Recently, a male nurse at the Mayo Clinic was reprimanded (but not fired) have having sex with a patient in a locked hospital psychiatric unit. She became pregnant. Did Mayo Clinic make the right call, or should this nurse have been struck off?

Read the article and sound off here!

Well put, Mr. Brown. In my mind, it is still behavior unbecoming of a nurse which, in some cases, is reason enough to revoke your license. We can't judge 100% of the situation, though, because we don't know the patients state of mind or the reason for hospitalization.

If the guy was on the clock and acting in the capacity of a nurse, he would be way out of bounds even if the patient happened to be his spouse (which it likely wasn't).  I can't believe he wasn't terminated; it probably would have violated his rights as a perpetrator.  Just as mrbrown49 stated, the fact that the patient was in the psych ward seems to indicate that she was vulnerable.  Regardless of which unit she was on, a nurse engaging in sexual relations with a patient is as unprofessional and inappropriate as it gets.

Completely unethical, should have been fired on the spot.

10-4 on the sex offender list, sevo.

I was an attorney for the State - I sometimes had to prosecute cases like this -

I prosecuted for abuse (to take the license or certification of the employee), and referred to the criminal prosecutor for criminal charges.

Sex with a patient in such an institution is by definition sexual assault.

I would also insure the facility immediately took the individual out of patient contact until the investigation was complete. If they didn't do so I would fine them heavily.

Of course I don't know the details here, so this is only my opinion....

Even if I was not a nurse with 27 years experience, this situation should not set right with anyone.  When we work with patients,  especially in behavioral health settings we become familiar with their past traumas, phobias, and vulnerabilities. We are at an unfair advantage and for those with strong personalities even with personality disorders, they can manipulate a patient at that person's lowest point. This should never be tolerated under any circumstances. This worker should have been terminated.

Are you kidding me? This is appalling! Would it be different if it was a male patient and female nurse? She would be a "slut" and out the door. The patient was in a very vulnerable position. This crosses the line. At the Mayo Clinic no less!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sharon RN

The state report, posted on the Health Department website last month, said the male nurse, who worked in a different unit at the hospital, denied any sexual activity with the woman while she was a patient there. She later miscarried.

Hard to say, it sounds like a he said, she said.  If no one witnessed or caught them in the act, the pregnancy could have come from a prior sexual act outside of the hospital.  If there is no evidence that it occurred other than a psychiatric pt's word, she could be paying him back for something.

I've got to plead ignorant, and add a disclaimer.  I didn't read the article.  I based my previous response on the info that initiated this thread.  If the male nurse was actually caught having sex with a patient, he's guilty..............period............and should automatically be terminated.  If it was a he said she said situation, that is entirely different.  Nothing scares me more than the thought of somebody making false allegations against me about inappropriate/sexual assault and/or battery.  Regardless if the charges go unfounded, once the news gets out, the damage is done.  Things like this do happen, and regardless if we are presumed innocent until proven guilty, people seem to jump to their own conclusions more often than not.  I would challenge mrbrown49's position on this.  If someone made false allegations, things are out of the alleged perp's control; without regard for his/her professionalism.  Their credibility may ultimately save them in court, but he/she may be dragged through and awful lot of mud in the mean time.

I've seen nurses over the years that have had false charges against them, as a retaliation from a pt.  I think the bigger problem would be if he was NOT terminated to uphold the reputation of the clinic.  Everytime, I have seen founded allegations of a sexual nature, the employee was terminated and it WAS turned over to the state license board.  Having said that, I've seen hospitals, that were willing to turn a blind eye to employee's under the influence of drugs. 

I've seen bad pt's with a grudge against nurses, and file complaints that were completely unfounded.  Obviously, if there was evidence he should have been terminated.  I just find it hard to believe that in a psych ward that they actually got away with having sex, and nobody noticed. 

I agree that it is hard to believe that anyone could turn a blind eye and not see what was going on in a psych ward but I have done clinicals in a state run institution and I could see it happening.  Sorry to say but a percentage of the nurses in those institutions have become numb.  I'm not saying all but as with any job there are those that care and those that don't.  And if the opportunity presented itself to the right person with the wrong morales then...  I would hope that if there was evidence against the man he would have been terminated and lost his license because he does not deserve to be called a CAREGIVER.

I also know that patients especially in that setting could be revengeful if their advances were shot down.  I guess we will never know the whole story and we can only hope that it was a false allegation and that this man will not be out there and doing it to someone else.