Submission Guidelines
The Shift Report is written by nurses, for nurses. To keep us — and our patients — safe, every submission follows the same simple rules.
② How anonymity works
Anonymous submission is available when you do not provide your name or contact information. You may use a pen name (e.g. "Night Shift, 4-North") or leave it blank. Some technical metadata may be processed by the website platform. Submissions are reviewed before publication or follow-up.
What we collect. The text you type and the section you chose. If you give us a personal email or phone number for follow-up, that contact info is used only to reach you about your submission.
Editorial review. An authorized site editor/admin reads every piece before it runs. We may lightly edit for clarity or to strip a detail you missed — we will never add an identifying detail.
The PHI checker. The submit page runs an automatic scan for names, MRNs, room numbers, dates, phones, and emails before you hit send. It's a safety net — not a replacement for your own judgment.
You may discuss staffing, wages, hours, and working conditions, but do not include PHI, patient identifiers, confidential documents, or details that could identify a patient or coworker. For legal, grievance, discipline, or urgent safety concerns, contact a delegate.
③ PHI-free writing — before & after
Same story. Same heart. One version is publishable, one isn't. Notice how specifics about the system stay sharp while specifics about the person get blurred.
"Had an [age] y/o lady, [Patient Name] in Room XXX, MRN #######, admitted [date] for sepsis. Dr. [Name] wouldn't return my pages for 2 hours."
"Had an older patient on a med-surg floor, septic and decompensating. The covering attending didn't return pages for almost two hours. By the time orders came through, we were already behind."
"Charge nurse [Charge Name] on [Unit] scheduled me for 6 patients again last [day]. She does this every week to the new grads."
"On a step-down unit, new grads keep getting assigned 6-patient loads — the same handful of charge nurses, week after week. It's not a scheduling accident anymore. It's a pattern."
"My patient [Patient Name] in bed XXX died on his birthday [date]. His wife called me at [phone number] to thank me."
"Lost a patient on a hard night recently. His family called the unit afterward to say thank you — the kind of call that makes you sit down in the supply closet for a minute."
④ The 30-second checklist
- No names. Use roles: the attending, the charge, my preceptor.
- No numbers that identify: MRN, room, bed, phone, address, exact date.
- Generalize ages: "an older patient," "a young mom," "a teenager."
- Soften dates: "last week," "a Tuesday in spring," "recently."
- Re-read once. Would you recognize this person if you read it?
- Trust the PHI checker — but trust your gut more.
⑤ Edge-case decision flow
Got a tricky detail you're not sure about? Answer four quick questions and we'll tell you exactly what to generalize and what to remove before you submit.
How specific is the date or time?
Exact dates + a unit + a clinical detail can identify a patient even without a name.
⑥ FAQ & edge cases
The trickiest details aren't names or MRNs — they're the small specifics that feel harmless but quietly point at one person, one shift, or one room. A few of the cases that come up most:
Can I include the date it happened?
Almost never an exact date. A specific date plus a unit plus a clinical detail is enough to identify a patient — even without a name. Soften the time horizon instead.
"On [date] around [time] we had a code on [Unit]."
"On a night shift this spring, we ran a code on a med-surg floor."
What about my shift schedule or rotation?
Saying "I work [days] [hours] on [Unit]" effectively names you. Talk about shift type and pace, not your specific schedule grid. If you're describing a coworker's schedule, generalize even more.
"My [days] [shift] charge always pencils me in for 5 patients."
"On evenings, the same handful of charges keep assigning unsafe ratios — it's not random."
The diagnosis is rare. Can I still describe the case?
Rare diagnoses are the single biggest re-identification risk. If fewer than ~20 people in your hospital's catchment have it, treat it like a name. Move up one level of generality — describe the body system, the acuity, or the trajectory, not the ICD-10.
"We had a patient with fulminant Wilson's disease awaiting transplant."
"We had a young patient with end-stage liver failure waiting on a transplant list."
Can I mention which hospital or unit I work on?
Naming the employer (the hospital, the system) is protected concerted activity and is fine. Naming a specific unit plus a specific shift plus a clinical detail usually isn't — that combination identifies the nurses on duty.
"On [Unit] nights at [Hospital], three of us walked out of huddle."
"On a med-surg night shift at our hospital, three of us walked out of huddle."
What about ages — especially kids or patients over 89?
