Legal issues Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Legal issues - Assignment Example The increase of the patient’s blood pressure to 40 mm Hg within just an hour is a pertinent issue, which the nurse should have reported to the physician immediately. Nurses are also mandated to speak to physicians about changes in patient conditions, rather than leaving messages (Wolf, 2012). Therefore if the nurse in this scenario claims that she left a message for the physician about the rapid increase in the patient’s blood pressure before going for lunch, she would have violated the legal obligation of nursing practice. The professional code of conduct as presented within the Nursing Practice Act provides that nurses must go further up in the chain of command in an event when they are not able to get the physician (Mikos, 2011). Therefore inability to get the physician would not be an excuse for the nurse’s behavior in this scenario. The nurse violated the procedures and policies of nursing practice and is therefore liable to the violations and penalties of the Nursing Practice Act. Nurses are responsible for knowing and adhering to the procedures of care, such as reporting patient conditions. It is through education and training that nurses are made aware of nursing policies and procedures. Despite the knowledge of the nurse of the procedures of reporting the conditions of the patient, she ignored implementing them. Negligence is a legal issue in health care processes, which described the inability of practitioners to demonstrate due care (Mikos, 2011). In this scenario, the nurse was negli gent because she did not show due care in reporting the high and increasing blood pressure of the patient, and instead went for lunch. When a health provider fails to do what should prudently and reasonably done, then negligence is reported. A breach of duty is also categorized under negligence (Wolf, 2012). The nurse breached her duty of reporting the change in the patient’s condition. The critical nature of the patient’s blood