Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Weird story of the week

My landlord was telling me this morning about a friend in California who met a woman through his doctor's office - she works there as a nurse.  He's been on a date with her and subsequently slept with her.  Well, he found out that said nurse had taken an extra bit of blood, and had run an HIV test through the lab under an anonymous name, so she'd know whether or not he was 'clean' before she slept with him.  This was apparently before she even told him she was interested in going on a date.  Friend out in California is, by all accounts, totally OK with this behavior.

I am glad this didn't happen to me.  First, there'd be the violation of my personal privacy.  Then, there'd be the abuse of position at work, and the misuse of company funds, unless the office has a policy to cover employees paying for personal STD testing on potential bed-partners lab work.  Then, there'd be what seems to me a fairly serious violation of HIPAA laws.  Loss of licensure, loss of job, civil or criminal liability, the consequences for this sort of behavior far outweigh any possible benefits.  What ever happened to just asking?  I mean, I know it's an awkward conversation to initiate or to have, but in today's sexual climate, it's a necessary one.

I'm more than a little stunned that the guy's OK with what this woman did.  In the same situation, I would have dropped the guy like a hot anvil, and at the very least, reported his behavior to his boss.  I would NOT be OK with someone doing this to me.  And I most assuredly would not sleep with him after he told me all this.  

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