Can nurses go to jail for making a mistake?

Can nurses go to jail for making a mistake?

There are several types of crimes for which nurses may be charged as a result of a nursing error. A felony is a serious crime (contrasted with misdemeanors and infractions, less serious crimes), usually punishable by a prison term of more than 1 year or, in some cases, by death.

What should a nurse do when a medication error occurs?

If you make a medication error, return to the basics of the six rights of medication administration: the right drug, dose, route, time, patient and documentation. If the patient tells you it is the wrong medication or treatment, stop and check the order.

What are the most common acts of negligence by nurses?

The categories of negligence are: failure to follow standards of care, failure to use equipment in a responsible manner, failure to communicate, failure to document, failure to assess and monitor, and failure to act as a patient advocate (see S ix Major Categories of Negligence That Result in Malpractice Lawsuits, page …

How are nurses held liable for negligence?

Under a negligence theory, a nurse can only be held liable for injuries if: They owed a duty of care to the patient. They breached this duty of care. The breach resulted in measurable damage to the patient.

What are examples of nursing negligence?

These acts can arise in a number of different ways including a nurse failing to follow a doctor’s orders for treatment, a nurse administering the wrong medication to a patient, a nurse failing to monitor a patient and/or failing to call a doctor for immediate help, or a nurse not properly performing a medical procedure …

What should a nurse do if a patient is taking a toxic drug?

A patient is taking a drug that has known toxic side effects. What will the nurse do? Monitor the function of all organs potentially affected by the drug. A patient is taking drug X and receives a new prescription for drug Y, which is listed as an inducing agent.

What should a nurse do before administration of a medication?

An important initial nursing action before administration of the medication includes assessing: swallowing ability. A nurse is caring for a patient who is taking multiple medications. To help ensure that adverse drug reactions are prevented or minimized, the nurse will do which of the following?

What should a nurse do after discharge from the hospital?

A nurse is preparing to teach a forgetful older adult patient about a multiple drug regimen to follow after discharge from the hospital. To help promote adherence, what will the nurse do? Cluster medication administration times as much as possible. A nurse is reviewing a patient’s medical record before administering a medication.

What does a nurse recognize about a patient?

A patient has been taking narcotic analgesics for chronic pain for several months. The nurse caring for this patient notes that the prescribed dose is higher than the recommended dose. The patient has normal vital signs, is awake and alert, and reports mild pain. What does the nurse recognize about this patient?

What happens when a nurse administers the same medication to several patients?

A nurse administers the same medication in the same preparation in the same dose to several patients and notes that some patients have a better response to the drug than others. What is the most likely explanation for this phenomenon?

What makes a doctor prescribe too much pain medicine?

feedback from a pharmacist that the physician is prescribing too much pain medicine intense pressure from your HMO to hold costs down by not prescribing the more expensive formulations bad experiences with other opioid patients, making him feel that chronic pain makes for needy, time-consuming and difficult patients

What does the nurse interpret this information mean?

The nurse is caring for a patient who is being treated with amiodarone. After the patient is on the medication for 6 weeks, lab work drawn on the patient shows evidence of hypothyroidism developing. What does the nurse interpret this information to mean?

Which is available available available antidysrhythmic drugs should the nurse use?

“I take a blood thinner so I don’t get clots.” A 100-mg IV bolus of lidocaine is prescribed for a patient experiencing ventricular dysrhythmias. Which available lidocaine medication should the nurse use to prepare this bolus?