Nursing 108

N108: Transition to the Registered Professional Nurse Role Study Guide • False imprisonment: This is restraining without authority to do so, or making a person stay in a place against his wishes, which is a crime. Patients who are a danger to themselves or others may be restrained for their own safety. It is important to follow the policies of the facility regarding restraining to protect a patient and to assist staff in functioning within the legal limits. Restraints can be either physical (vests, wrist restraints, etc.) or medical (administration of medication). • Abandonment: This refers to the abandoning of the nurse’s duty to the patient. Leaving the patient without care can be considered either negligence or an intentional tort. An individual state may not have a written law that dictates that a nurse cannot leave a seriously ill patient without ensuring that someone else will provide care, but common practice and custom require that nurses do not abandon their patients. • Breach of duty: This is a failure to perform an act required by law or the performance of an act in an unlawful way. The person must be found to have failed to fulfill his or her responsibility; it is also referred to as failing to act as a reasonably prudent person. • Respondeat superior: This is a Latin legal term that literally means “superior responds.” This means that if an employee commits negligence, the organization is liable for the employee’s act as well. All of these are the result of failure to practice nursing as a reasonable and prudent nurse. The standard of care is what a “reasonable and prudent nurse” would do in a similar situation. Liability can be avoided by adhering to good standards of nursing practice. Those standards are how the court would judge the nurse’s actions in a liability suit. These standards can be established using standards of practice written by the ANA or The Joint Commission. Standards may also be defined using agency policy and procedure, as well as by specialty organization guidelines, definitions, regulations in nurse licensure laws, nursing journals, and texts. Reducing Nursing Liability • Make a favorable first impression • Know your patient • Be aware of your own strengths and weaknesses • Delegate carefully and appropriately • Carry out orders cautiously • Administer drugs carefully • Maintain rapport with the client • Think before you speak • Document care accurately • Exercise caution when assisting in procedures • Document the use of restraints • Take steps to prevent patient falls • Comply with laws about advanced directives • Adhere to your facility’s policies • Keep up to date in changes in policies • Provide a safe environment Clear communication is imperative in the health care environment and occurs between various individuals on a daily basis by way of verbal, non-verbal, and written communication. Effective communication between healthcare providers is extremely important to patient safety. The SBAR

©2018

Achieve

Page 73

of 172