“The definition of a health professional is a person who works to protect and improve people’s health by the diagnosis and treatment of illness to bring about a complete recovery from mental, physical and social perspectives, either directly or indirectly (Kurban, 2010, pg. 760).” Nurses in the community today have acquired an increasing responsibility to intervene with medical decisions. In the past, there were clear differences between nurses and doctors. It was more common for a nurse to be supervised directly under the physician. They are not just performing Doctor’s orders anymore. The nurse role in patient care has been widely expanded. Allegations against someone can be one of the most stressful moments of their careers. Negligence is a defined understanding in nursing to help understand the roles and rules provided, as well as what can be interpreted as negligence.
According to Mark Cornock (2011) article "The legal definitions of responsibility, accountability and responsibility" cannot be held responsible if someone explains how to implement an action and not allow them to decide. To be responsible, one must have authority over the task or role (p. 26). The records must confirm that the nurse has failed to fulfill his or her duties with the patient. For example, if the nurse not to give oxygen to a patient in respiratory distress, or administered a drug based on their condition and the patient dies, the nurse could be found negligent.
With technological progress, the nurse may encounter problems during his or her career careless application of invasive procedures is increasing. Many hospitals and clinics around the country, nurses are often performing important functions, such as physical examination, diagnosis and tre...
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...f Responsibility, Accountability and Liability.
Nursing Children & Young People, 23(3), 25-26. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Cornock, M. (2011). Liability and Collaborative Working. Nursing Children & Young
People, 23(4), 20-21. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Eisenberg S. Protect Yourself From Nursing Negligence or Malpractice. ONS Connect
[Serial online]. April 2010; 25(4): 25. Available from: Academic Search Premier Ipswich, MA. Accessed October 10, 2011.
Hall J. Understanding the Fine Line between Law and Ethics. Nursing [serial online].
October 1990; 20(10): 34-40. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed October 10, 2011.
Kurban, N., Savas, H., Çetinkaya, B., Turan, T., & Kartal, A. (2010). Evaluation of
Nursing Students’ Training in Medical Law. Nursing Ethics, 17(6), 759-768. Doi: 10.1177/0969733010378931
This case study examines a case of an LPN who became ill while about halfway through her shift and chose to go home. This LPN was assigned to care for five patients in an obstetrical ward, four of which were considered stable. The fifth patient was awaiting an obstetrical consultation when the LPN became ill and vomited. At this time, she notified the other nurses and, subsequently, the charge nurse that she needed to leave due to illness. The charge nurse instructed her to notify her supervisor prior to leaving the facility; however, the LPN chose not to do so and went home. Her reasoning in not notifying her supervisor as she was instructed was that she feared that the supervisor would ask her to go to the emergency room for care. The LPN testified that she did not want to pay for an emergency visit and that she intended to make an appointment with her family doctor early that same day. The facility terminated the LPN’s contract and also reported her to the state board of nursing for patient abandonment. As a judgment, the board of nursing suspended here nursing license pending a psychological examination and fined her $1000 for abandoning her patients. In this paper, we will examine the viewpoints of the LPN, the charge nurse, and the nursing supervisor as they relate to the Nurse Practice Act and the board of nursing.
Ed. Ed. Judith A. Stanford, Ph.D. Mountain View, California: Mayfield Publishing Co., 1996. 1212-1213. The.
...is causes injury or not is an example of unsafe practice. This act could also be categorized as careless or repetitive conducts that puts a patient in danger. Drug diversion is a type of drug dealing, nurses have access to many drugs and it is a part of the nurses’ responsibility to ensure those drugs go where they should, precisely document and closely supervised. Criminal conduct can happen in the work place or on personal time. If a nurse is convicted of a crime, such as Driving While Intoxicated, it could affect their ability to practice nursing. It is out of a RNs legal scope of practice to medically diagnose any patient, order a medical treatment or conduct a medical treatment that has not been ordered by a physician. It is the nurse’s duty to their patient’s to exhibit sound clinical judgment, with in their scope of practice to ensure patient safety.
