Would you judge me? Was i unprofessional?

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would you consider this unprofessional/would you be annoyed at this?

if you were in a healthcare appointment (not whilst getting an invasive or risky treatment btw, and during the talking part of the appointment eg whilst explaining things during a podiatrist, audiologist, optician, dietician etc) and the healthcare professional fainted, would you complain or consider it unprofessional? And if you were the collegues of the healthcare professional would you think that person should be embarrassed at all or would you judge them for it?

Just for further context- I’m the healthcare professional and fainted. It was mid conversation and realised I really wasn’t well so I said to the patient excuse me I’m sorry I’m going to go and get someone else (so I could go out quickly and get some air as I thought I was maybe just hot!) and I stood up and whilst walking out I fainted to the floor. I’ve never done it before, the patient was lovely about it and was seen by a different colleague and all was fine but I went home from work afterwards and I’m back tomorrow and I’ve been scheduled a meeting with my slightly scary boss to discuss how unprofessional it was. I just wanted to ask here to gauge some opinions on whether I was unprofessional etc and should prepare for a bollocking or not!

It's involuntary, so I'd be more concerned if a so called medical professional thinks that it could be a conscious choice.

Are you a union member?

As a manager, I'd be concerned for the employee's health and welfare - checking if they had a medical condition, if they were eating properly, whether the room was too hot, whether they should have had a chair if they usually have to stand for long periods, that kind of thing - and maybe looking at whether it would have been possible to phone a request, rather than have to get up as that made it more likely to happen, but not the slightest hint of 'unprofessionalism'.

It's a faint. Sometimes they have causes, sometimes they can be prevented, sometimes they can't. I couldn't get worked up about somebody fainted beyond making sure they were OK and there wasn't anything I could do to improve their working conditions to reduce the likelihood of it happening again.

Now what would be unprofessional would be to give you a bollocking for something you had absolutely no control over!

Unprofessional behaviour is behaviour you can control. Not this.

I can’t see how this could be consider a case of conduct - professional or not. I hope you’re feeling better and that the meeting is more of a welfare check than a disciplinary.

As a manager, I'd just be concerned about you and would want to have a chat to see if there was anything I could put in place to help you.
Obviously I've been in the position where I've had to send staff home if they've been ill, it can't be helped!

Sorry just to make it clear- he won’t be making it an official disciplinary situation, it will be an off the record ‘don’t do it again’ type chat. He is obsessed with customer service and the patient is always right and the best service for the patient and so on so it won’t be so much about the fainting it will be the fact the fainting came with the patient having to see wait longer so they could see someone else and how it wasn’t good for the customer and so on. Half the time when he says these things it’s for ridiculous reasons so tbh we all just nod and ignore him and don’t take it to heart.

no I wasn’t going against medical advice and I hadn’t felt unwell when I went to work. I think I was just too hot and a combination of tired and hungry. To be honest I think that’s the real reason he was unhappy- in case it could be perceived that I fainted because of how busy and overworked we are and he doesn’t want people to see that (which is true, we are, but that’s not why I fainted because I wasn’t actually that busy that day)

anyway, thanks for the responses. I wasn’t sure if I was biased because I was in the situation and just couldn’t see that it was unprofessional etc

Let me guess, your boss isn't a clinician...

Of course it's not unprofessional, we don't exactly choose when we faint. I'd hope your boss would be human enough to just want to make sure you're okay and put some support in place for you. Were there any triggers - too hot, too noisy, you were dehydrated...?

Lol got it in one, he’s from the HR route not clinical

I think it was a combo of all- too hungry, too thirsty, too tired and too hot. I’ve never fainted before so didn’t actually realise at first and thought I just needed air and as soon as I stood up to walk out I basically just went down

But the op is a clinician. So I’m struggling to understand how she doesn’t know if it’s unprofessional or not, even non clinical folks know fainting isn’t voluntary,

Your boss is a complete weirdo, how on earth can anyone plan not to faint again?

That’s utterly ridiculous and I’d make my thoughts known!

I think I was just too hot and a combination of tired and hungry

If you deliberately missed meals which caused you to be hungry and faint, then I could understand your boss might want to unpick this. Otherwise, I can’t see what else you would do!

Nothing unprofessional about fainting. As a patient, I'd be sympathetic and wouldn't mind waiting / being seen by your colleague

But maybe it could put you or patient at risk if eg you fainted again when you were operating machinery or mid-treatment. That would be a sensible discussion to have

If he's just being a dick, I'd turn it on him and very politely ask "if I suddenly feel dizzy on another occasion, what would you like me to do differently?"

