Image: 'pregnant but top'
www.flickr.com/photos/7504867@N03/1042525685. (I love this picture, she looks so glamorous. I find my pictures on flikr cc, which is a site that finds creative commons pictures that can be used just as long they are attributed)
New Zealand's main privacy law, the Privacy Act 1993, governs personal
information about individual people, though the Privacy Commissioner also has a wider ability to consideractions that affect personal privacy. Where ever we live Cybertalk, can affect midwives & consumers and we must be mindful not to give details that identifies those involved.
Ive been reading some midwifery & student blogs that do not give names but discuss scenarios that occur in practice, naming the location and identifying themselves. What does privacy & confidentiality mean to you? I orginally started blogging as a platform for reflections to place in my e-portfolio, . But respecting privacy can place restrictions on how much or what is said. Ensuring privacy for the women we care for is of utmost importance. How much can i say without revealing too much? If the women is informed about my reflections is it still ok to reflect in a public forum? New Zealand is a small country, by identifying myself in my reflections, people can easily put one
and one together. For now, i will blog Midwifery in NZ in general and
not specific scenarios.
Posts
7 comments:
I have to say that I have concerns about this & think there are midwives & students who are risking breaching the law. Having said that, I wouldn't use those concerns to completely close open blogs down. I'm just about to carry out an audit looking at this issue-I'll let you know my conclusions on the matter.
Hi Tania,
Yes, I believe there are concerns because why ensure patients confidentiality only to have it blasted all over a blog? I was excited when I went to digifolios because they have the option of keeping a reflection private for the authors eyes only but then I thought how can i show I am a reflective practitioner if noone can see me reflecting? By reflecting on scenarios are we looking a little too deeply into the Act of 2003? Is that what they actually wanted us to do? My other concern about reflecting on specific scenarios is the thought that those reflections could be called up in a court of law and used against the midwife, its one of the reasons that has held me back from keeping a diary. I try and keep my reflections very broad and wide scoping in the hope that someone else may gain something from it.
HI Tania,
It is a really complex issue. I want people to be able to have the opportunity to reflect on their practice and I believe that is the best way to learn and improve their work. But privacy and confidentiality of the other people involved is critical. I don't know the answer, but I agree that it is a delicate path - tread carefully.
Sarah, i look forward to your audit conclusions. I think one problem/issue is that as Midwives/students we get such a buzz and inspiration about practice scenarios we want to share it with the world.
Helen, thank you for your comments, yes no matter what our profession in the health field or where in the world we live we must tread carefully.
I have recently bought a book, "A Guide to the Law for Nurses and Midwives" There is plenty to read and I found an interesting section on confidentiality and privacy. It states, "The presentation of information should avoid divulging not only the person`s name but also any personal details which could identify the person. Care must be taken to use only relevant information which is of professional and educational interest."
So so long as you don`t mention the dolphin tatoo that the woman had on her left buttock and just use the infor which is relevant to your learning you may be ok.
Ref: A Guide to the Law for Nurses and Midwives, Marie E. Burgess (4th Edition)
Well, I am not a midwife. But as a teacher we are asked to have portfolios and present them regularly, so I have looked at yours in order to get inspired. The problem about privacy is definitely not easily solved. I am looking forward to learning more from your discussion!
Anke.
Theres information on my Blog that may be of interest to you and yours, information on Templates and many other issues.
http://pacificcoffeenetwork.blogspot.com/
or see my Portfolio
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