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54 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Accountability
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Being responsible for one's actions; a sense of duty in performing nursing tasks and activities.
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Advance directives
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Written or verbal instructions created by the patient describing specific wishes about medical care in the even he or she becomes incapacitated or incompetent. Examples include wills and durable powers of attorney.
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Adverse event
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An injury caused by medical management rather than the patient's underlying condition. An adverse event attributable to error is a preventable adverse event.
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Case law
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Body of written opinions created by judges in federal and state appellate cases; also known as judge-made or common law.
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Civil law
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A category of law (tort law) that deals with conduct considered unacceptable. It is based on societal expectations regarding interpersonal conduct. common causes of civil litigation include professional malpractice, negligence, and assault and battery.
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Common law
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Law that is created through the decision of judges as opposed to laws enacted by legislative bodies (i.e. Congress).
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Comparative negligence
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A type of liability in which damages may be opportioned among 2 or more defendants in a malpractice case. The extent of liability depends on the defendant's relative contributon to the patient's injury.
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criminal negligence
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Negligence that indicated "reckless and wanton" disregard for the safety, well-being, or life of an individual; behavior that demonstrates a complete disregard for another, such that death is likely.
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Damages
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Monetary compensation the court orders paid to a person who has sustained a loss or injury to his or her person or property through the misconduct (intentional or unintentional) of another.
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Defendant
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The individual who is named in a person's (plantiff's) compllaint as responsible for an injury; the person who the plantiff claims committed a negligent act or malpractice.
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Disclosure
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A process in which the patient's primary provider (physician or advanced practice nurse) gives the patient, and when applicable, family members complete information about unanticipated adverse outcomes of treatment and care.
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Durable power of attorney for health care
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An instrument that authorizes another person to act as one's agent in decisions regarding health care if the person becomes incompetent to make his or her own decisions.
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Error
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A failure of a planned action to be completed as intended or the use of a wrong plan to achieve a specific aim.
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Immunity
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Legal doctrine by which a person is protected from a lawsuit for negligent acts or an institution is protected from a suit for the negligent acts of its employees.
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Liability
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Being legally responsible for harm caused to another person or property as a result of one's actions; compensation for harm normally is paid in monetary damages.
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Licensing laws
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Laws that establish the qualifications for obtaining and maintaing a license to perform particular services. Persons and institutions may be required to obtain a license to provide particular health care services.
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Malpractice
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Failure of a professional to meet the standard of conduct that a reasonable and prudent member of his or her profession would exercise in similar circumstances that results in harm. The professional's misconduct is unintentional.
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Negligence
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Failure to act in a manner than an ordinary, prudent person (either lay person or professional) would act in similar circumstances, resulting in harm. The failure to act in a reasonable and prudent manner is unintentional.
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Plantiff
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The complaining person in a lawsuit; the person who claims he or she was injured by the acts of another.
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Res ipsa loquitur
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Legal doctine applicable to cases in which the provider (i.e. the physician) had exclusive control of events that resulted in the patient's injury; the injury would not have occurred ordinarily without a negligent act; derived from a Latin phrase meaning "the thing speaks for itself".
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Respondent superior
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Legal doctrine that holds an employer indirectly responsible for the negligent acts of employees carried out withing the scope of employment; derived from a Latin phrase meaning "Let the master answer."
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Risk management
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Process of identifying, analyzing, and controlling risks posed to patients; involves human factor and incident analysis, changes in systems operations, and loss control and prevention.
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Sentinel event
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As defined by The Joint Commission, an unintended adverse outcome tht results in death, paralysis, coma, or other major permanent loss of function. Examples of sentinel events include patient suicide while in a licensed health care facility, surgical procedure on the wrong organ or body side, or a patient fall.
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Standard of care
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In civil cases, the legal criteria against which the nurse's (and physician's) conduct is compared to determine whether a negligent act or malpractice occurred; commonly defined as the knowledge and skill thaqt an ordinary, reasonably prudent person would possess and exercise in the same or similar circumstances.
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Statute or statutory law
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Law enacted by a legislative body; seperate from judge-made or common law.
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Tort
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Civil wrong or injury committed by one person against another person or a property. There are types of torts - intentional and unintentional.
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Vicarious liability
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Legal doctrine in which a person or institution is liable for the negligent acts of another because of a special relationship between the two parties; a substituted liability.
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Two major sources of law
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Statutory law
Common law |
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Is ignorance of the law a defense when the nurse violates a health care statute?
