For a medical worker, it is definitely unacceptable to do things like discussing patients, their illnesses, and other strictly confidential matters. It is even worse if the people present know the patient by face. Such a behavior certainly goes against the code of ethics of a medical worker. If I were present at such an informal meeting and hear my friend or co-worker discuss the patient’s state and other confidential information, I would certainly do my best in order to stop the speaker. I would try to prevent him/her from saying more and remind about the ethics of a medical worker. I would also discuss the situation with that person afterwards (most likely next day or at the next meeting). However, though I know I should do this according to the regulations, I would probably not report this to my friend's supervisor. This is because I strongly believe that every person has got his right to make mistakes, and, as long as the person does realize that this sort of behavior is wrong and unacceptable, such a mistake should not be punished strictly. However, if it happens again, I will execute my obligation and report this to the supervisor.
Getting to the second scenario, first of all, it is necessary to state that a medical worker is obliged to work with any patient. And, certainly, the rights of the patient are violated when the nurse refuses to work with the patient due to the nature of his illness. The situation becomes even worse if we take into consideration the presence of the patient. The patient may feel insulted by this sort of conversation. The nurse should forget about his or her religious beliefs while being at work and follow Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines, which underline the importance of treating all the patients in an equally respective manner, regardless of their diseases and other factors. Besides, for any religion, a human life is a primary value; this is why appealing to religious feelings under such circumstances seems to be a week argument. Regarding the other argument provided by the nurse, a medical worker should not be too much afraid of any sort of diseases. A medical worker needs to know what measures to take in order to protect him/herself from contagious diseases, but refusing to work with a patient due to such a reason should be out of question. In general, a supervisor should refuse to meet the nurse's request. However a good supervisor should keep an eye on this nurse and make sure that he/she provides his/her services in a proper way. A personal conversation after the shift will be helpful. The supervisor should clearly outline what motivation brought him to this decision. The nurse needs to understand that it was not just the laziness or an act of meanness of the supervisor.