HIPAA flags any age over 89 as identifying — generalize to "in their 90s" or "a centenarian." For pediatrics, never use exact age in months or weeks; say "an infant," "a school-age kid," "a teenager."
"A [age]-year-old from a SNF" or "a [age]-week-old preemie."
"An elderly patient from a long-term care facility" or "a NICU baby."
A coworker said something brilliant — can I quote them?
Yes, but strip the attribution. Use a role ("a charge nurse said," "a new grad told me") and never combine the quote with the shift, unit, and date — that triangulates the speaker. If the quote is pointed enough to get them in trouble, ask them first.
"My preceptor [Name] on day shift told me, 'They want us to fail so they can outsource us.'"
"A preceptor told me recently, 'They want us to fail so they can outsource us.' I haven't stopped thinking about it."
What if the quote is from my manager or a doctor?
Same rule, higher stakes. Drop the name and any title that narrows it to one person on the unit. "A manager," "an attending," "someone in admin" — never the specialty + shift + unit combo.
"Dr. [Name], the night hospitalist on [Unit], said, 'Just hold the [med], we'll deal with it tomorrow.'"
"An overnight hospitalist told me, 'Just hold it, we'll deal with it tomorrow.' I documented and escalated anyway."
Can I quote a patient or family member?
Almost never verbatim. A real quote is a fingerprint — phrasing, accent, language, and topic together can identify someone. Paraphrase the meaning, drop the specifics, and never pair it with diagnosis or unit.
"A patient's wife told me, 'He's been on dialysis at the [Place] center for [years] years and now this.'"
"A family member told me her husband had been managing a chronic illness for years before this admission — and that this was the first time she'd been afraid."
How do I describe a specific shift without dating it?
Combine shift type with season or workload, never with a weekday or clock time. The rhythm of the shift is what readers connect to anyway — not the timestamp.
"On [day] [date] around [time], halfway through a 12, the floor went sideways."
"On a winter evening, halfway through a 12, the floor went sideways."
What about overtime, mandatory holds, or call-outs?
The pattern is the story — not the date or the assignment grid. Talk about how often, how it felt, what management said. Skip the specific shift you got mandated on.
"They mandated me [day] night after I'd already done [days] earlier that week."
"I got mandated on the back end of a stretch I'd already worked. It was the third time this month."
My assignment had unusual ratios — how do I describe it?
Ratios are fair game. The combination of ratio + unit + shift + date is what re-identifies. Keep the ratio and the unit type, drop the rest.
"On [Unit] nights last [day], I had 7 patients including 2 fresh post-ops and a 1:1 sitter."
"On a recent med-surg night, I had 7 patients — two fresh post-ops and a 1:1 sitter mixed in. That isn't an assignment, it's a setup."
A patient said something that's stuck with me. Can I share it?
Yes — that's exactly what The Shift Report is for. Keep the emotional truth, lose the identifiers. Strip diagnosis, unit, date, age. Generalize the relationship.
"My [age]-year-old hospice patient on [Unit] told me on her last morning, 'Don't let them call my son in [Place].'"
"An elderly patient near the end of her life told me, very clearly, who she did and didn't want at her bedside. I'm still thinking about how rarely we ask."
It happened months ago. Is it still PHI?
Yes. PHI doesn't expire — and old details can still identify a patient whose family remembers the case vividly. Same rules apply, no matter how long ago.
"Two years ago this [month], we lost a [age]-year-old mom of twins on [Unit]."
"A few years back, we lost a young parent in the ICU. I still think about that family every spring."
What if the patient died?
HIPAA still protects patients for 50 years after death. Write about the loss, the shift, the team — not the person's identifiers. Families have found themselves in nursing essays. Don't let it be yours.
I want to flag a real safety event. Where does it go?
The Shift Report is for narrative and union conversation — not for incident reporting. File the actual safety event through your hospital's reporting system and with a delegate, then write the generalized version here. The two are not substitutes for each other.
Ready when you are.
Go to the submission form →The Shift Report is a rank-and-file nurse communication space created for NYP Lower Manhattan nurses represented by CWA Local 1104. It is not an official statement of CWA Local 1104, NYP, or hospital management unless specifically identified as such. Do not submit patient names, MRNs, room numbers, screenshots, dates of care, or patient-identifying details. For discipline, investigatory meetings, grievances, POA questions, or urgent workplace safety concerns, contact a union delegate directly.