Whether you're a nurse who contacts a physician about a change in a patient’s condition, questions an order you think is potentially dangerous to your patient or contacts your CNO about nurse-patient ratios on your unit, you are practicing nurse advocacy.
Monitoring patients is a fundamental part of nursing practice. Improper observation of patients can result in an injury or death and can place nurses in a bad position legally.
A suspension of one’s professional nursing license is a serious discipline. Only a revocation is grimmer. Although any professional licensure discipline may present problems, a suspension raises unique complications.
A nurse quit her job after her nurse manager accused her patient care missteps. The nurse manager and CNO wanted to fire the nurse, but she resigned first because of what she described as a “hostile work environment.” She wondered if she had any legal grounds to pursue that claim.
A nurse inadvertently defaulted on her nursing student loan. Although the situation was quickly remedied, the record of her temporary suspension became public record.
The medication administration process is not to be taken lightly. It is highly structured and regulated by standards of nursing practice.
A breach of patient confidentiality can result in a lawsuit. Who is at fault -- and who isn't -- will be determined by the courts based on several factors.
Don't land in legal hot water when moonlighting
A nurse practitioner is concerned RNs and CMAs without prescriptive authority can send refill requests to the pharmacy without her final approval.
A critical care tech's job is eliminated and essentially replaced with a tech position that requires a physical agility test. Is this gender discrimination?