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Legal Limits of Nursing include:
Sources of law: Legal guidelines that come from statutory, regulatory, and common law
Standards of care: Legal guidelines for defining nursing practice and identifying the minimum acceptable nursing care
Federal Statutory Issues in Nursing Practice
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State Statutory Issues in Nursing Practice include:
- 1. Licensure
- 2. Good Samaritan laws
- 3. Public health laws
- 4. The Uniform Determination of Death Act
- 5. Physician-assisted suicide
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Civil and Common Law Issues in Nursing Practice include:
- 1. Torts
- 2. Intentional
- 3. Quasi-intentional
- 4. Unintentional
- 5. Consent
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Intentional
Assault, battery, false imprisonment
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Define Quasi-intentional
Invasion of privacy, malice, slander, libel
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Define Unintentional
Negligence, malpractice
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Consent
- 1. A signed form required for all routine treatment, hazardous procedures, and some other treatments.
- 2. Provisions are made for deaf, illiterate, or foreign language clients
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1973 Roe vs Wade
U.S Supreme Court ruled that there is a fundamental right to privacy, which includes a woman's right to have an abortion.
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1989 Webster vs Reproductive Health Services
Some states require viability tests if the fetus is more than 28 weeks' gestational age.
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Nursing Student expectations under the law
- 1. You are liable if your actions cause harm to clients, as is your instructor, hospital, and college/university.
- 2. You are expected to perform as a professional when rendering care.
- 3. You must separate your student nurse role from your work as a CNA .
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Malpractice insurance:
- 1. A contract between the nurse and the insurance company
- 2. Provides a defense when a nurse is in a lawsuit involving negligence or malpractice insurance
- 3. Nurses covered by institution's insurance while working
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Short Staffing:
Legal problems occur if there are inadequate nurses to provide care
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Floating:
based on census load and client acuities
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Physician's orders
Nurses follow orders unless they believe an order is in error or harmful
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Risk Management
A system of ensuring appropriate nursing care that attempts to identify potential hazards and eliminate them before harm occurs.
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Steps involved in risk management:
- 1. Identify possible risks
- 2. Analyze risks
- 3. Act to reduce risks
- 4. Evaluate steps taken
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