I received an interesting email from a nurse who recently graduated from her nursing education program but who was not permitted to sit for the NCLEX unless she agreed to be reprimanded for a DUI from 11 years ago. She did pas Read More

Keep a copy of nurse personnel record Readers often ask how to obtain a copy of the personnel record kept by their employer. Because the ability to do this varies from state to state, it is always a good idea to have a copy of Read More

A reader asked about my blog on March 22, 2017, “Can an RN sue her nurse manager for defamation,” in which I wrote about filing a grievance using the employer’s policy. The reader wanted more general information about g Read More

A reader asked about a situation in which an African-American patient wanted only African-American nurses to care for her. The employer went along with this request. Nursing staff of other races were hindered in their ability to c Read More

Readers have submitted many questions about nursing boards’ decisions concerning the discipline of nurses for violations of their state nurse practice act and/or their rules. In the following case (Holmes v. Louisiana State Read More

Nurse sees bruises, suspects child abuse I ran across an online article from a newspaper in Alaska that told a true story about a school nurse and a 7-year-old student in her school. According to the article, a nurse at the Al Read More

25 legal tools no nurse should be without Which specialty should you consider? Do you want to teach or practice? In which practice setting do you think you could best contribute your skills and expertise? As a nurse, you have cou Read More

Falsification of credentials on business cards raises red flags A reader asked about a nurse colleague who had business cards made that falsely indicated the nurse colleague had a BSN degree when she did not, nor was she enrolle Read More

Helping a troubled patient If you are an emergency nurse, you practice within the requirements of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. However, the nurse in the following case made a patient care decision that m Read More

Workers comp: What's the purpose? A reader submitted a question about her inability to resolve a three-year-old case she filed under her state’s workers’ compensation statute. Nothing seems to be progressing and she believes Read More

Details of the defamation claim A reader asked if she could sue her nurse manager over false oral statements about her nursing care that resulted in a transfer to another unit and a four-week leave of absence cause by the stress Read More

Working long hours and short staffing have been identified as two problems for nurses for some time When you work long hours, whether voluntarily or out of staff number necessity, you are not functioning at your best. Short staff Read More

Those of you who work as an agency nurse know all too well the ins and outs of that role. Some of you may work at a particular facility on a particular unit for weeks or months at a time. In contrast, some of you may work at a dif Read More

Nurses always focus on patients, their families and their communities while forgetting what they need to do to stay healthy. 2017 has been declared the Year of the Health Nurse by the American Nurses Association. On its website, t Read More

A reader submitted a question about using her experience with electronic health records, her clinical practice and her background in risk management to develop a niche focusing on EHRs and the legal issues therein to improve patie Read More

In a reported case out of California, a 33-year-old male presented at his hospital’s ED with severe abdominal pain. He was diagnosed with appendicitis and admitted for an appendectomy. During the first postsurgical hour, IV Deme Read More

Being under treatment at any time can be a difficult, stressful and depressing experience for a patient. No one likes to feel ill, to undergo surgery or to need medication. These situations take on even more of a burden when the Read More

Some nurses may be members of a union and enjoy the benefits of that membership, including a representative to help with problems regarding their employer and negotiating work issues and benefits, including staffing, time off a Read More

In today's world, we are much more aware of instances of bullying, harassment, intimidation and threats, and there's no doubt that good interpersonal skills in all healthcare settings can mitigate those issues and aid surgical pa Read More

Patient safety is vital and cannot be underestimated — and neither can workplace safety for nurses. In 2013, the Bureau of Labor statistics indicated specific healthcare settings, such as hospitals and long-term care facilities, Read More

Chances are, at some point in your career you will face discord with a patient or a patient’s family. Sometimes a conflict arises over how the family member is being cared for or the patient may be anxious about the plan of car Read More

As an employee, one of the first items you should review in your employee handbook is the code of conduct for employees and its disciplinary policies and procedures. What the employer adopts as its policy for employee conduct and Read More

Travel nursing is a unique and interesting way to practice your specialty area of nursing. You're able to travel and live in different places and meet new colleagues, and you're challenged to provide nursing care in various set Read More

You may recall that I posted a blog on volunteering in March, and a blog by Keith Carlson posted on June 28 also focused on volunteering. I have received several questions about volunteering and its legal ramifications since then. Read More

I have received several comments about advance directives, including that sometimes they are not followed by hospital staff. The importance of doing so as a healthcare provider was underscored in a recent case (Doctor’s Hospital Read More

  As a student in a public nursing education program, whether a baccalaureate, master’s or doctoral course of study, you possess certain rights that are guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. You may not have thought a Read More

Many of you have asked about your duty to act in an emergency situation — for instance, when you are not at work and come upon an accident with injuries, a person who is experiencing a medical event, or perhaps even a woman in l Read More

ED practice can be a rewarding professional choice. However, it is no easy calling. It requires quick decision-making, masterful patient assessment, and capable and current skill sets. It has its challenges, too, including treatin Read More

I frequently get comments from readers who have experienced burnout in at least one of the positions they have held. Nursing staff burnout is, according to a June 16 article in Becker’s Infection Control & Clinical Quality, Read More

A nurse wrote about her situation in a physician-owned hospital where she worked in the OR for three years. One day, she was verbally berated by one of the surgeons in front of everyone in the OR and was forced to transfer to the Read More