DISCIPLINARY ACTION
Introduction
Nursing has an important role in the delivery of healthcare today. State-mandated safe staffing levels are necessary to ensure safety for both patients and nurses, and crucial to enhancing patient care and adequate outcomes. Staffing levels continue to intensify daily especially now that the baby boomers age and the demand for healthcare services grow. This paper will discuss the legal responsibilities of both nurses and hospital administration when poor nurse to patient ratios are cause for serious medication errors. Many ethical issues arise when the dangers of understaffing cause unsafe working conditions for nurse’s and compromise the patient care they deliver. Accountability for practicing …show more content…
Patients trust that nurses consider their overall safety when making the decision whether to accept, reject, or object in writing to any patient assignment (American Nurses
Association, 2009).
Legal Responsibilities of Hospital Administration Hospital administration has a duty to act on reported violations. The hospital administration was notified by management in writing several times on multiple occasions concerning the step down unit being chronically understaffed (American Sentinel University, 2014). The hospital has the responsibility to act when risk issues are identified to minimize harm to the patient and the health care institution.
State government regulates health institutions and holds them responsible for maintaining staffing and grants them authority to directly regulate staff members practice (Guido, 2010). Some critics of safe staffing feel that mandated nurse to patient ratios burden hospitals with increased operational costs. Although research has shown safe-staffing ratios are more cost effective, lead to improvement in nurse performance, lower patient mortality rates, reduce turnover rates and staffing costs as well as liability (American Nurses Association, …show more content…
In my opinion violation of the Nurse Practice Act occurred when the nurse put the patients at risk for harm because of poor staffing ratios, and then failed to report such practice to the nursing board. According to the disciplinary board of registered nurses this warrants formal disciplinary action and is sent forward for review. If there is sufficient evidence in the case , an accusation, or legal document listing the charges is sent to the nurse. The nurse will be given the opportunity to dispute the charges at an administration hearing and a proposed decision will be written by the Administrative Court Judge and sent to the Nursing Board for consideration. Potential outcomes may include, revoking or suspension of license, accepting the surrendering of license, placing the nurses license on hold for a probation period or citing and fine the nurse (California Board of Registered Nursing, 2013). Despite the fact the hospital should have some accountability in this case; a nurse has a duty to her patients to provide a safe, risk free environment
Introduction
Nursing has an important role in the delivery of healthcare today. State-mandated safe staffing levels are necessary to ensure safety for both patients and nurses, and crucial to enhancing patient care and adequate outcomes. Staffing levels continue to intensify daily especially now that the baby boomers age and the demand for healthcare services grow. This paper will discuss the legal responsibilities of both nurses and hospital administration when poor nurse to patient ratios are cause for serious medication errors. Many ethical issues arise when the dangers of understaffing cause unsafe working conditions for nurse’s and compromise the patient care they deliver. Accountability for practicing …show more content…
Patients trust that nurses consider their overall safety when making the decision whether to accept, reject, or object in writing to any patient assignment (American Nurses
Association, 2009).
Legal Responsibilities of Hospital Administration Hospital administration has a duty to act on reported violations. The hospital administration was notified by management in writing several times on multiple occasions concerning the step down unit being chronically understaffed (American Sentinel University, 2014). The hospital has the responsibility to act when risk issues are identified to minimize harm to the patient and the health care institution.
State government regulates health institutions and holds them responsible for maintaining staffing and grants them authority to directly regulate staff members practice (Guido, 2010). Some critics of safe staffing feel that mandated nurse to patient ratios burden hospitals with increased operational costs. Although research has shown safe-staffing ratios are more cost effective, lead to improvement in nurse performance, lower patient mortality rates, reduce turnover rates and staffing costs as well as liability (American Nurses Association, …show more content…
In my opinion violation of the Nurse Practice Act occurred when the nurse put the patients at risk for harm because of poor staffing ratios, and then failed to report such practice to the nursing board. According to the disciplinary board of registered nurses this warrants formal disciplinary action and is sent forward for review. If there is sufficient evidence in the case , an accusation, or legal document listing the charges is sent to the nurse. The nurse will be given the opportunity to dispute the charges at an administration hearing and a proposed decision will be written by the Administrative Court Judge and sent to the Nursing Board for consideration. Potential outcomes may include, revoking or suspension of license, accepting the surrendering of license, placing the nurses license on hold for a probation period or citing and fine the nurse (California Board of Registered Nursing, 2013). Despite the fact the hospital should have some accountability in this case; a nurse has a duty to her patients to provide a safe, risk free environment