Digital privacy essentials

A learning journal can record a topic you studied, a question you want to explore and your next action. It should not contain patient names, dates of birth, photographs, identifying stories or copies of care records.

Use fictional examples when reflecting in a personal learning tool. Removing a name may not make a detailed story anonymous: a location, date and unusual event can still identify a person. Keep real care documentation in the organization’s approved system.

Reflect: Rewrite a workplace learning example using entirely fictional details.

Before sending workplace information, check both the recipient and the channel. A familiar app is not automatically an approved workplace system. Follow the organization’s instructions for devices, accounts, messaging and information access.

Do not paste identifiable care information into personal email, a public AI tool or this Academy. When you are unsure whether a tool is permitted, ask the responsible manager or privacy contact before using it. Province-specific rules and employer policies need to be checked separately.

Reflect: Who would you ask if you were unsure about a messaging tool?

Mistakes can happen: an email goes to the wrong person, a shared screen shows an unintended record or a device is misplaced. Stop further sharing and follow the workplace reporting process promptly. Do not conceal the issue or forward the information to additional people to ask their opinion.

Make sure you know the correct reporting contact before your first shift. If you receive information you should not have, use an approved route to report it. Follow the authorized response rather than inventing your own deletion or investigation procedure.

Reflect: What contact would you add to your orientation checklist?