Role Transition: Student to RN
Ethical and Legal Responsibilities
Understanding the scope of practice and legal accountability is essential for professional autonomy.
Key Concepts
- Negligence: Failure to act as a reasonably prudent nurse would in a similar situation.
- Malpractice: Negligence specifically performed by a professional that causes harm.
- Advocacy: Protecting patient rights and supporting patient choice even when it conflicts with personal beliefs.
Scope of Practice
- Always defer to the State Nurse Practice Act, not hospital policy, for the legal scope.
- Maintain documentation as a legal record; if it wasn't documented, it wasn't done.
- Mandatory reporting exists for abuse, neglect, and specific communicable diseases.
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