Nursing Malpractice
Nursing malpractice can be defined as negligence on the part of nurses which brings physical or emotional damage to the patient under their care.
This includes mistakes while assisting in the delivery of a child, failures with medications, or causing any loss and/or injury by not working well.
Below are key elements of a nursing malpractice case that should always be taken in mind: 1.
Standard of care.
Basically, standard of care is the nurturing and concerned behavior of a careful or prudent health care specialist that they provide in all circumstances.
Nurse Practice Acts, State Boards of Nursing, and Nursing Departments generally have made policies and procedures regarding standards of care that guide nurses and ancillary staff in almost all patient care situations they may face.
Standard of care can help the nurses prevent making fatal mistakes such as: 1.
Failure to assess patient's condition such as blood pressure, vital signs, or blood glucose levels on time 2.
Inability to take proper action or notify physicians when there are significant changes in the patient's condition 3.
Commitment of medication and/or documentation errors 4.
Misusing a medical device or gadget 5.
Failure to perform a procedure Proper demonstration of standards of care means absence of malpractice in the work place.
2.
Duties and responsibilities.
Once a nurse accepts assignments, whether they are reports to accomplish, patient care, or doctor assistance, she has already agreed to take responsibilities for those activities.
By accepting the assigned patients, for example, the nurse has assumed a duty to take care of and treat the patient with a high degree of skill, care, and diligence acquired or exercised by experienced, competent, and careful nurses.
3.
Customer concern.
All nurses should bear in mind that the patients are there because they have special needs and that they are the ones responsible in giving the patients those needs.
Nurses show love and respect as if the patients are a close relative of theirs.
Once the nurses start developing positive feelings towards their patients, the tendency is that they would treat them the way they deserve to be, and they will not be able to commit any misconduct.
This includes mistakes while assisting in the delivery of a child, failures with medications, or causing any loss and/or injury by not working well.
Below are key elements of a nursing malpractice case that should always be taken in mind: 1.
Standard of care.
Basically, standard of care is the nurturing and concerned behavior of a careful or prudent health care specialist that they provide in all circumstances.
Nurse Practice Acts, State Boards of Nursing, and Nursing Departments generally have made policies and procedures regarding standards of care that guide nurses and ancillary staff in almost all patient care situations they may face.
Standard of care can help the nurses prevent making fatal mistakes such as: 1.
Failure to assess patient's condition such as blood pressure, vital signs, or blood glucose levels on time 2.
Inability to take proper action or notify physicians when there are significant changes in the patient's condition 3.
Commitment of medication and/or documentation errors 4.
Misusing a medical device or gadget 5.
Failure to perform a procedure Proper demonstration of standards of care means absence of malpractice in the work place.
2.
Duties and responsibilities.
Once a nurse accepts assignments, whether they are reports to accomplish, patient care, or doctor assistance, she has already agreed to take responsibilities for those activities.
By accepting the assigned patients, for example, the nurse has assumed a duty to take care of and treat the patient with a high degree of skill, care, and diligence acquired or exercised by experienced, competent, and careful nurses.
3.
Customer concern.
All nurses should bear in mind that the patients are there because they have special needs and that they are the ones responsible in giving the patients those needs.
Nurses show love and respect as if the patients are a close relative of theirs.
Once the nurses start developing positive feelings towards their patients, the tendency is that they would treat them the way they deserve to be, and they will not be able to commit any misconduct.
