Rights of registered nurses when considering a patient assignment

Purpose: Comment the Discussion (Class 506 Unit 4 Topic 1 Comment 1 L)

Ashley

Thing to Remember:

Answer this discussion with opinions/ideas creatively and clearly. Supports post using several outside, peer-reviewed sources.

1 References, find resources that are 5 years or less

No errors with APA format 6 Edition

To Comment:

Every nurse is faced with the dilemma of accepting a certain patient or patient assignment in their career of working in the hospital. It is the nurse’s decision whether or not to accept that patient assignment. According the American Nurses Association (ANA) (2009), “registered nurses – based on their professional and ethical responsibilities – have the professional right to accept, reject or object in writing to any patient assignment that puts patients or themselves at serious risk for harm” (para. 1). The nurse must know their responsibilities when refusing a patient assignment. Westrick (2014) explains that a nurse can refuse a patient assignment if it is deemed unsafe for the nurse or patient, alternatively, if the nurse accepts a patient assignment and something happens during their care, they are responsible for what happens. This is why it is so important to speak up if you know that something is not right or feels off, trust your gut feelings because you are having them for a reason.

When delegating to an unlicensed individual, this falls in the legal category of negligent entrustment. Anselmi (2012) explains that the individual committing the delegation is responsible for the actions performed by the individual that completed the delegated task. It is crucial that you know exactly who can perform what actions when assigning tasks to people. If that person is not trained appropriately in doing so, then it is you (the delegator) that takes the blame for inappropriately delegating.

            Similarly, legal principle of respondeat supervisor is when an employer has their employee perform a task, the employee acts as the employer in completing the task. Therefore, if something happens by completing the task that results in a legal implication, the employer is who is responsible for such actions, not the employee themselves (Anselmi, 2012).

Reference

American Nurses Association. [ANA]. (2009). Patient safety: Rights of registered nurses when considering a patient assignment. Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/Policy-Advocacy/Positions-and-Resolutions/ANAPositionStatements/Position -Statements-Alphabetically/Patient-Safety-Rights-of-Registered-Nurses-When-Considering-a-Patient-Assignment.html

Anselmi, K. K. (2012). Nurses’ personal liability vs. employers’ vicarious liability. MEDSURG Nursing, 21(1), 45–48.

Westrick, S. J. (2014). Accepting or refusing an assignment/patient abandonment. In Essentials of Nursing Law and Ethics. (2nd ed., pp 48-57). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.