| The commission (doing) of an act or the omission of an act that a reasonably prudent person would have performed in a similar situation, thus causing harm to another person | Negligence |
| A type of civil law that involves wrongs against a person or property; these include negligence, assault, battery, defamation, fraud, false imprisonment, and invasion of privacy | Tort |
| Malicious or untrue spoken words about another person that are brought to the attention of others | Slander |
| Failure to meet a legal duty, thus causing harm to another | Malpractice |
| A malicious or untrue writing about another person that is brought to the attention of others | Libel |
| Injury to a person's property that gives rise to a basis for a legal action against the person who caused the damage | Harm |
| Spoken or written statements made maliciously and intentionally that may injure the subjects reputation | Defamation |
| Unlawful touching of another person without informed consent | Battery |
| A legal presumption that a person who has reached the age of majority can make decisions for herself of himself unless proved otherwise (if he/she has been declared incompetent) | Competency |
| An intentional threat to cause bodily harm to another; does not have to include actual bodily contact | Assault |
| Wrongful termination of providing pt care | Abandonment of care |
| What practice is guided by a combination of legal principles, est laws, moral standards, and ethical principles | Nursing practice of LVN |
| The category of law involved in the needs of the public | Criminal Law |
| The type of law cases between individuals | Civil cases |
| Federal, State, and local gov't law | Statutory Law |
| This law evolves in response to specific legal questions that come before court and usually follows precedent(previous rulings on an issue) | Common Law |
| Professional Negligence | Malpractice |
| The elements that must be present for liability of Malpractice to be established | -Duty
-Breach
-Harm
-Proximate Cause |
| The person alleged is legally responsible | Liable |
| This relationship has a personal and legal basis: the duty to provide professional care | The nurse-patient relationship |
| One who defends or pleads a cause or issue on behalf of another. | Advocate |
| They have a legal and ethical obligation to safeguard the pt's interests | The Nurse Advocate |
| 7 Preventable Omissions in Nursing (Failures to...) | -Collaborate with other health care team mbrs
-Clarify interdisciplinary orders
-Ask for and offer assistance
-Utilize evidence-based performance
-Communicate info to pt's and families
-Limit overtime
-Adequately staff pt care units with appropriately credentialed staff |
| The laws that formally define and limit the scope of nursing practice. Each state has laws that govern the scope and practice of nursing | Nurse Practice Acts |
| List the best practices of a nurse to avoid malpractice | -Practice within the rules and regulations
-within the standards of care
-within the employing agency's policies & procedures
*Also strive to maintain a positive nurse-pt relationship |
| What has been identified as the number one leading factor in Malpractice suits against nurses? | A poor nurse-pt relationship |
| The legal exchange between indiv as opposed to legal concerns that involve a criminal matter (which would involve the state/federal gov't bringing chargers) | Civil Litigation |
| Witnesses that undergo questioning by an attorney | Deposition |
| A written question that one party sends to the other party, to which an answer is legally required | Interrogatory |
| A legal responsibility | Liability |
| Being responsible for ones own actions | Accountability |
| What are the most common areas of litigation against a nurse? (4 Performance Failures) | -standards of care
-use of equip
-documentation
-pt advocacy |
| When a nurse accepts a pt care assignment | Nurse-Patient Relationship |
| What are the common breaches of Standards of Care of nursing? | Practice, Monitoring, Communication |
| Failure to adhere to the standards of care gives rise to: | Legal Liability |
| Defines acts whose performance is required, permitted, or prohibited | Standards of Care |
| What Organization developed the Pt's Bill of Rights? | American Hospital Association (AHA) |
| What is the current name of the Pt's Bill of Rights? | The Patient Care Partnership |
| Understanding Expectations, Rights & Responsibilities | The Patient Care Partnership |
| The American Hosp Assoc (AHA) encourages health care institutions to adapt the template bill of rights to their particular environment to include: | -cultural
-religious
-linguistic
-educational backgrounds |
| What year were the Mental Health Pt's Bill of Rights and Pregnant Pt's Bill of Rights adopted into law? | 1980 |
| What is the goal of the AHA? | to promote the public's understanding of their rights and responsibilities as consumers of health care |
