Unethical? Surely,you jest! Contrary to hospital policy? Surely,you jest! Annoying? To some,absolutely.
And I know something about this stuff,having worked for 20+ years at one of the most highly respected hospitals in the world (I'll give you a hint...it's in Boston).
Far more then annoying to me, I assure you, and there is absolutely no jesting in my comments.
If I were this young man, and I make a few assumptions here, I would most certainly file a complaint, and go from there.
When you do this sort of thing, no matter how you justify it, it destroys trust, and without trust, the medical profession is damaged more than the patient.
If this is what you call normal operating procedure, I would never set foot in your hospital.