Critique of Clinical nursing legal concerns article.
Clinical nursing practice is usually plagued with legal issues surrounding practice with relatives usually looking to find fault with nurses for the death of their loved ones. Training of nurses is a delicate process that requires close observation from the trainers to avoid practices that may expose the nurse and their patient to harm; which could lead to litigation against the trainer. The article Legal Concerns for Clinical Nurse Educators Working with Students by Duquesne University explores the legal problems nurse educator’s face, the recommended steps they could take to alleviate liabilities as well as the legal safeguards they could explore to stay safe. “Legal concerns”, (2020) notes that their working relationship should be confidential and professional to evade tort action based on negligence or wrongful action. Despite sufficiently covering eventualities and how to cope with them, the article does not provide situational examples.
The article summarizes the effect of negligent conducting of training for nurses, surmising that such could expose the trainers to legal action and harm to both nurse and patient. “Legal concerns”, (2020) also explains the class of legal action that can be taken against nursing educators. The offenses range from criminal ones such as falsifying academic credentials to civil suits such as negligence. The action strength borders on the nurse causing harm while under instructor supervision and both failing to take recommended measures leading to direct harm as a result of their actions. Educators are thus urged to avoid liabilities by properly allocating tasks, notifying their students of poor performance, ensuring safety during practice, and recommending more practice. The article recommends legal safeguards such as understanding the Nurse Practice Act (NPA)and considering liability insurance. This is because of the risks of license revocation or suspension when a nursing educator is found guilty of negligence leading to a nurse harming a patient or themselves.
The article provides insightful information into the nature of risks involved when training nurses. Furthermore, it elucidates the necessary steps that should be taken to avoid the legal vulnerabilities they could encounter. This information could be useful for educators who are intent on providing training and are just starting. Likewise, a large company that has higher risks of litigation are advised to have liability insurance and an attorney. The article, however, does not cover specific instances that could culminate in legal risks. Such specific information is better consumed and more useful than general suppositions.
The article does not come out clearly on the issue of nurse- trainer relationship. Accordingly, “Legal concerns”, (2020) quips that the necessity of a close working relationship is the eventual success of the nurse. However, it does not go in depths to explain how certain workplace acts and incidences could result in particular legal repercussions. The structuring of the information does not give the revelation of student information the weight it bears. Being credited as an addendum to the body information, it is portrayed as a minor issue that trainers could have to combat. However, the legal effects of a breach of confidentiality is a serious breach of civil rights that extends beyond the world of nursing.
Properly Educating nurses is key to maintaining health standards world over. Consequently, education should bear in mind the legal risks which exist to protect individual lives from negligent nursing. “Legal concerns”, (2020) summarizes the types of legal issues that nursing trainers could face in the course of their work and the methods they could employ to evade such problems. However, the article does not offer graphical instances that a nursing trainer could experience as and does not properly acknowledge some of the most serious risks such as the revelation of personal information. Future research should provide a detailed paper that gives a real situation portrayal of ethical and legal risks of nursing education to the trainers.
Reference.
Legal Concerns for Clinical Nurse Educators: Duquesne University. (2020, June 25). Retrieved July 13, 2020, from https://onlinenursing.duq.edu/blog/legal-concerns-clinical-nurse-educators-working-students/