Legal scope

What is common law?

Law developed through court decisions and precedent.

What is statutory law?

Law created by legislatures; the Nurse Practice Act is an example.

What is administrative law?

Regulations created and enforced by authorized agencies, such as Boards of Nursing.

What is the difference between civil and criminal law?

Civil: disputes over rights and duties, such as malpractice. Criminal: acts threatening society, such as drug diversion or criminal negligence.

What is the Nurse Practice Act (NPA)?

State law defining nursing scope, nursing categories, licensure requirements, and Board of Nursing authority.

What is the Board of Nursing (BON)?

Regulatory body that enforces the NPA and protects the public.

What are the BON's main responsibilities?

Issue/renew licenses, investigate complaints, discipline nurses, approve nursing programs, and monitor standards.

What is the BON's executive authority?

Administer and enforce the NPA.

What is the BON's legislative authority?

Adopt rules implementing the NPA.

What is the BON's judicial authority?

Discipline nurses and deny, suspend, or revoke licenses.

What is the primary purpose of nursing regulation?

Public protection, not punishment.

What is negligence?

Failure to exercise reasonable care; applies to anyone.

What is malpractice?

Professional negligence: a licensed professional fails to meet the standard of care.

How do negligence and malpractice differ?

Negligence is general carelessness; malpractice is professional negligence. Both are unintentional.

What are commission and omission?

Commission: doing something incorrectly. Omission: failing to act. Either can cause negligence.

What are the six malpractice elements in lecture order?

Duty → Breach → Foreseeability → Causation → Injury → Damages.

What is duty?

A legal obligation between nurse and patient.

What is breach?

Failure to meet the professional standard of care.

What is foreseeability?

Harm the nurse reasonably should have anticipated.

What is causation?

The breach directly/proximately caused or substantially contributed to harm.

What is injury?

Actual physical or psychological harm.

What are damages?

Measurable losses resulting from the harm.

How many malpractice elements must be established in the lecture framework?

All six; missing one means malpractice is not established under that framework.

What medication mistakes can be breaches?

Wrong drug, dose, route, or time; missed ID checks; ignored allergies or interactions.

What patient-care failures can be breaches?

Poor monitoring, missed deterioration, failure to notify provider, poor handoff, incomplete documentation, or ignored complaints.

A known fall-risk patient is injured without precautions. What does this show?

Foreseeability: the risk of harm could reasonably be anticipated.

A missed antibiotic contributes to sepsis. What element may this show?

Causation, if the missed dose actually caused or substantially contributed to harm.

How do foreseeability and causation differ?

Foreseeability: could harm be predicted? Causation: did the breach produce the harm?

What is personal liability?

A nurse's responsibility for their own actions or omissions.

What is vicarious liability?

An employer's liability for employee negligence within the scope of employment; respondeat superior.

What is corporate liability?

Institutional responsibility for safe environments, policies, adequate staffing, and competent personnel.

What three conditions make informed consent valid?

Voluntary choice, capacity/competence, and sufficient information.

What does voluntary informed consent mean?

Decision without coercion, pressure, or manipulation.

What does capacity/competence mean in informed consent?

Ability to understand information and its implications.

What information is needed for informed consent?

Proposed treatment, risks, benefits, and alternatives.

What is the nurse's role in informed consent?

Verify consent elements, witness signature, and communicate concerns or withdrawal; do not replace provider explanation.

A patient does not understand surgery risks. What should the nurse do?

Notify the provider to explain further before proceeding.

What should a nurse do if a patient withdraws consent?

Respect the decision and communicate the withdrawal to the provider.

What is confidentiality, and when can disclosure be permitted?

Legal and ethical duty; exceptions include direct care, mandated reporting, authorized payers, and serious risk to identifiable others.

What rights does HIPAA provide patients?

Privacy/confidentiality, access to medical records, and the ability to request corrections.