Talking about one's colleagues is a common practice in all employment settings. In the health care setting, one popular topic of conversation is evaluating and comparing the professional competencies of the various personnel.

When a nurse is aware that a colleague has made an error in judgment, or has failed to follow proper procedure, or has harmed a patient in some way, the nurse often chooses to share this information informally with other colleagues, rather than to report it through official channels. The rationale for this approach is generally that informal talking will do no one harm, while reporting through official channels may bring destructive disciplinary action upon the colleague, result in a lawsuit for defamation against the reporting nurse, or both. The problems with this rationale are illustrated by a recent New York court case.