February 19, 2013

pipe down- eating lunch in public part 1

The other day Mom and I went out to lunch which is something we do frequently after shopping or doctors appointments. Often while we eat I engage in a bit of one of my favorite past times, people watching. Observing how people dress, talk, what they eat, how they interact and communicate are all fascinating to me.

But sometimes it's just impossible not to see and hear something blog-worthy especially on this day. 

Two table away was a group of eight people who I came to understand later were counselors. One woman in the group was venting rather loudly about her patients many of whom were minor children concerning matters of a personal nature. She spoke of a couples who were her patients disclosing personal information and voicing her opinions.


With every bite of my lunch I wanted to yell at her and tell her to shut her trap.

Yucking it up about peoples personal affairs in public is a horrible betrayal of these peoples privacy. I felt so horrible that they put their trust in a person who blatantly didn't deserve it. She treated their personal trials in life as if it were an episode of  The Jerry Springer Show.

And I thought to myself if they only knew!

I was temped to speak up or at the very least tell her to tone it down but the opportunity never arose.

Tomorrow- Part 2

Read how a group of diners brought me to tears. Did Bill say something to them or did we leave the restaurant? Come back and find out!










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9 comments:

  1. You are so right! I live in a small town and I work at the school. LOTS of people know me even if I might not know them. They recognize me. For this reason, when I am out in public, I watch my conversations about work related things. If I am having dinner with RR, I will notice carefully who might be within earshot and, more importantly , I avoid the use of any names. I would never want people to overhear what was meant to be private.
    I think your concern deserves a wide audience. It' s not right to broadcast what was meant to be private.

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  2. She's violating HIPAA, which could be a huge fine for her. Shame on her for doing this in such a public forum. I'm curious about your part two, I'll definitely be here to check it out!

    betty

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  3. I just read a friend's blog where she talked about a woman at the next table to her in a coffee shop having a graphic conversation on her phone about a friend's suicide and in front of her young son. She was still giving personal details which she had no business doing but the people that you saw have a job to do and should never discuss things like that in public. Hope your mum had good news at drs.

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  4. Some people can be so unprofessional! I've seen this happen too, turns my stomach.

    Oh, so you're leaving us with a 'cliff hanger'! You're good, Jen! lol

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love a cliffhanger!

    I work with counselors quite a bit. I don't know any that would go out and have a public conversation about their clients. It's unethical and wrong, and they can get in a lot of trouble for violating HIPAA. I hope you gave it to them!

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  6. That is awful. So disrespectful. As a nurse, we do talk a lot about our patients...not in a bad way...like their conditions etc. And even then that is very personal information. You never know who is listening.
    People like that gives a bad rap...terrible.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think in a medical setting we all expect to hear a certain amount of medical talk. We all come to know what's going on in the bed next to us, there's no way around that. This was really way beyond a dedicated nurse in the act of caring for her patient, we all get that type of conversation happening.

      You're right Kim, she gives people in the medical profession a bad rap!

      Delete
  7. Bill said something... because he said something to that rude neighbor guy. Going over to part 2. That's the benefit of being a day late. Woo hoo! I don't have to wait.

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