Risk management in advanced nurse practice - Essay Example

? Risk management in advanced nurse practice affiliation Risk management in advanced nurse practice Chain of events aftera patient incident When operating in a medical institution, both the patient and the medical practitioner are bound by legal terms. Additionally, the patient has an added advantage of being covered by an insurance company. This ensures that both the doctor and patient have been represented and cushioned from any occurrence of risk. The management of risk in health institutions is made depending on the code of operation of a specific practice. However, many state governments provide minimum requirements that each patient and practitioner must adhere to. In most cases the patient is given the freedom to agree or disagree with a certain mode of operation. For instance, before any critical operation, a patient should consent to it before it is carried out. If they are not in a position to do it, then the immediate family is given this mandate. However, there are exceptions if there is an emergency situation and there is no member of the immediate family to consult. According to O’Reilly (2009) when a medical practice fails to consider available options, a patient is entitled to compensation in any case of harm. Additionally, medical practitioners are not allowed to act under their own jurisdiction. This means that before any crucial medical step, the management of a medical practice should also be included in the decision making. This cushions a staff member from possible prosecution in a case of an uncertainty. Grant (2011) argues that practices should be able to protect their staff from direct legal action. However, the medical practitioners should also give a chance for the management to protect them. Each medic is highly advised to have at their disposal a good legal and risk management team. In the modern day medical practice, the management provides the employees with a proper legal counsel. Marshal (2010) argues that health bodies should make this a mandatory requirement of all medical institutions so that the practitioners are well advised on matters of liability and risk management. When a patient incident occurs, the cause of the incident should be first established. At that juncture, the cause is then analyzed on whether or not it was avoidable. If the uncertainty was avoidable then the medic in charge should be doubtful. Nevertheless, this does not mean that the medic should be prosecuted for the mistake. Neglect on the part in the part of the nurse should lead to prosecution. However, in many cases on uncertainties the organization takes responsibility of the incident rather than letting a medic be solely judged for it. According to Jasper (2008) in case of any patient incident, a medical practitioner is advised to prepare a full report on the occurrences during the incident. To maintain its credibility, the author further argues that witnesses should be included in all medical reports. Liabilities caused can be fatal to the career of an advanced practice nurse. If it reaches to a point where a medic I challenged to a law suit, the consequences could also portray a negative picture on the medical institution. It is for this reason that medical institutions have in place a proper risk management team. Risk management in medical institutions is the best way to shield a practitioner from liabilities (Cornelison, 2008). Before enrolling into an institution, medical practitioners should review an organization’s mode of protecting its employees from liabilities. The relationship between an institution and an employee should be based on performance rather than operating conditions. Practitioners should be given the freedom to operate without being intimidated by the rules and regulations formulated by the company. Providing legal counsel to an advanced practice nurse should be based on how well they are protected from uncertainties. Working unions provide another option of cushioning from liabilities. Unions over the years have been referred as the bodies that protect employees from unfair treatment. In this case, being part of a union may be crucial when it comes to providing job security and protection from liabilities. Unions also provide its members with quality legal counsel and presentation in any occurrence of a law suit. In words by Marshal (2010) unions are formed under the only obligation of protecting employees from their employers. From the above liability minimizing strategies, medical practitioners are provided with many options which they may use. Medics are also advised to avoid any occurrences neglect. In any occurrences o neglect even workers unions do not have the ability to cushion its members. It is the duty of all medical practitioners to ensure they have proper liability minimization tools at their disposal. Potential liability for advanced nurse practice Liability in the nursing profession is easily generated from both the external and internal environment of the medical field. However, the internal factors mostly involving patients cause the largest risks of liability. With the depth of liability being high in the field of medicine, medical practitioners are often advised on how to always be on the safer side. Additionally, supervisors are provided to ensure that the operations in medical institutions are carried out with any trigger of uncertainties. According to Marshal (2010) medical institutions should be subjected with numerous supervisors who may help a lot in cushioning both the institution and the staff from liability. For advanced practice nurses the scenario is the same as they have to deal with numerous challenges to achieve perfection. The situation is made more complicated with the existence of the quality assurance. This