Hello KatieisSweet. I think it is important that you raised this issue. Thank you for sharing. I am a healthcare professional and I can tell you that this is very inappropriate on the part of your psych nurse. He knows the rules and boundaries when caring for patients. Any romantic or sexual advances or comments are taboo and illegal. He knows that because anyone working in healthcare is required to go through training on safe boundaries and to repeat the training every year in order to continue working in the field. The fact that he is not operating under the rules suggests to me that he is unprofessional and could also be engaging in predatory behaviors. I would never even ask one of my patients to have lunch with me, even in a friendly way, it's just not appropriate. In healthcare, we can be friendly, but we should not be acting as friends (or dates) because we are in a responsible role to care for others...the professional lines should never be crossed.

I understand that you would appreciate kind interactions from someone but I don't think he's being kind. He's violating the rules and making advances toward a patient in his care. That is never okay. I kindly caution you not to interact with the nurse again. He should actually be reported to his supervisor. He may be preying on other patients. He works in a setting with vulnerable adults. You can report him anonymously if you don't feel comfortable speaking directly to his supervisor. You also have a right to request that he is not one of your nurses on any given shift and he should no longer be entering your room for any reason. Please take good care of yourself and be safe