Why it is important: A nurse's duty is to always advocate for patient safety, including any nursing action necessary to comply with the standards of nursing practice (§217.11 of this title) and to avoid engaging in unprofessional conduct (§217.12 of this title). This includes administrative decisions directly affecting a nurse's ability to comply with that duty. The nurse must try what is good and safe for the patients. According to the Texas Board of Nursing Position Statement 15.14 Duty of a Nurse in a Practicing Setting, establishes that a nurse has a responsibility and duty to a patient to provide and coordinate the delivery of safe, effective nursing care, through the NPA and Board Rules. This duty supersedes any facility policy or physician order (BON, 2013). How does it impact my work/nursing practice: Patients may need extra support to express and secure their own choices for treatment, especially where the patient's choice may seem …show more content…
In most cases, it includes failure to meet a standard of care or failure to deliver care that a reasonably prudent nurse would deliver in a similar situation. Medical malpractice is defined as professional negligence by a doctor, surgeon, nurse or other healthcare worker that causes physical or emotional harm to a patient. That negligence can come in the form of an act or the omission of an act of necessary care. Claims of medical malpractice are an important part of general patient dissatisfaction with modern health care. According to surveys, only one in 30 calls of inquiry to legal firms about malpractice actually results in the filing of a suit. Patients file malpractice lawsuits because of a variety of factors, including poor relationships with their doctors that antedate the alleged malpractice, medical advice to seek a legal remedy, and media advertising (Reising,
Medical malpractice cases are difficult for the families who have lost their loved one or have suffered from severe injuries. No one truly wins in complicated court hearings that consist of a team of litigation attorneys for both the defendant and plaintiff(s). During the trial, evidence supporting malpractice allegations have to be presented so that the court can make a decision if the physician was negligent resulting in malpractice, or if the injury was unavoidable due to the circumstances. In these types of tort cases, the physician is usually a defendant on trial trying to prove that he or she is innocent of the medical error, delay of treatment or procedure that caused the injury. The perfect example of being at fault for medical malpractice as a result of delaying a procedure is the case of Waverly family versus John Hopkins Health System Corporation. The victims were not compensated enough for the loss of their child’s normal life. Pozgar (2012) explained….
It is the nurse’s duty to provide optimal care, take the right action, and deliver quality nursing care. Professional and ethical actions promote the best possible patient outcomes.
Medical malpractice lawsuits are an extremely serious topic and have affected numerous patients, doctors, and hospitals across the country. Medical malpractice is defined as “improper, unskilled or negligent treatment of a patient by a physician, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, or other health care professional” (Medical malpractice, n.d.). If a doctor acts negligent and causes harm to a patient, malpractice lawsuits arise. Negligence is the concept of the liability concerning claims of medical malpractice, making this type of litigation part of tort law. Tort law provides that one person may litigate negligence to recover damages for personal injury. Negligence laws are designed to deter careless behavior and also to compensate victims for any negligence.
As a nurse it is our primary job to protect and promote the well being of patients throughout the health care industry. Each nurse has the responsibility to practice faithfully and to uphold all ethical values. These values are outlined and regulated by two very important entities, The Nursing Practice Acts and the Texas Board of Nursing. Nursing Practice Acts, are specific laws in each state that define a nurse’s scope of practice. These acts were first established in 1909 with the purpose of protecting public health, safety, and welfare. Their purpose is to provide rules and regulations that will protect society from unsafe and unqualified nurses. Nursing professionalism is rooted in the ethics and ...
...iation. (2009). ANA Position Statement: Patient Safety: Rights of Registered Nurses When Considering a Patient Assignment. Washington, DC: Author.