Take someone else with you to the meeting. Even better if it's a union rep.

Write down EVERYTHING that is said during the meeting (the other person could do this) and then after the meeting type it up and email it to the HR man.

Get it in writing that he thinks an uncontrollable medical event is "unprofessional" and can be avoided.

If he doesn't let another person accompany you, decline and reschedule the meeting.

Absolutely not! As the patient I'd have been concerned about you!!

Depending on the place, I'd probably even have followed up with an email or phone-call just to check up that you were okay and send my best.

Your boss is a massive arsehole if he is anything other than concerned about your welfare.

I would ask to record the conversation with him before it starts. Absolutely bonkers that you would be given a bollocking for fainting.

NHS management can be insane where illness and disability is concerned. What made me decide to leave it was disciplinary procedures for contracting a severe chest infection at work and following the orders of the consultant in going home and not coming back until it had resolved. It was allegedly unacceptable that I did this - the manager did have the self awareness to look uncomfortable when I asked if she was seriously telling me that I should have stayed in work and coughed all over SCBU.

It's no wonder that there have been so many cases of TB outbreaks linked to healthcare workers.

I’ve been scheduled a meeting with my slightly scary boss to discuss how unprofessional it was

Has that word been used to you by your boss?

How can it be unprofessional to faint? It's mot a matter of judgement!

No, if I were the patient i wouldn't complain and no I wouldn't judge you. I would expect the clinic to handle the situation with minimal flapping and also make sure I was OK too and get another member of staff to finish my procedure as quickly as possible. I probably would expect them to apologise for any inconvenience on behalf of the clinic but there's no fault of yours.

I would ask him to put his issues in writing . Also are you getting proper breaks ? I would raise this as well .

He sounds a right nob head to work for .

The Royal Guards are trained to faint ‘to attention’, usually breaking their nose in the process. Perhaps OP could ask if boss would prefer this?

Not sure which way is aibu, so I voted YANBU to faint and it's not unprofessional. It's completely involuntary, and I wouldn't judge you at all. I really hope your boss is not scary and doesn't blame you for this. Hope you're feeling better 💐

It's a very sad state of affairs if anyone would consider someone fainting as 'unprofessional'. They should be meeting to discuss your wellbeing and seeing what adjustments can be made to ensure it doesn't happen again for your sake. If you were hungry, thirsty and hot sounds like having suitable working conditions ie not a hot room and having the chance for regular breaks would help. Mention these and they'll soon back off.

For what it's worth if this happened to me then I'd be concerned that they were okay rather than think badly of them at all, I'd only judge if they were say sick and then said yeah have a horrible stomach bug but didn't want to be off work.

Good lord! I’d contact your union and ask for a rep to accompany you to this farce of a meeting, your boss cannot refuse you that. Might even make him realise how silly he’s being!

Well, make sure you have a filofax in hand when you next faint 😁..
Sorry, I think this is absolutely bonkers. Both patient and colleagues should have been concerned about you and your health. So should whoever it is you have a meeting with.
I hope there's been a miscommunication and they'll offer you support, not reprimand you!

I had this discussion with an old (horrible) boss years ago in the health care environment. She was claiming it would be unprofessional to faint at work.

Her point was that it's your responsibility to have eaten breakfast and have adequate fluid intake etc. So if you've fainted because you've not eaten, you should have taken steps to mitigate that by ensuring you DID eat. She also claimed if you came into work unwell and fainted then it's your fault for not recognising you weren't fit for practice. (However lets be honest, they're the first people to bitch and moan about your sickness if you do stay home!!) Though this was the same boss who gave me a bollocking for wearing scrubs mid shift, after I'd been thrown up on. Apparently I should have planned my uniform better? I normally kept a spare in my locker but I had three sets and did three long days in a row so I didn't... this sort of explains what she was like as a boss!

Ultimately sometimes it just happens, it's horrible and makes you feel rubbish but it can't be helped. I'd hope the meeting is about checking youre okay. Though they may ask things like whether you've been eating and drinking appropriately.

Wishing you all the best and hope you're feeling better. Ultimately its a medical concern, not a conduct concern! They should be supporting you and I'd take it above their head if they don't. I'd also very much have the come back of "and how does one faint professionally" ready.

Good luck!

FWIW I had a nosebleed while I was intimately examining a patient; their instant reaction was to sympathise and be totally understanding while I went to grab my boss (who is actually clinical); my boss was also nothing but sympathetic! The patient consented quite readily to a swap between me and my boss while I went to get myself sorted.