Nursing is an important aspect in the healthcare setting. Many people picture nurses sitting by a bedside holding the hand of a patient comforting them in the time of need. In reality nurses are very busy and juggle many tasks that are could change the lives of the patients they are caring for while at work. Sometimes these tasks can distract nurses from the more vital part of their jobs, the care of the patient. When this happens negligence can occur whether it is intentional or not. A nurse that has seven patients with similar names might mistakenly give the wrong medication to the wrong patient. This is a very deadly mistake that was not necessarily done on purpose, but was the result of being very busy and not paying attention. On the other
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It is among one of the fastest growing jobs in the nation. Nursing has changed over the years, and with these changes nurses have more anxiety about their roles and responsibilities. Hospitals have developed policies on top of polices to help draw boundary lines. These policies are in place to keep employees on track, and abide by the laws that are set on the hospital. Nurses must also work within their scope of practice. This means that nurses don’t need to be diagnosing patients or interpreting x-ray films. Nurses spend years training and are well prepared for their duties, but occasionally problems arise and this is where problems happen. (Cox, 2010) Negligence is also known as a tort. It is a civil matter and would be addressed by the two parties. This means that if something happened it would not go to the criminal justice system. The only time this would change if gross negligence was involved and there was manslaughter, then it would go to the criminal justice. Negligence rides a fine line of accident and just didn’t care. This is why it should be the main goal for the nurse to keep track of their charting. This is why documentation is very important. It helps to cover the nurses when patients try to sue and they have to go to court. (Cox, …show more content…
However, it is highly important in the medical field because it can alter patient outcomes and cause death. Medication errors often happen from a lack of communication, and also can be a sign of negligence. “Poor communication accounts for more than 60% of the root causes of sentinel events reported to the Joint Commission (JC). In a 2001 case, a patient died after labetalol, hydralazine, and extended-release nifedipine were crushed and given by NG tube. (Crushing extended-release medications allows immediate absorption of the entire dosage.) As a result, the patient experienced profound bradycardia and hypotension leading to cardiac arrest. Although she was successfully resuscitated, she received the drugs the same way the next day. Clinicians had failed to communicate to other team members that her initial cardiac arrest had occurred shortly after she’d received the medications improperly.”(Consumers Union,
It is among one of the fastest growing jobs in the nation. Nursing has changed over the years, and with these changes nurses have more anxiety about their roles and responsibilities. Hospitals have developed policies on top of polices to help draw boundary lines. These policies are in place to keep employees on track, and abide by the laws that are set on the hospital. Nurses must also work within their scope of practice. This means that nurses don’t need to be diagnosing patients or interpreting x-ray films. Nurses spend years training and are well prepared for their duties, but occasionally problems arise and this is where problems happen. (Cox, 2010) Negligence is also known as a tort. It is a civil matter and would be addressed by the two parties. This means that if something happened it would not go to the criminal justice system. The only time this would change if gross negligence was involved and there was manslaughter, then it would go to the criminal justice. Negligence rides a fine line of accident and just didn’t care. This is why it should be the main goal for the nurse to keep track of their charting. This is why documentation is very important. It helps to cover the nurses when patients try to sue and they have to go to court. (Cox, …show more content…
However, it is highly important in the medical field because it can alter patient outcomes and cause death. Medication errors often happen from a lack of communication, and also can be a sign of negligence. “Poor communication accounts for more than 60% of the root causes of sentinel events reported to the Joint Commission (JC). In a 2001 case, a patient died after labetalol, hydralazine, and extended-release nifedipine were crushed and given by NG tube. (Crushing extended-release medications allows immediate absorption of the entire dosage.) As a result, the patient experienced profound bradycardia and hypotension leading to cardiac arrest. Although she was successfully resuscitated, she received the drugs the same way the next day. Clinicians had failed to communicate to other team members that her initial cardiac arrest had occurred shortly after she’d received the medications improperly.”(Consumers Union,