Sharon, a second-year nursing student, is completing a surgical rotation in a community hospital. At the breakfast table, Sharon
’s husband asks her to find out what is wrong with one of his employees, who has been hospitalized for several days. He is interested in knowing when the man may be able to return to work. Is it ethical for Sharon to give her husband this information? Explain your answer.
No because that would be violating the patients rights to privacy. The patient has the right to keep their medical records private from people. If the nurse tells her husband about the patients status, she would be breaking the patient confidentiality rules that state that a person working in healthcare cannot spread information about a patient’s health to others without the patients permission
