This is something that really bugs me, too. I don't even 'do' facebook, for various reasons but in part because of just the issues mentioned here: potential HIPPA violations as well as privacy concerns that are far greater for some clients than for others--and we don't always know for sure as well as we may think we do about that.
As a birth professional, over the years I've had some struggles w/confidentiality in just the ways the OP mentioned--saying what seem to be very general or oblique things about a client, meaning to conceal identities, only to find that the person I'm speaking to knows who I mean. It is a very small world! Even if you don't live in a small town, it's a small world. Remember that homebirthers/mws and even doulas/clients are a small population, often somewhat isolated because of that--we tend to connect with each other from all over. I know that I have stepped on or over the line a few times, quite unintentionally--fortunately with no ill results that I know of--and it made me really really wary of confidentiality.
Of course, such talk about 'work' seems only normal. Sure, 'Goin' Birthin' or 'Up all night with a family, going to bed now", these comments are so very general that they are innocent. If someone figures out 'who' from those kind of comments, then they are probably close enough to the situation that it's ok if they know.
Awhile back, I heard a tidbit from a BP elsewhere...that she had gone to her state's mws assoc. mtg, and one of the big items on the agenda was a discussion of using fb to ask for advice from other mws about a particular birth that was presently ongoing. I was fairly stunned that the question even needed to be asked....seemed WAY too close to HIPPA violation to me. I was glad to hear that those mws came to agree that they should not do this.
A couple years ago, I sought advice from a national mw forum about a postpartum situation that had gone south--not my client, but I had consulted w/mw and fam in person, was concerned and needed more input. I did all I could to mask the 'players', focussing on the bare essentials of the problem instead. But it blew up anyway into a major gossip fest all over the region/state--all because of 2 ppl on that list, one a mw and one an apprentice. The mw was not in our area, but knew another mw here and called her to get the skinny. The apprentice was local, and figured out the 'who'--spoke to the primary mw involved in that birth, who got mad at me for 'dissing her on a national forum'. In the end, and certainly not ONLY because of my post, the family was essentially harrassed about the whole thing (by their primary mw's friends and followers, who didn't like the family having a complaint about their beloved mw--no matter how justified). It also drove a wedge into the mw community here.
Just saying here that it IS a small world. The above situation is really NOT just about internet posting--even the primary mw involved agreed that my posts and the responses were not what she'd thought from hearing about it (I got permission to copy/paste to her, so she could see for herself, in hopes of sparing our relationship--she did agree that I hadn't dissed her, but in the end that didn't save our prof. relationship anyway). It was more about lack of boundaries among some of those who saw my posts--and poor boundaries among those who were told about it (or otherwise were told about the situation). I was quite surprised to eventually discover who the apprentice was, that had shared the info w/the primary mw--didn't know her well, but thought from my own experience w/her and comments from others, that she was rather more discreet/non-gossipy than most--but she totally violated confidentiality of the list (and worse, though she was a member, she was a total lurker who'd never posted to that list in her 2yrs of membership). As for the mw from afar who called a 3rd mw here to discuss it--well I was beyond shocked at that (it wasn't like she called to see if everyone was ok, and offer advice--but to launch a sort of drama-attack).
Ok, well not to go on all day about it. Just saying, again, it IS a small world. And this means that you can inadvertently tell people things you don't realize you are telling them. And it means that even if you think you know and can trust everyone listening, that just ain't necessarily so. People talk! And that talk can start out innocently enough...but if word gets to just ONE 'wrong person' (a gossip, or someone w/an axe to grind), things can go bad quickly and widely.
I like to talk! In case you hadn't noticed that...
And I like to talk about my work, for sure. I've just learned to talk only to certain people about my work. Personally, I think fb is NO place for any professional to discuss clients, no matter how masked or oblique--I say, keep it entirely to those very general 'going birthin' kind of comments.
As a birth professional, over the years I've had some struggles w/confidentiality in just the ways the OP mentioned--saying what seem to be very general or oblique things about a client, meaning to conceal identities, only to find that the person I'm speaking to knows who I mean. It is a very small world! Even if you don't live in a small town, it's a small world. Remember that homebirthers/mws and even doulas/clients are a small population, often somewhat isolated because of that--we tend to connect with each other from all over. I know that I have stepped on or over the line a few times, quite unintentionally--fortunately with no ill results that I know of--and it made me really really wary of confidentiality.
Of course, such talk about 'work' seems only normal. Sure, 'Goin' Birthin' or 'Up all night with a family, going to bed now", these comments are so very general that they are innocent. If someone figures out 'who' from those kind of comments, then they are probably close enough to the situation that it's ok if they know.
Awhile back, I heard a tidbit from a BP elsewhere...that she had gone to her state's mws assoc. mtg, and one of the big items on the agenda was a discussion of using fb to ask for advice from other mws about a particular birth that was presently ongoing. I was fairly stunned that the question even needed to be asked....seemed WAY too close to HIPPA violation to me. I was glad to hear that those mws came to agree that they should not do this.
A couple years ago, I sought advice from a national mw forum about a postpartum situation that had gone south--not my client, but I had consulted w/mw and fam in person, was concerned and needed more input. I did all I could to mask the 'players', focussing on the bare essentials of the problem instead. But it blew up anyway into a major gossip fest all over the region/state--all because of 2 ppl on that list, one a mw and one an apprentice. The mw was not in our area, but knew another mw here and called her to get the skinny. The apprentice was local, and figured out the 'who'--spoke to the primary mw involved in that birth, who got mad at me for 'dissing her on a national forum'. In the end, and certainly not ONLY because of my post, the family was essentially harrassed about the whole thing (by their primary mw's friends and followers, who didn't like the family having a complaint about their beloved mw--no matter how justified). It also drove a wedge into the mw community here.
Just saying here that it IS a small world. The above situation is really NOT just about internet posting--even the primary mw involved agreed that my posts and the responses were not what she'd thought from hearing about it (I got permission to copy/paste to her, so she could see for herself, in hopes of sparing our relationship--she did agree that I hadn't dissed her, but in the end that didn't save our prof. relationship anyway). It was more about lack of boundaries among some of those who saw my posts--and poor boundaries among those who were told about it (or otherwise were told about the situation). I was quite surprised to eventually discover who the apprentice was, that had shared the info w/the primary mw--didn't know her well, but thought from my own experience w/her and comments from others, that she was rather more discreet/non-gossipy than most--but she totally violated confidentiality of the list (and worse, though she was a member, she was a total lurker who'd never posted to that list in her 2yrs of membership). As for the mw from afar who called a 3rd mw here to discuss it--well I was beyond shocked at that (it wasn't like she called to see if everyone was ok, and offer advice--but to launch a sort of drama-attack).
Ok, well not to go on all day about it. Just saying, again, it IS a small world. And this means that you can inadvertently tell people things you don't realize you are telling them. And it means that even if you think you know and can trust everyone listening, that just ain't necessarily so. People talk! And that talk can start out innocently enough...but if word gets to just ONE 'wrong person' (a gossip, or someone w/an axe to grind), things can go bad quickly and widely.
I like to talk! In case you hadn't noticed that...
And I like to talk about my work, for sure. I've just learned to talk only to certain people about my work. Personally, I think fb is NO place for any professional to discuss clients, no matter how masked or oblique--I say, keep it entirely to those very general 'going birthin' kind of comments.
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