1. Illinois EMSC1 Legal Issues in Nursing Practice Objectives Upon completion of this lecture, you will be better able to:  Describe how nursing and the law interact for appropriate delivery of emergency care  Define your legal liabilities when providing emergency care to school children  Incorporate your knowledge of medicolegal issues as you develop care plans and interventions for emergency situations

2. Illinois EMSC2 LEGAL ISSUES IN NURSING PRACTICE

3. Illinois EMSC3 LEGAL ISSUES Emergency care focuses our attention on: Emergency care focuses our attention on:  interaction of nursing and law  legal liability  medical-legal issues

4. Illinois EMSC4 FACTORS THAT AFFECT PRACTICE  Societal issues  Nurse/student ratio  Job description for school nurse  State and federal laws-both health and education  Local school/health policies  Expanded role of the nurse into primary care

5. Illinois EMSC5 NURSING ACCOUNTABILITY State Licensure  State boards of nursing and nurse practice acts  Ensures minimum competencies  Profession regulates practice  Individual nurse bears primary responsibility for actions and judgments

6. Illinois EMSC6 NEGLIGENCE AND MALPRACTICE Definitions  Negligence is a deviation from the accepted standard of care which places a person at risk.  Malpractice is professional negligence when the conduct fails to meet the legal standard of care and someone is damaged as a result.

7. Illinois EMSC7 ELEMENTS OF A LAWSUIT  DUTY - A nurse-client relationship exists and judges the action compared to others in like circumstances  BREACH OF DUTY - Failure to perform to the standard  CAUSATION - Connection between action and injury  DAMAGES - Actual loss which occurred

8. Illinois EMSC8 STANDARD OF CARE   State Nurse Practice Act   ANA-Standards of Clinical Nursing Practice   National Association of School Nurses (NASN)   School policy and protocols   CPR or BLS national standards

9. Illinois EMSC9 GOOD SAMARITAN LAWS   Do not apply to actions on the job where there is a duty to perform   Immunity from liability for acts or omissions at the scene of an emergency unrelated to job   Gross negligence or willful misconduct not protected

10. Illinois EMSC10 RELATED LEGAL ISSUES  Transport of injured or ill student by private automobile  Consent for treatment informed informed implied implied minors minors  Abandonment  Substance Abuse immunity from liability state decision  Good faith reporting  Drug testing

11. Illinois EMSC11 DOCUMENTATION HELPFUL HINTS REGARDING DOCUMENTATION   Are all entries legible ?   Are there grammatical or spelling errors ?   Are entries signed correctly ?   Are entries dated and timed ?   Is the chart free of erasures and other alterations ?   Are entries made in black ink ?   Are known allergies highlighted ?

12. Illinois EMSC12 Students Rights Within the School  Schools must show reasonable suspicion, for conducting a search.  Searches are restricted to the individual involved  Some states regard locker searches the same as personal searches.

13. Illinois EMSC13 Special Issues  Child Maltreatment  Includes abuse and neglect  Your reporting responsibilities  Mandated reporter  Do Not Resuscitate (DNR)  Automated External Defibrillators (AED)

14. Illinois EMSC14 Delegation by School Nurses FOUR ITEMS TO CONSIDER WHEN DELEGATING  RIGHT TASK  RIGHT PERSON  RIGHT DIRECTION  RIGHT SUPERVISION

15. Illinois EMSC15 HIPAA Regulations Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act  Confidentiality measures  Schools may be indirectly affected  Investigate any HIPAA related policies your school district may have in place

16. Illinois EMSC16 Summary Keep in mind that practicing in a reasonable, professional manner and documenting your judgment and actions are the best defenses against litigation.

17. Illinois EMSC17 ANY QUESTIONS??