Therefore, nurses are expected to comply with legislation, policies, standards, and guidelines that will guide nurses to follow both legal and ethical duties. One of the ethical and legal obligations of a registered nurse and student nurse is to protect the privacy and confidentiality of patients (NMBA, 2013, p.6). Similarly, code of ethics for nurses has also outlined this nursing responsibility in their value statement 7 (NMBA, 2008, p.3). For example, Butts (2013), explained that the nurses can maintain physical privacy by draping the patient's body while providing care. Likewise, nurse and patient should discuss in a private room to maintain auditory privacy. Another duty of nurses is to keep the patient information confidential. This information can be either in written, oral or in electronic form. Other members of health team, like doctors who are directly involved in the patient care, can have access to patient data. Nurses cannot disclose the patient's information to patient's families, friends or third party without patient consent. However, if a patient's right and safety are jeopardized, then to protect patient, the confidential information can be disclosed. But when a nurse acts outside the code of professional conduct a nurse is held accountable by law. Therefore, in order to protect nurses and nursing students from ethical issues,
The Nurse Practice Act or NPA was created to not only protect nurses during their practice, but the public as well. According to American Nurses Association (2012) "Acts are intended to protect patients from harm as a result of unsafe or incompetent practice, or unqualified nurses" (para. 4). These set rules and regulations are in place to allow safe and efficient nursing practice in any setting.
The healthcare system is very complex, and the nurses should be aware of all the policies, laws, ethics, and available sources to provide quality care to all patients. The following case study will explore some of the decision-making processes the nurses consider while caring for their patients to keep high standards of care.
The Nurse Practice Act defines the process of Delegation as Authorizing an unlicensed person to provide nursing services while retaining accountability for how the unlicensed person performs the task. It does not include situations in which an unlicensed person is directly assisting a RN by carrying out nursing tasks in the presence of a RN (Texas Board of Nursing). The nurse must consider patient safety as priority while assigning task to LPN/ Unlicensed Nursing Assistant. The five rights of delegation that is right task, the right person, the right circumstances, the right directions and communication by RN and right supervision by RN can help guide Registered Nurse in assigning patient care to LNP and UNP. The Registered Nurse must also
According to American Nurses Association (ANA), (2010) “the nurse promotes, advocates for and strives to protect the heath, safety and right of the patient” (p. 6). Nursing responsibilities should be acted at the highest standard and must be based on legal and ethical obligations.
Nurses have many different roles which include promoting health, preventing illness, and the daily care of patients in all different kinds of settings. It is important for nurses to treat the whole patient and address not only the acute concern but all factors that contribute to the patients’ health and well-being. We are each responsible for our health, and it is the role of the nurse to help their patients be accountable for their health. Nurses have also to ensure
Unprofessional Conduct according to the Arkansas State Board of Nursing is detailed in ASBN Rules and Regulations, Chapter 7, Section XV, #6. The section states the following conduct are considered unprofessional. Failing to assess, evaluate, and intervene, Incorrect documentation, Missappropriation of residents property, Medication and Treatment errors, Performing or attempting to perform procedures that the nurse is untrained to do, Violating confidentiality. Neglect/Abuse or failure to report these incidents, Failing to report violations or attempted violations to the ASBN, Inappropriate delegation of duties, Failing to supervise, Practicing when unfit.
is the duty to do no harm. The nurse first needs to ask him or herself what
A patient falls. A nurse administers the wrong medication. A routine procedure goes horribly wrong. A client dies unexpectedly. These are all examples of unfortunate, but nonetheless real situations within the nursing profession. Sometimes it is a set of unfortunate circumstances for which health care workers are not at fault, while at other times it may well be that law, legislation, or professional standards have been breached possibly even leading to an accusation of civil or criminal negligence.
In health care, safety does not only pertain to the patient, but to all of the staff as well. Although this is important, it is critical that nurses are safe, since they usually interact with the patients the most. If a nurse does not follow correct safety and health practices, they may cause harm to the patient, which may end up in a lawsuit if the damage is bad enough. If safety measures are followed and nothing wrong happens, this saves the facility money and it could possibly gain money if the patients refer the facility to other potential customers. Every facility should have a policy pertaining to safety measures, and it should be reviewed as needed. One thing that nurses will need to know is how to properly use lifts and