Confidentiality
Sylvia Mitchell
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
From: LEAVEN, Vol. 30, No. 4, July-August 1994, p. 57.
We give and receive personal
information daily, often without much thought about confidentiality.
When I excitedly blurted to a friend many years ago that I was pregnant,
she sensed that this could be shared with others. It was wonderful to
receive congratulatory smiles and acknowledgments from those who heard
the news. However, when a neighbor in desperate need of a listening
ear described her marital problems, common sense told me that this information
should not be shared, even though confidentiality was never mentioned.
Sometimes the choice isn't as clear.
When Leaders help mothers
by phone or in person they should keep personal information confidential.
This doesn't mean they cannot seek help from others in the organization.
It does mean they are entrusted with information that should be kept
private and used only in ways that will benefit the mothers they are
helping.
Mothers come to La Leche
League for breastfeeding information just as they might approach their
doctors. They expect and deserve the same professional courtesy of confidentiality.
How does a Leader Applicant
learn about confidentiality? The topic isn't in the index of THE
LEADER'S HANDBOOK; it's
not listed in the "Leader's Checklist for Working with Applicants"
on page 196. But every Applicant can benefit from in-depth discussion
of this topic.
When a Leader shares her
telephone helping experiences with an Applicant, she should use made-up
names. At the same time the Leader shares information about how LLL
helps mothers, she models confidentiality when she begins with "A
mother, let's call her Sally, asked me about...."
Applicants need to know that
Leaders accurately record information in a Leader's Log or on a Medical
Question Form. Rather than share a completed log page or form the Leader
can show her a blank one. She can then fill out a sample or ask the
Applicant to do so as they role-play a telephone helping call.
A Leader could invite an
Applicant to her home to share additional examples if she were scheduled
for specific telephone days. It would not be appropriate for the Applicant
to listen on an extension phone, but she could hear the Leader use acceptance
and encouragement when talking with mothers. The Applicant would see
how often calls come in and how they are fitted into the day as family
needs are met. What to ask mothers as information is gathered and the
follow-up done by the Leader can all be discussed. The Applicant can
see how to organize a telephone helping station and what supplies are
used.
Applicants benefit by learning
how Leaders consult with other Leaders or Professional Liaison Leaders
when they need additional information or ideas. For example, a Leader
might ask for help from Leaders and Applicants attending a Chapter Meeting.
She would carefully select relevant information to describe the helping
situation.
Sometimes a Leader is asked
about an aspect of breastfeeding that she has not experienced, such
as nursing through a pregnancy or tandem nursing. She might gather suggestions
from mothers at an Evaluation Meeting. When a Leader presents a mother's
situation she is careful not to use the mother's name or any information
that might identify her (ages, names of children) but includes information
that is needed to describe the problem (age of baby, nursing frequency).
Everyone is reassured that Leaders keep helping calls confidential.
Mothers will feel confident recommending others to LLL.
The District Advisor's response
to the Monthly Meeting Report may contain information of a sensitive
nature. But most of the DA's reply is of interest to Leader Applicants
and Group workers. A Leader could read aloud portions, omitting the
confidential information.
Leaders help Leader Applicants
learn about confidentiality through discussion and example. Pencil in
confidentiality on page 196 of THE LEADER'S HANDBOOK or on the checklist
you are using with your Applicant to be sure it is included in your
discussions.
This article originally appeared
in Canada's Leader Letter, "Canadian Collage," May 1993.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:31:59 UTC 2007.
