Professional Issues in Nursing

I want to do tA nurse has the professional duty to provide proper care, treatment and comfort to the patients he cares for. Nurses have the responsibility of following code of ethics and the Nursing Practice Act. Some health care facilities have nurses that face legal issues because of lack of training, or rushed decisions. A nurse is to keep the patient's best interest in mind at all times, which will help avoid some of the professional issues that could arise potentially.



Confidentiality
1. Patients' records are to be kept confidential at all times. When a nurse accesses the patient's records, the nurse is not to discuss the patient's conditions or any other confidential information with anyone not assigned to care for the patient. A physician may have access to the records, but a nurse should not photocopy for his own personal use, or share the information with family and friends.
Professional Liaison
2. A nurse is a professional liaison between the physician and the patient. If the patient has an adverse reaction to a medical procedure or medication, it is the responsibility of the nurse to locate a physician immediately. If the nurse fails to get help, or suggest another physician to care for the patient, the nurse is violating a code of ethics, and runs the risk of facing a malpractice suit, and losing his nursing license.
Administer Medication
3. For nurses that administer medication it is imperative that they know how to administer such medication properly. Giving a patient too much or too little medication could cost the patient her life. If the nurse is unsure of how much medication to give a patient, he should consult a physician.
Trained Areas
4. No nurse should assume a role or duty that he is unfamiliar with. In emergency cases, a nurse should find the nearest physician if the physician assigned to the area is unavailable. A physician must be always on call at health care facilities. Nurses have been trained and tested to perform specific duties, not for other jobs beyond their scope of training and responsibility. If a nurse attempts to do the duty of a physician, if done right, he can save a life. However, if done wrong, a life can be lost and the nurse and the health care facility can face legal consequences.
Patient Care
5. Nurses have to provide patients with basic care, which includes personal hygiene. It is illegal for nurses to ignore or neglect a patient. Aside from taking vital signs and administering medication, the nurse also is responsible for bathing the patient and escorting the patient to the bathroom if she needs assistance. It is illegal for nurses to allow patients to have accidents on themselves because of a lack of follow-through. It could not only result in a lawsuit, but cost the nurse his professional license.
Consent Form
6. When a patient is undergoing treatment, the nurse has the responsibility to explain in detail the treatment in its entirety. If the treatment requires surgery, the nurse will need the patient or the family member to sign a consent form. The consent form is a document that acknowledges everything the nurse or physician will do, the patient is fully aware of, including all risk and side effects. If the nurse does not have the patient or family member sign the consent form, legal issues could arise after the treatment takes place, especially if the results are negative.

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Professional Issues in Nursing: Challenges & Opportunities
By Bonnie Swain Schindly, updated: April 28, 2010
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Technology and health care reform are driving changes into the nursing profession.
Nurses continue to adjust to the fast-paced changes within their profession. These challenges include increased longevity among patients, a medical technological revolution and an ongoing labor shortage. Health care reform will impact nurses as well. Leaders in the nursing field are keeping a hopeful watch as their profession evolves.
Older Population
Life expectancies have increased. The National League for Nursing reports that 20 percent of the U.S. population will be older than age 65 in the next decade and that people 85 years and older will continue to represent one of the fastest-growing age groups. This rising number of older patients places a strain on the existing nursing pool because nurses now must be prepared to deal with more chronic and acute conditions. Nurses also are handling more palliative and terminally ill cases, in addition to the changing ethical and societal perceptions of aging and dying.
Technology
Technology is another challenge that drives changes into the nursing profession. Nurses must be savvy enough to use new systems and equipment and to stay abreast of changes. Nurses now access medical records electronically, allowing medical staff and patients greater access to personalized information. Consumers expect more online services and medical transactions. Nanotechnology has revolutionized the diagnosis and treatment of many conditions. Distance learning allows nurses to undergo continuous training, including watching simulations of the latest medical innovations.
Labor Shortage
Nurses are getting older, just like their patients, and baby boomers are starting to retire. This generational exodus comes at a time when job opportunities for nurses are rapidly expanding beyond the traditional hospital and physician office settings. Their skills are in demand in nursing homes, pharmaceutical and biotechnical companies and outpatient treatment facilities, as well as in management roles. Nursing schools have intensified this nursing shortage by turning away good candidates because the educational facilities do not have adequate classroom space or faculty members. Also, nursing once focused its recruiting energies on women, who today have many more career choices beyond nursing.
New Approaches
Health care reform and stimulus packages in 2010 represented a flicker of hope for some leaders in the nursing field. More Americans will have access to medical care, which will shift greater workloads onto already busy health care workers. One caveat to maintaining quality within the industry is Congress' commitment to keeping patient ratios at manageable levels so that medical providers are not overwhelmed with too many cases. The government has channeled money to nursing schools in the late 2000s to keep up with the intense demand for nurses. Recruiting tactics focus on both men and minorities, who historically have been underrepresented in the field. Also, nurses are trying to change the perceptions of their vocation so that nursing is viewed as being a profession, not a trade.


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Legal Professional Issues in Nursing
By MatthewPetryni, updated: August 11, 2010
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Nurses have an important impact on patients' lives. Because of this responsibility, they must meet certain legal standards.
Nurses provide a critical service to society by helping to deliver quality medical care to their patients. Without nurses, many life-saving medical procedures would not be possible. Because nursing comes with tremendous responsibility, the profession has its fair share of legal and professional issues, such as the issue of state licensure, which is a process to ensure that nurses are properly qualified. Additionally, nurses must adhere to a professional standard of care. If this standard is not met or exercised, it raises the issue of professional malpractice, which can carry serious consequences.
State Licensure
Before a nurse can practice in a hospital, clinic or doctor's office, she must be licensed by the state government.
To practice, nurses must be property licensed. Nurses generally are awarded licenses by a state board of licensing or health department after completing a two or three-year degree in nursing at community college, clearing a criminal background check and passing a nursing license examination. The examination is comprehensive, testing for the knowledge and skills necessary to function as a nurse. Most states require nurses to take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), which is a national standardized test, before issuing a license. Nurses who have been licensed in one state cannot practice in another state unless they receive a license from their new state. States usually do not require a second examination to license for nurse who is already licensed in another state.
Standard of Care
All nurses are expected to adhere to a high standard of care, which is a legal term that refers to the expected procedures, tasks and risk assessment required of a nurse in their every day working environment. If a nurse fails to meet the standard of care, their actions can put patients at risk and result in the end of a nursing career. Nurses learn the standard of care during their nursing education, and supervisors or more experienced nurses typically ensure that they continue to practice at that standard. The standard is set by state nurse practice acts and professional organizations like the American Nurses Association.
Nursing Malpractice
Nursing malpractice can result in tort lawsuits from patients who have experienced harm as a result.
If a nurse fails to meet the standard of care, she is considered to have committed malpractice. The consequences for malpractice in a profession as important as nursing can be very severe. In addition to potentially harming or jeopardizing the life of a patient, nurses can lose their job for malpractice, be named in a lawsuit or even face criminal penalties. These consequences will vary, depending on local laws and the level of resulting harm. According to Nursing Link, nursing malpractice is typically divided into two categories--negligence and informed consent. Negligence occurs when a nurse exposes a patient to a level of risk not common to the procedure being performed. Obviously, all medical procedures come with risks, but it rises to negligence only in those cases when the level of risk exceeds what it would be if the procedure was performed by another nurse. Informed consent refers to the failure to notify a patient of the procedure's potential harms and benefits before performing it.

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