Nursing Liability: Questions and Answers

The first consideration a registered nurse should determine is if “The Right Task (Cherry 355-356)” is being delegated to the right staff member. Delegation to the right staff member must be in their scope of practice and have proven to competent to complete. An individuals’ scope of practice will be set forth by the facility in which they work. In addition to individual facility polices the nurse must adhere to the scope of delegation set forth in the Nurse Practice Act of Maryland. Per the Nurse Practice Act of Maryland the task to be delegated must be “within the area of responsibility of the nurse delegating the act (Code of Maryland Regulations 10.27.11.03).” An example of incorrect delegating would be having an unlicensed individual, CNA or LPN to

In a lot of people’s minds the Certified Nursing Assistant is the backbone of the facility. Employers that have good and hard-working certified nursing assistants tend to have happier residents. On top of that, it is common knowledge that if a Registered Nurse is qualified to pronounce someone dead, then he or she is more than qualified to take someone to the bathroom. At every facility there are nurses who will make the residents wait until the CNA comes to get them instead of just taking the residents themselves. Now more and more schools are requiring that student nurses have the proper training because in a lot of people’s minds the best nurses start off as CNAs. In the world of nursing, the nursing

I am a CNA, I am the person who helps your loved ones, children and maybe even yourself with everyday aspects. I am the person who helps your grandmother get ready in the morning or helps your uncle eat his lunch. I am slapped, bit and yelled at more times than not. I change diapers and clean up vomit daily. I wake up early and stay up late to help you when you whenever you need me. With all of this hard and tiring work comes the rewarding parts. I get to play card games like Go Fish and learn new ones from the residents like Bridge. I sit and talk with residents and hear their stories from when they are young. I get to soothe your premature baby and sit with her as she heals and grows until she goes home. I play board games and color with children who are suffering from chronic illness and cancer. I hold your mothers hand as I tell her it’s okay to go and that she is so loved. I am a CNA, and though I may not be for long I put my entire heart and soul into it and love every second. I have long desired for the chance to work in a medical setting and working in an assisted living home has made me realize that the job comes with so much more than the job description entails.

It is no secret that communication is key when providing direct patient care in a skilled nursing facility. However, there is a noticeable lapse in the communication between the care team when providing care to the individual or groups of individuals. Two main parts of any care team are the registered nurse and the certified nursing assistant, as these are the two people whom have the most direct and impactful roles with residents in a skilled facility. The Registered Nurse and the Certified Nursing Assistant play similar roles in providing patient care, but have different roles in its entirety. The role of the Registered Nurse (RN) is defined as having the competency and skill to provide direct and indirect health care to individuals, their families, and communities around them. Services are also provided designed to give out medications, to promote comfort or healing, promote healing, and to also provide the dignity of their patients and patient’s families (American College of Rheumatology, 2015).

A day in the life as a CNA (Certified Nurse Aide) can have its ups and its downs. As a CNA you can work in a couple different areas of the nursing field, you have options of where you want to be and you are not finite to any certain place. Most CNA’s start out working in a nursing home then exude to other places such as hospitals. As a nurse aide you have many options of being in a certain field of nursing. That is what I love about nursing; it is versatile and you can work wherever you want in the country. You can travel and see places you haven’t seen while doing what you love to do as a career.

Being a Certified Nursing Assistant each skill is valuable as the next some of the qualites that an CNA should have is excellent verbal and communications skills, Astute observation skills, ability to follow rules and protocols , Time management and organiatiol skills,Empany and compassion.

The nature of the work is very similar for the C.N.A. and L.P.N. A C.N.A. work includes performing routine tasks under the supervision of nursing staff. They answer call bells, deliver messages, serve meals, make beds, and help patients eat, dress, and bathe. Aides also provide skin care to patients, take pulse, temperature, respiration, and blood

Personal nursing philosophy is important to individualized nurses because different nurses care for different patients. Marchuk (2014) notes, “The use of a nursing philosophy as the basis for nursing practice promotes the proper application of nursing knowledge as well as the development of further nursing theory and knowledge.” Nursing philosophy is different for every kind of nurse and each individual nurse, some seek compassion and knowledge, were as other seek professionalism and dignity. All nurses are different, and this paper will be focusing on the Licensed Practical Nurse and the roles and tasks of an LPN.

When working with a Staff Nurse on something outside of my training, they will take the lead and instruct me in the task. The same can be said for when assisting doctors, physiotherapists and all other professionals. Each has their own role and it is important that they work within the

Registered nurses have several duties and responsibilities that can range depending on the organization that they work for. Registered Nurse’s may be employed in physicians' offices, schools, hospitals, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, clinics, and even in prison settings. They are responsible to provide direct care to patients that are done under the order and supervision of a licensed health professional. The licensed healthcare professionals include physicians, nurse practitioners or physician's assistants. The daily actions of an RN may include receiving a patient assignment, assessment of each patient, administering medications, attending to patient needs, facilitating patient, assisting the physician with bedside procedures, monitoring laboratory results, and monitoring for any changes in condition. While on the job they might also encounter heavy lifting of patients, exposure to bodily fluids, and large amounts of time on feet. The amounts of hours they work depend on where they work. For example, hospital-based nurses mostly work a total of 3 twelve-hour shifts per week while a office-based nurse usually works 5 days a week for a total of 40 hours.

Every medical professional has or will face some ethical and legal issues in the Medical Field, the Nurse Practitioners (NP) are no different. Fant stated that in an ethical dilemma there are no right answers or solutions; however, in these dilemmas there are no wrong answers either. Sule feels that the ethical issues for NPs are in consent and capacity, confidentiality and autonomy, and in the non-compliance on part of patient. Offredy and Townsend both feel that a breech in clinical governance and management can cause

One common mistakes exhibited by professionals in the field is delegation of duties by persons. Nurses should be wary of delegating duties to health care assistant because nurses should be aware of the abilities of the person with whom he or she is delegating duties. This is to minimize any chance of poor service delivery. Poor patient attendance by a person tasked with the duty at the time of delivery will extend the liability to the nurse delegating duties.

Certified nursing assistants are health care professional’s who are there for those who are sick or are unable to care for their self’s. CNAs are also known as orderlies, home health aids, patient care technicians, and many more. The job description that they are entitled to as a nursing assistant varies depending on the health setting that you are in. Many also have to work under the supervision of a Registered Nurse. With out the help of Certified Nursing Assistants the need for bathing, feeding, and dressing for many elderly patients could not be maintained.

Often working directly under a nurse, the Certified Nursing Assistant or CNA, is a versatile job that varies from state to state. However, one thing that always stays true is that CNA’s play an important role to the patient as they often spend the most time with them.

Based off of the LPN guidelines, all LPNs are required to follow their standards of practice, because their education has prepared them for their profession. It would be considered unprofessional to work outside their scope, for example, taking on the role of the RN when there is no RN present. LPNs must