Nurse Malpractice May Come In Failure To Serve Or Protect

Nurse Malpractice

Brien Roche

Nurses have a duty not only to comply with the standard of reasonable care for the a patient but also have a duty to act as an advocate for the patient. Their failure to do so may bring their action within the scope of malpractice. Under the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses, the nurse is an advocate for the patient. The nurse must be alert to and take action regarding incompetent, unethical, illegal or impaired practice by any member of the health care team. Also nurses are to report changes in a patient’s condition and/or to question the orders of a doctor when they are not in accordance with standard medical practice.

Standard of Care In Nursing

The overall nursing standard of care may be established by a number of different means:

Most states have administrative codes that are called Nurse Practice Acts.

Nursing organization standards such as standards published by the Nurses Association of the American College of Obstetrician and Gynecologists.

Nursing literature. Some standard nursing textbooks are Foundations of Nursing Practice and Illustrated Manual of Nursing Practice.

Risk management publications. These publications, put out principally by the insurance industry and by hospitals may establish the standard of care.

Finally hospital policies and procedures. These need to be obtained in the early course of discovery if litigation is initiated.