree, as per this we must maintain a knowledge about what should and should not do in patient care.There may be several sutuatons where staffs may do some malpractice or misconduct towards the patient. To avoid such situation we should always maintain a professional boundary between the patient and the staff.

Usual signs of potential boundary violations are

• Accepting gift and money from the patient is a crossing of professional boundary.
• Spending more time than nesessary with a patient may lead to the boundary violation by discussing un necessary personal details and other paient details.
• Showing favourism to a particular patient also an early sign of professional boundary violation because other patient may feel bad and this behaviour is not acceptable because healthcare professional must consider every patient as same and plan care according with priority of the patient care.
• Sharing secret, revealing confidential report of other patient also consider as a violation and this may affect directly or indirectly with other patient or organization etc.
• Maintaining a dual or multiple relationships with patient also a sign of professional boundary violation.
• Discussing personnal issue with a patient or maintaining an intimate relationship than other patient also a sign of boundary violation.
• Caring the paient in bed side under normal situation if you are not in duty hours also show a stong personal favouring situation and this also not good for professional ethics.
• Showing behaviour that should be interpreted as flirting and revealing body parts in a provocative manner also a potential boundary violation.
• Showing sexual misconduct towards the patient with intentionally or by compulsion by the patient consider as a professional boundary.
• Sharing patient image or informations in social media lso comes under this category.