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No, never
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Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Law (EMTALA)
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Federal statute, often referred to as the "antidumping" law, prohibits the refusal of care for indigent and uninsured patients seeking medical assistance in the ER. Also prohibits the transfer of unstable patients, including women in labor, from one facility to another. "All persons presenting for care must receive the same medical screening examination and be stabilized, regardless of their financial status or insurance coverage, before discharge or transfer."
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Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
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Federal statute, intent is to end discrimination against qualified persons with disabilities by removing barriers that prevent them from enjoying the same opportunities available to persons without disabilities.
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Patient Self-Determination Act of 1990; Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990
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Federal Statute, Medicare and Medicaid amendment intended to support individuals in expressing their preferences about medical treatment and making decisions about end-of-life care. Requires that all federally funded hospitals: 1) Inform adult patients, in writing, about their right under state law to make treatment choices. Including DNR orders.
2) Ask patients whether they either have prepared a "living will" or have executed a "durable power of attorney" for health care. |
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Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA)
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Federal statute, Ensures confidentiality of the patient's health information.
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State Nursing Practice Act (NPA)
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State law that defines the scope and limitations of professional nursing practice aimed to protect the public and make the individual nurse accountable for his or her actions.
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Penalties that licensing boards may impose for violations of the NPA include what?
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* Issuing a formal reprimand
*Establishing a period of probation *Levying fines *Limiting, suspending, or revoking the nurse's license |
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Grounds for Disciplinary Action by State Boards of Nursing
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*Practicing without a valid license
*Failure to use appropriate nursing judgment *Guilty of a felony *Falsification of records *Failure to complete nursing documentation *Incorrect nursing documentation *Failure to practice in accordance with nursing standards *Inappropriate behavior or occurrence at work *Medicare fraud *Misappropriation of personal items |
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Specific problems that are required by law to be reported
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*Infant and child abuse
*Dependent elder abuse *Specified communicable diseases (e.g., bubonic plague) |
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Nurse's affirmative duty
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The duty to prevent harm
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Misdemeanor offenses that nurses are commonly charged with
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*Illegal practice of medicine
*Failing to report child or elder abuse *Falsifiction of the patient's medical record *Assault and bettery and physical abuse of patient's |
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"right-to-die" laws
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Statutes that grant competent adults the right to refuse extraordinary medical treatment when there is no hope of recovery.
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If asked to witness a patient's living will, the nurse should refer the matter to who?
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Risk management
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A living will may be revoked under what circumstances?
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*There is evidence that the patient was not competent when the living will was executed.
*The patient's condition is not terminal *A state-imposed time for enforcement of the will has expired, and a new living will must be executed. *The patient's condition has changed substantially, and the stipulations of the will no longer apply |
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DRN orders would be written by who?
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Physician, based on written medical directives dictated by the patient.
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A living will or DNR order may be revoked when?
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At any time
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Informed Consent states that in the case of both routine and specialized care, the primary provider must disclose what?
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*Nature of the therapy or procedure
*Expected benefits and outcomes of the therapy or procedure *Potential risks of the therapy or procedure *Alternative therapies to the intended procedure and their risks and benefits *Risks of not having the procedure. |
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Can RN's provide disclosure for informed consent?
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No, rests with the provider.
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May a minor consent to testing and treament for sexually transmitted diseases?
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Yes, except HIV testing and treatment
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If a patient under the nurse's care refuses treatment, who does the nurse notify?
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Primary provider
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Against Medical Advice (AMA) Form
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Patients are asked to sign the AMA form when they decide to refuse or discontinue ordered therapy or intend to leave the facility.
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What are the goals when restraints are clinically indicated?
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*Use the least restrictive restraint *Only when all other strategies to ensure patient safety have been exhausted.
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Knowledge of laws that regulate and affect nursing pracice is needed for what two reasons?
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1)To ensure that the nurse's decisions and actions are consistent with current legal principles.
2)To protect the nurse from liability. |
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Law
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the sum total of rules and regulations by which a society is governed. Created by people and exists to regulate all persons.
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Functions of the law in nursing
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*Provides a framework for establishing which nursing actions in the care of clients are legal.
*differentiates the nurse's responsibilities from those of other health professionals *helps establish the boundaries of independent nursing action *assists in maintaing a standard of nursing practice by making nurses accountable under the law |
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Constitutional Law
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supreme law of the country
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