Reference no: EM131687729

Question: When Personal and Professional Obligations Conflict You are an RN employed by an insurance company that provides workers' compensation coverage for large companies. Your job requires that you do routine health screening on new employees to identify personal and job-related behaviors that may place these clients at risk for injury or illness and then to counsel them appropriately regarding risk reduction. One of the areas that you assess during your patient history is high-risk sexual behavior. One of the clients you saw today expressed concern that he might be positive for HIV because a former girlfriend, with whom he had unprotected sex, recently tested positive for HIV. He tells you that he is afraid to be tested "because I don't want to know if I have it." He seems fi rm on his refusal to be tested. You go ahead and provide him information about HIV testing and what he can do in the future to prevent transmission of the virus to himself and others. Later that evening, you are having dinner with your 26-year-old sister, and she reveals that she has a "new love" in her life. When she tells you his name and where he works, you immediately recognize him as the client you counseled in the office today. ASSIGNMENT: What will you do with the information you have about this client's possible HIV exposure? Will you share it with your sister? What are the legal and ethical ramifications inherent in violating this patient's confidentiality? What are the conflicting personal and professional obligations? Would your action be the same if a casual acquaintance revealed to you that this client was her new boyfriend? Be as honest as possible in your analysis.