MALPRACTICE AND NEGLIGENCE IN NURSING.pptx

This document contains knowledge about malpractice and negligence in nursing.
INTRODUCTION:
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.
The Tort Law is the legal aspect of the law that most nurses are more familiar with. This is the law that involved malpractice and negligence cases which many nurses take the time to learn inside and out as this is one of the biggest fears in the medical community. Basically a Tort is a wrongful act which produces harm, whether it is unintentional or intentional.
Malpractice is a specific type of Tort where the standards of care are not met. This is one of the most common and familiar laws to nurses and something that nurses and doctors alike must be familiar with in order to continue their care efficiently.
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) defines negligence as a "failure to use such care as a reasonably prudent and careful person would use under similar circumstances." JCAHO defines malpractice as "improper or unethical conduct or unreasonable lack of skill by a holder of a professional or official position; often applied to physicians, dentists, lawyers, and public officers to denote negligent or unskillful performance of duties when professional skills are obligatory. Malpractice is a cause of action for which damages are allowed.

1. MALPRACTICE AND NEGLIGENCE PRESENTED BY: AMANPREET RAI HARJOT KAUR SARBJIT KAUR

2. INTRODUCTION Nursing is a profession which serve the humanity. Nurse while caring the patient is bounded to some legal and ethical responsibilities. Whenever a nurse fails top practice safe and standardized care and step out of her legal boundaries, she commits a wrong act known as torts . A tort is a civil wrong act committed against a person or a person’s property .

3. For example: - unintentional tort: negligence and malpractice - intentional tort: assault, invasion of privacy and defamation.

4. MALPRACTICE DEFINITION: An act or omission by health care provider that deviates from accepted standards of practice in medical community which causes injury to the patient.

5. TYPES OF NURSING MALPRACTICE Medication error. Failure to follow physician’s order. Delaying patient care or failure to monitor patient. Incorrectly performing procedure or trying to perform a procedure without training. Documentation error. Failure to get informed consent.

6. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS Delegation. Early discharge. The nursing shortage and hospital downsizing. Advancement in technology. Increase autonomy and responsibilities of nurses. Better informed consumers. Expanded legal definitions of liability.

7. NEGLIGENCE DEFINITION: A ccording to The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, negligence is defined as failure to use such care as a reasonably prudent and careful person would use under similar circumstances .

8. THE PROBLEMS FOR WHICH NURSES ARE OFTEN FOUND NEGLIGENT IN DUTIES Failure to use aseptic techniques. Leaving a foreign objects in a patient’s body during surgery

9. Administering wrong medications. Administering medication inappropriately i.e. IV therapy resulting infiltration or phlebitis. Failure to protect an infirm patient from falling, falls resulting injuries.

10. CATEGORIES OF NEGLIGENCE Failure to follow standards of care. Failure to use equipment in a responsible manner. Failure to assess and monitor. Failure to communicate. Failure to document. Failure to act as a patient advocate.