Through centuries nurses were given the title “Caregivers”. Unlike some doctors, nurses actually care for their patients, not necessarily saying doctors do not; they both just have a different way of caring. Yes, doctors cure illnesses, but nurses are just as important because they help with the healing process. Most nurses can have the same exact education or knowledge as a medical physician but the only thing individuals see is a name tag with either the acronym CNA, LPN, R.N. and PH.D. Of course PH.D will get all the credit, seeing as how nurses do not exactly diagnose patients. A nurse could just become a doctor but there are different aspects of each title. Nurses take instructions from a higher administrator, which is sometimes a doctor. What needs to be known is doctors are not the only ones that stress and have rules to abide by. Nurses have ethical codes, daily ethical dilemmas, morals, and ridiculous distress, but some of these examples differ with country, state, and hospital. If nurses are capable, then they should be given the opportunity to make medical decisions or diagnosis in critical situations.
...ct. Indiana University South Bend Undergraduate Research Journal. (2002): n. pag. Web. 25 November 2013.
In this essay the author will rationalize the relevance of professional, ethical and legal regulations in the practice of nursing. The author will discuss and analyze the chosen scenario and critically review the action taken in the expense of the patient and the care workers. In addition, the author will also evaluates the strength and limitations of the scenario in a broader issue with reasonable judgement supported by theories and principles of ethical and legal standards.
Safety is focused on reducing the chance of harm to staff and patients. The 2016 National Patient Safety Goals for Hospitals includes criteria such as using two forms of identification when caring for a patient to ensure the right patient is being treated, proper hand washing techniques to prevent nosocomial infections and reporting critical information promptly (Joint Commission, 2015). It is important that nurses follow standards and protocols intending to patients to decrease adverse
...s of accountability all speak to what is expected of a nurse when it comes to their responsibility for actions taken. Not only must the nurse admit to wrong doing, but they must take responsibility for their wrong doing. This responsibility could involve many different forms from lawsuits to write-ups to terminations. What is important about this section, is that it specifies that the nurse must own up to their actions and take responsibility for what they have done, even if they did not mean to hurt anyone. Being accountable for their action, can be hard to do. Having a consequence put onto you when there could be a million reasons why the action happened to begin with, is difficult to swallow. This dilemma goes back to ethics. Realizing morally, that you must be accountable and take responsibility for the action, no matter the circumstance surrounding it.
Negligence, as defined in Pearson’s Business Law in Canada, is an unintentional careless act or omission that causes injury to another. Negligence consists of four parts, of which the plaintiff has to prove to be able to have a successful lawsuit and potentially obtain compensation. First there is a duty of care: Who is one responsible for? Secondly there is breach of standard of care: What did the defendant do that was careless? Thirdly there is causation: Did the alleged careless act actually cause the harm? Fourthly there is damage: Did the plaintiff suffer a compensable type of harm as a result of the alleged negligent act? Therefore, the cause of action for Helen Happy’s lawsuit will be negligence, and she will be suing the warden of the Peace River Correctional Centre, attributable to vicarious liability. As well as, there will be a partial defense (shared blame) between the warden and the two employees, Ike Inkster and Melvin Melrose; whom where driving the standard Correction’s van.
Stephen Greenblatt, 9th ed., vol. 1, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, NY, 2012, pp.
Q.3 Nurses as part of regulated health care practitioners are responsible and accountable to abide by the standards, codes and guidelines of nursing practice (NMBA, 2016). The nurse in the case study has breached the standard 1.4 of the Registered Nurse Standards for Practice. According to standard 1.4, the registered nurse should comply with "legislation, regulation, policies, guidelines and other standards or requirements relevant to the context of practice” when making decisions because this will be the foundation of the nurse in delivering high quality services (NMBA, 2016). The nurse in the scenario did not follow the hospital policy concerning “Between the Flags” or “red zone” and a doctor should be notified of this condition. Furthermore, the nurse failed to effectively respond to a deteriorating patient.
56, No. 3 (1989), pp. 543-569. The Johns Hopkins University Press. JSTOR. Web. 24 April 2014.
New York: Pearson; Longman Publishing, 2007. 1212-1280. Print. The. Gioia, Dana, and X.J. Kennedy.
is the duty to do no harm. The nurse first needs to ask him or herself what
In conclusion, there are numerous legal and ethical issues apparent in the nursing practice. Nurses should study and be as informed as they can with ethics and legality within their field in order to ensure no mistakes occur. Ethical issues vary based on patient’s views, religion, and environment. Nurses are influenced by these same views, but most of the time they are not the same as the patients. As a nurse we must learn to put the care of our patients and their beliefs, rights, and wishes before our own personal