A nurse selling MLM products to a patient?

[Splats]

Someone I know on FB is a nurse, they do private support work for a child patient (under 10) with high medical needs (and also still work for NHS)

She (my FB friend) sells temple spa on the side.

Patients mum is now doing Facebook posts about how a temple spa product gives her young daughter beautiful skin (and tagging my FB friends temple spa business)

It doesn't feel right to me but I am not sure what the rules are ?

Is it possible she met the mum through temple spa and that is how she got the private support work?

That feels very uncomfortable to me and potentially oversteps professional boundaries. Her employer (although is this privately arranged) may take a dim view as would the NMC

No, she was hired to work for the mum a couple of years ago and has since set up this business. The mum doesn't work for temple spa the mum is promoting the friend's business

How do you know that she is the child’s nurse?
That worries me.

I know them all because they are all local to me. And the child's mum posts a lot about her nursing team with photos

What a petty post, no wonder we have a nursing shortage

Why is it petty? It doesn't sit right to me but then I have a big ethics code to follow in my job and I just assumed it was the same for nursing

I'm not planning to report anyone. Just want to know whether to have a quiet word with friend

I don’t really understand the issue?

I didn't think nurses were allowed to sell products to patients?

The nurse has a side job selling skincare- is this the part you think is not ethical?

Or the mum that is supporting her side business on Facebook? Why is this unethical?

Possibly not NHS patients. But if they are privately working then why couldn’t they?

That she is selling products to patients and then having them advertised by the patients (well via their mum, but I am not sure any child needs expensive skin care or should be advertising it for their nurses)

But she’s working privately for the family as a nurse. Why can’t she then sell skincare to the family? I don’t understand why?

Because it's exploiting the nurse -.patient relationship?

I am surprised how few people understand ethics tbh

How do you know that the mother hasn’t asked the nurse about the products she’s seen her selling on FB snd asked to buy some from her, has used them and thinks they’re brilliant so is shouting about it from the rooftops? Doesn’t have to be anything nefarious, on the other hand if the nurse is pressuring the mother she’s hardly likely to tell you that.

The relevant bits of the code are likely to be not taking advantage of those in your care (difficult to prove in this situation unless the mother came forward to say the nurse pressurised her to buy the skincare and promote the business) or not to use her status as a nurse to promote something not related to healthcare - so perhaps if she was telling this mother the skincare would save her child some pain as opposed to the IV meds she was actually prescribed and she knew this because she was a nurse (and even then only if the mother corroborated). Then and only then would the NMC give a hoot.

How do you know that the mother hasn’t asked the nurse about the products she’s seen her selling on FB snd asked to buy some from her, has used them and thinks they’re brilliant so is shouting about it from the rooftops?

It is MLM - it’ll be shit. They are all shit.

The idea makes me very uncomfortable indeed.

Im not saying they aren’t but that doesn’t rule out that particular scenario.

In my work I am not allowed to form relationships with patients or former patients, so that means accepting social media requests, socialising etc. That was the case in the NHS and it’s still the case in private practice. I’m not a nurse but I would imagine there are some pretty strict guidelines and selling overpriced MLM tat has got to be on the list of behaviours that are not OK. Sadly I’ve seen it within the NHS as well, in fact the exploitation of the clinician/patient relationship is what first got me interested in the lengths MLM companies will go to and the pressure they place on people to sell and recruit others.

Selling over priced cosmetics to a parent who she knows through a professional relationship which gives her some power is right out of order. More so if she has recruited the woman as a downline. It’s an exploitation. Presumably she is operating in private under the NMC Code. Among other relevant clauses there is a clause about ensuring advice to patients is evidence-based including information relating to products and services.

I’m not a fan of MLM but it could just be the mum is really grateful to her so is trying to help her out by promoting the sideline.

Why don’t you speak to this nurse or the mother op instead of posting here?
There are a lot of assumptions underlying this post.
You say the child is the patient, now do we REALLY think nurse sold the products to her???
Maybe Mum asked about the product, would you refer a potential sale to a business rival?
Who knows, maybe she gifted Mum the product and Mum chose to post?
You said you will not report so not sure of purpose of your post. Why not Either speak to them or mind your own business?

Thanks, you've summed up the basis of my discomfort well. I am surprised people think it's ok

Mumsnet would be a very quiet place if no-one ever posted to mull over things before deciding whether to talk to people in real life

I loath MLM schemes with a passion, but temple spa products used to be lovely (haven’t used them for years, as well out of my budget, so no idea if quality is as good as it used to be). I didn’t realise they were now doing bollocks MLM scheme, I wouldn’t have thought they needed to. But do you know for a fact she has purchased them, could the nurse have given them to her, or her daughters as a gift?
I think ethically it’s a bit of a grey area.

In her post she says it's a "regular purchase" for her young daughter.
I don't mind temple spa either but I wouldn't use it on a young child. And the MLM business model makes me deeply uncomfortable

Nope, people would still be here giving top tips and supporting others and celebrating the good, 😊