Healthcare (Nursing) Malpractice and Negligence: According to Essay

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Healthcare (Nursing) Malpractice and Negligence:

According to findings by the National Practitioner Data Bank, many nurses are increasingly being involved in malpractice and negligence lawsuits (Croke, 2003). These charges against nurses are likely to occur from any failure to act or an action that may lead to patient injury. In most cases, malpractice and negligence is associated with an accidental failure to comply with a standard of clinical practice. As a result of the accidental failures to act, there is likelihood of the occurrence of a malpractice lawsuit. The charge of negligence or malpractice is complicated to defend in a lawsuit is because of the concepts of standard of care and duty of care (Avery, 2009). Most healthcare professionals in the nursing field are usually haunted by the dreams of threat of lawsuit for malpractice or negligence.

Nursing Negligence:

Negligence in the nursing field is described as the failure to use healthcare as a realistically practical and careful individual would do under the same situation. Generally, many documentations and literature regarding nursing negligence usually includes several terms to define the concept. Some of the most commonly used terms include the failure to adhere to standards, failure to communicate, failure to assess and monitor, failure to use clinical equipments responsibly, failure to serve as patients' advocate, and failure to document (Croke, 2003). These terms in turn generate the various categories with which negligence occur in nursing profession and practice.

The failure to adhere to standards of care is determined based on the standards established through hospital policies to protect patients from sub-standard care. This is primarily because the standard of care provides the measures for determining whether these professionals have violated duty in the care owed to patient. Notably, these standards originate from several sources including the professional nursing associations and state boards of nursing. On the contrary, the failure to use equipment responsibly is usually associated with the need for nurses to know the safety abilities, attributes, limitations, and hazards of the equipment they use. In addition to this, nurses are expected to comply with the usage recommendations from manufacturers and abstain from changing the equipment.

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The failure by nurses to communicate and assess and monitor is based on the likelihood of the patient's health status. While, such changes are either gradual or instant, nursing professionals are expected to take necessary action because they are often the first to note the changes. Actually, the ability of the nurse to assess and monitor as well as report the changes accurately is usually the difference between the patient's life and death. With regards to being patient advocates, the rights of patients are usually the main feature for nursing care advocacy. Therefore, professionals in this field are usually obliged to work towards the patients' excellent care and the incorporation of their rights in the existing health care system (Croke, 2003).

Nursing Malpractice:

Malpractice is defined as the unethical or improper conduct or unrealistic lack of skill by a professional or an individual in official position. This description is always applied to various practitioners in the medical field such as nurses, lawyers, and dentists. When applied to these professionals, malpractice signifies unskillful or negligent performance of various duties in which professionals skills are required. While this concept can also refer to a cause of action with which damages are permitted, it's described differently across state nurse practice acts, federal regulations, and institutional policies.

In the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of malpractice lawsuits against nurses. The increase in these cases is attributed to various factors including early discharge, delegation, the problem of nursing shortage, technological advancements, well-informed clients, and enhanced independence….....

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