1Legal and Ethical Issues
Legal – think in terms of MUST, WILL, SHALL
oThese are absolutes
Ethical – think in terms of MAY, SHOULD
oThese are beliefs about appropriate behavior in a societal context
NPA (the Nurse Practitioner Association) – State law that outlines scope of practice and
responsibilities of RN
Malpractice: Malpractice – failure of a professional to meet standard of conduct
(reasonable and prudent standards) – UNINTENTIONAL
Negligence: reckless disregard for safety or the well-being (life) of someone else
oCriminal negligence – when the disregard for the patient’s safety is such that
death is likely
oGross negligence – extreme negligence that shows a willful and reckless
disregard for a patient
Nursing malpractice: nurse fails to competently perform legal duties, that failure results
in harm
Accountability: “answerable to oneself and others for one's own actions”
What happens if you break a law?
oPenalties that may be imposed:
Issuing a formal reprimand
Establishing a period of probation
Levying fines
Limiting, suspending, or revoking the nurse’s license
Negligence: failure to act in a reasonable and prudent manner
Malpractice: special type of negligence; that is, the failure of a professional, a person
with specialized education and training, to act in a reasonable and prudent manner
Negligence and Malpractice
oFailure to ensure patient safety
oImproper treatment or poor performance of treatment
oFailure to monitor patient and report significant findings
oMedication errors
oFailure to follow agency’s policies and procedures
Sentinel Event
oUnintentional adverse outcome which results in death, paralysis, coma, or other
major permanent loss of function
Wrong surgery site
Suicide by patient in facility
Fall resulting in death
Accountability
oFacilities must have a process in place to disclose unanticipated outcomes to
patients.
oWhen errors occur in practice, studies confirm that telling the patient and
family about the mistake results in less severe ramifications for clinicians and
facilities
oApologies matter
Liability
oAsserts that every person is responsible for the wrong or injury done to another as
the result of carelessness
oPersonal liability
Requires nurse to assume responsibility for patient harm or injury that is a
result of negligent acts
Nurse cannot be relieved of liability by another professional, such as a