| An Independent accrediting agency responsible for accrediting and certifying health care organizations | The Joint Commission |
| What is the Patient Self-Determination Act? | -Institutions required to have written policies & procedures regarding advance directives
-Pt's right to accept or refuse treatment
-Pt's right to participate fully in health-care related decisions |
| When was HIPAA est? | 1996
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act |
| Health care institutions are obliged to uphold what pt's rights? | -access to health care without prejudice
-treatment with respect and dignity at all times
-privacy and confidentiality
-personal safety
-complete info about one's own condition and treatment |
| Pt's responsibility to the health care institution are? | -provide accurate information about themselves
-provide knowledge of any known conditions
-participate in decision making of treatment and care |
| Full disclosure of the facts the pt needs to make an intelligent decision before any invasive treatment or procedure if performed | Doctrine of Informed Consent |
| Minors under 18 may consent to treatment if: | -Marriage
-Leal emancipation
-Living apart from parents or guardians for 60 days and independent of parental support
-Service in the armed forces |
| A minor may consent for care of specific categories: | -STIs
-Drugs & alcohol abuse
-Sexual Assault
-Family planning |
| Consent cannot be obtained from someone who is? | Impaired or under the influence of alcohol or drugs |
| The law states that the health care professional is required to report certain information to the appropriate authorities under what circumstances? | Reporting abuse |
| The health care professional is protected from liability in reporting abuse when: | Acting in good faith to report mandated information |
| Withholding of life-saving treatment and care | Passive euthanasia & medical neglect |
| The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma | Euthanasia |
| Factors that put elders at risk for abuse? | -Declining physical health
-Declining mental ability
-Decreased strength & mobility
-Loss of independence
-Isolation
-Loss of loved ones, friends, relatives |
| The nurse-patient relationship should be based on: | trust & respect |
| What can help an LVN reduce the likelihood of a lawsuit? (3) | -following the standards of care
-following the policies & procedures of the facility
-adhering to the scope of practice |
| Values that influence a person's behavior and the indiv's feelings & beliefs about what is right or wrong | Ethics |
| What are the two basic types of Advance Directives? | Living Wills & Durable POA |
| Signed and witnessed documents that provide specific instructions for health care treatment if a person is unable to make these decisions personally at the time they are needed | Advance Directives |
| Requires health care institutions to provide written info to pt's concerning the pt's rights under state law to make decisions, including the right to refuse treatment and formulate advance directives | Patient Self-Determination Act |
| A written document that directs treatment in accordance with a pt's wishes in the event of a terminal illness or condition | A Living Will |
| A designated agent, surrogate, or proxy to make health care decisions on the pt's behalf based on the pt's wishes | A durable POA for health care |
| Personal beliefs about the worth of an object, an idea, a custom, or an attitude | Values |
| The process of self-evaluation that helps gain insight into personal values | Value Clarification |
| How to clarify values | -Select the belief or behavior and consciously examine it
-decide its value
-incorporate the value into everyday responses and behaviors |
| Situations that do not have a clear right or wrong answer | Ethical dilemmas |
| Ethical Principles for nursing (5) | -Respect for people
-Autonomy
-Beneficence
-nonmaleficence
-justice |
| To do no harm (nurse has the duty to do nothing that has a harmful effect on the pt) | Nonmaleficence |
| All pt's have the same right to nursing interventions (what is fair) | Justice |
| The nurse has an ethical duty to protect life and promote well being of all pt's (Doing good or acting for someone's good) | Beneficence |
| The nurse does not have a right to make choices for the pt (the freedom of personal choice) | Autonomy |
| Each pt has the same worth and always is entitled to respect (all human life is sacred, each indiv has inherent worth as a person) | Respect for people |
| What organization regulates ethical guidelines for LVNs? | National Federation of Licensed Practical Nurse(NFLPN) |
| The Ethical code laid out by the NFLPN? (5) | -to know and function within the scope of practice of the LVN
-to maintain pt confidences
-to provide healthcare without discrimination
-to maintain a high degree of professional and personal behavior
-to take an active role in the development of LVN profession |
| PAS | Practitioner-Assisted Suicide (Active euthanasia) |
