Nursing is one of the noblest and most rewarding professions that you can go for. But just like all healthcare professions, it comes with its fair share of legal intricacies. You can even get your license canceled if you don’t take care of the legal guidelines to keep your license intact.
In addition to the license cancellation, there are a few other lawsuits regarding patient interaction and conduct with the patient that can cause trouble for you. We have compiled a list of four practical and effective tips that will help you protect your license from all possible legal strikes.
Consult a Healthcare Law Expert
You should consult a healthcare law expert to guide you through the legal complications that could potentially happen in the healthcare industry. They will warn you regarding the areas you will need to be careful about while dealing with patients. You will be best able to do your nursing license defense with the help of their services.
Moreover, they would also let you know about your rights and responsibilities as a part of a healthcare organization or a hospital. They will also give you a brief on your responsibilities towards other professionals working in the same vicinity as you.
Moreover, they will also help you to renew or reinstate your license if it has been canceled for any reason.
Take Care of the Medical Ethics
In addition to the legal consultation, you will need to make sure you practice keep[ing the rules of medical ethics into consideration. Do not even for once give any patient a chance to put false allegations about you.
If your healthcare workspace has cameras, it is better to avoid the blind zone of the cameras while dealing with patients. Similarly, whenever you have to physically examine the patients, make sure you do it in the presence of their family members or guardian.
Always Ask For Consent
You will need to ask for the consent of the patient as the first step to perform any form of treatment or diagnosis procedure on the patient. In case of major medical interventions, you will need to make sure that the patient has signed a written consent form that will keep you and other medical professionals involved in that procedure legally safe.
You can easily catch a legal charge if you forget to ask for permission even before a minor medical intervention. It can be something as small as exposing the skin of the patient to check pressure sores on their skin without their consent.
Stick to Patient Interaction Guidelines
Every healthcare facility has its own set of rules and regulations in place in addition to the basic medical ethics and code of conduct. You will need to follow them as well. It is imperative because the management can hold you accountable for any incident that happened in your presence where you didn’t follow one or two rules from the general code of conduct of that facility.
