Chapter 15: Law and Professional Nursing Practice
1. What does “reasonable and prudent” mean as it relates to standards of care?
2. What measures are taken when a nurse is summoned to court for a legal action? Is a nurse more responsible than a doctor in the situation if both were involved with the patient’s care?
3. You have been asked by a charge nurse on a medical-surgical unit to discuss the importance of the legal system for nurses. What are the important aspects regarding law and nursing that you will include in your presentation?
4. What are the differences between nursing disciplinary action by a board of nursing and legal ramifications set forth by state and federal laws?
5. Are there differences in the responsibility related to informed consent for the nurse and physician? If so, what are the differences?
