Duty to the Patient: A Crucial Element in any Malpractice Case

It’s frightening to be named in a malpractice lawsuit, or even simply to be asked to provide a deposition in a case in which you personally have not been charged. When things go wrong at work, the possibility of legal action adds to the upset a nurse may already feel about a patient’s injury or death.

A primer on the basics of malpractice.

In “The Elements of a Nursing Malpractice Case: Duty” in this month’s AJN, nurse and attorney Edie Brous provides readers with the first of a four-part “primer” that delves into the basics of malpractice.

What exactly is duty to a patient?

In every malpractice case, the plaintiff is required to prove four “elements” in order to win:

  • that the nurse or physician named in the suit had a duty to the patient;
  • that this duty was breached (that is, not fulfilled);
  • that the patient was actually harmed in some way;
  • and that the breach of duty was the direct cause of harm to the patient.

[…]

2019-07-22T09:36:11-04:00July 22nd, 2019|career, Nursing|0 Comments
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A Detailed Look for New Nurses at What Happens During a Code

Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / The New York Times / Redux.

There’s an article in the July issue that I highly recommend to all new graduate RNs—or to anyone who is returning to acute care. The article, one of the offerings in our Transition to Practice column, which is geared to new nurses, is “Surviving Your First Code.” It offers a detailed look at what happens during a code and the various responsibilities of the resuscitation team.

You never forget your first code.

I clearly remember my first code—and I bet every nurse does as well. I had seen cardiac arrests before, but that was when I was a nurse’s aide and my job during a code was essentially to get out of the way. It’s very different when you are a nurse and play a role.

It was my fourth day as a new graduate nurse working in the ED. We heard the sirens coming from a long way off. When the ambulance arrived, the stretcher came crashing through the ED doors with the paramedics yelling that the patient had just arrested as they arrived.

My role that day was to be the crash cart nurse, so I put myself in front […]

2019-07-18T07:54:28-04:00July 18th, 2019|new nurses, Nursing|0 Comments
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‘Batman Has No Superpowers’: Inspiring Nurses as Leaders and Healers

“Leadership is about inviting people on a mission to do something extraordinary together.”

by Augustin Ruiz, via Flickr

This year’s Quality and Innovations Conference, presented by the American Nurses Association in April, included an offbeat presentation on ‘Superhero Leadership: How Everyday People Can Have an Extraordinary Impact.’ At this opening session, filmmaker Brett Culp shared a short film, stories, and advice, offering a perspective on leadership that managed to be both inspiring and poignant.

Using everyday skills as forces for good.

Culp may be best known for his 2013 documentary, Legends of the Knight (www.WeAreBatman.com), in which he relates the true stories of children and adults “who were inspired to become real-life heroes because of their love of Batman.” Batman has no superpowers, and therefore he can inspire others to use their own everyday skills and strengths as forces for good. The filmmaker suggests that nurses, too, should “embrace [our] inner superhero” when needed.

Culp emphasized that in his many travels he has seen that “the world is filled with good people,” and that most people want to make a difference at work and for their communities.

Leaders ‘hold space’ for what could be.

Culp believes that a pivotal role in the process of change is the person who steps up first, “creating space” for others to join them in their efforts.

This is a central job of leaders, he says—to […]

2019-08-01T09:56:36-04:00July 5th, 2019|career, Nursing|0 Comments
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Mild Cognitive Decline or Physical Limitations: What’s a Nurse to Do?

Noticing small changes in what’s possible.

I worked for many years in infection prevention and control, and loved it. Still do. But I loved bedside work too, and it was always in the back of my mind that I might one day return to staff work. That is, until I took care of a family member during the last year of his life.

While I think I provided him with reasonably good care—let’s not get into the emotional connection that made me a less objective caregiver than were his fantastic CNAs—there was no fooling myself any longer. After years away from the bedside, my assessment skills have slipped. I’m not used to working while wearing glasses (without which I can’t read labels or check for reddened skin or cloudy urine). And arthritis in my wrists meant that those bed-to-walker transfers were not optimally safe.

What about multitasking, 12-hour shifts?

My difficulty in providing physical care made me wonder whether my cognitive skills, too, might not be up to managing the pace and pressure of floor work today. I may still be good at supporting and teaching, but can I multitask through 12 hours of nonstop problem-solving and decision-making?

In “When Is It Time to Leave Nursing?” in this month’s AJN, nurse Janet Blake […]

2019-05-21T12:18:44-04:00May 21st, 2019|career, Nursing|0 Comments
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One in 4 Million: The Nurse Who Mentored Me

Hostility among nurses is a well-documented topic of discussion, a phenomenon studied by both academics and hospital administrators wanting to create functional teams. Perhaps the remedy for healthy nurse–coworker relationships isn’t found by studying dysfunctional relationships but by observing the successful ones.

I was lucky to have one.

I excelled as a student, even with balancing the role of nursing student with the role of mother to a preschool-aged daughter.

However, academic success and my talent for multitasking did not prepare me for the reality shock of a new-grad nurse.

Thrown into the deep end.

There was a nursing shortage. I was hired to a pediatric unit before graduation, skipping the two years of adult medical-surgical nursing before entering a specialty that was customary for new grads at the time. I began my first job, pending successfully passing state boards, with an interim permit.

It was an era before nurse residencies or comprehensive orientations. My orientation consisted of accompanying a day shift nurse while she managed her patients.

After two weeks, I began night shift on a 30-bed pediatric unit during the height of the respiratory infection season.

Night shifts were staffed with up to three RNs, overseeing certified nursing assistants. Often the CNAs came from agencies, possessing varying amounts of skill. As a new grad overseeing […]

2019-05-08T08:44:03-04:00May 8th, 2019|career, Nursing, nursing career|1 Comment
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Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted. They do not necessarily reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
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