is the quality level that all institutions and its staff are supposed to attain or risk termination of their licenses. It is for this reason that organizations do as much as possible to get the most qualified staff and supervisors. In words by Grant (2011) the success the globe is enjoying in the field of medicine can be greatly attributed to the existence of the quality assurance policies. Corporate negligence is another cause of liability. In the past years state governments were responsible for the safety of medical institutions and patients. However, this scenario has changed as now medical institutions are responsible for their own safety as well that of its patients. This has caused medical institutions to be highly exposed to risks and uncertainties. More and more law suits are being filed to challenge the capability of medical institutions to secure their patients. This affects the liability levels of advanced nursing practice. Many nurses under this level face the risk of being prosecuted since institutions are having a hard time in compensating its patients (Jasper, 2008). APN institutions should ensure that their organizations are covered with appropriate medical insurance cover. This protects both the facility and the staff from liability. Another possible area for possible creation of liability is poor communication between the nurses and doctors. In one case, a court found a nurse guilty on claims o negligence after it found out that the nurse failed to report crucial information of the patient to the doctor in charge. In this occurrence o poor communication, the patient succumbed to their illnesses. Another form of liability that might be experienced is credentialing liability. For advanced nursing practicing, a nurse is required to have a god working experience, licensed by the government and verified credentials. All medical institutions have proper bodies to ensure that the above qualifications are met. Nurses without the above requirements are not required to operate as nurses since they put the lives of people in danger. Before hiring an APN an institution should ensure that their credentials are in check. The legality of these credentials should also be checked. Inadequate staffing may be another cause of liability. Many organizations find it appropriate to cut their expenditure by reducing the number of employees. This is not appropriate in advanced nursing practice. A practice should have a significant supply of staff that will ensure that the practice is always under good care. A great staff number brings about diversity in terms of talent and expertise. A practice with few staff members is always at a risk of lacking the proper and adequate skilled power to deal with complicated medical cases. Sufficient staffing could be easily done by acquiring qualified staff and in significant numbers. Supervisor liability can also occur. A nursing supervisor is given the mandate to position, direct and give instructions to both the trained and untrained personnel. Liability may occur in the issue of positioning staff. A liability may occur if a nursing supervisor fails to make accurate appointments. This responsibility is legally bounded as a duty of the nursing supervisor. A medical institution should appoint certified supervisors who have been trained well and have vast experience in the field of medicine. According to Marthaler & Kelly (2010), the liability caused by supervisors is only inevitable if the institution hires qualified nurse supervisors. The following of command is also another possible cause of liability. In this scenario the chain of command is addressed from the patient. Many nurses feel obliged to respond affirmative to their patients’ request. However, a nurse should be able to judge a command on whether it is reasonable or not. In some cases nurse tend to follow the command of patients. This is harmful to a medical institution since if anything unfortunate happens to the patient, the institution and the nurse are usually held responsible for the negligence. The management can deal with this particular problem by being involved in decision making process. The management should also appoint supervisors who will ensure that the nurses are protected from harsh treatment and commands from the patients. Poor management of an institution must be greatest cause of liabilities. In this case poor management refers to board and top most management. In any occurrence of an uncertainty the board of a nursing practice is usually held responsible for the errors. According to Emslie & Hancock (2008) the governing body has the mandate to make all the difference in an institution. At their disposal, they have the power to choose the medical staff, the power to come up with rules and regulations, the power to make decisions regarding medical operations and the power to choose the leadership of a practice. This is the easiest cause of liability to manage. The governing body has the opportunity to change the whole setting of a practice and streamline it in accordance to the legal and quality assurance provisions. References Cornelison, P. (2008). Guide for assessing hospital liability. Arizona: Lawyers and Judges Publishing Company. Emslie, S. & Hancock, C. (2008). Issue in healthcare risk management. Lulu.com Grant, P. (2011). Law for nurse leaders. New York: Springer Publishing Company Jasper, M. (2008). Hospital liability law. Virginia: Oceana Marshall, E. (2010). Transformational Leadership in Nursing: From Expert Clinician to Influential Leader. New York: Springer Publishing Company. Marthaler, M. & Kelly, P. (2010). Nursing Delegation, Setting Priorities, and Making Patient Care Assignments. Boston: Cengage learning O’Reilly, J. (2009). Litigating the Nursing Home Case. Chicago: American Bar Association. Read More