Nurse receives no support from management regarding patient grievance

The nurse was noted to not have been given any details concerning the patient’s grievance when asked for them, despite HR attempting to “write her up” for termination. The nurse’s relationship along with her director was not in good condition, and her manager was “afraid” to support her. She wondered what her rights were within the circumstances. False accusations against nurses, whatever the circumstances, are nothing recent. I actually have written about this issue several times over time. Dealing with all these accusations is somewhat easier when you might have the support of nursing administrators and HR. However, when such support is lacking, as on this nurse’s case, correcting false claims is tougher.

Patient grievance shouldn’t be the one problem

Since there appears to be a disconnect between the nurse and her manager, and her manager is afraid to support her, the very first thing this nurse should do is contact a nursing attorney or her personal attorney for advice on proceed. This consultation doesn’t should be shared with the nursing administration, nor would you might have to share it in case you were of their shoes. You all the time have the correct to hunt legal advice when an issue arises within the workplace. This is very true if the administration shouldn’t be helpful and there is no such thing as a other support mechanism, corresponding to a union. The attorney you seek the advice of would wish to review employment documents corresponding to the worker handbook, disciplinary policies and procedures, grievance policies and procedures, and performance evaluation. The nurse stated that she doesn’t have bad reviews, so this will indicate that her concerns about her relationship along with her director, supervisor, or HR department are affecting their fair and impartial assessment of the complaints filed against the nurse. If any of their reviews are based on a discriminatory motive, corresponding to the nurse’s race or religion, a lawyer will evaluate a possible case alleging misconduct Title VII Civil Rights Act of 1964. In addition, if the director, HR department and supervisor don’t follow the disciplinary policies and procedures, a lawyer can intervene to be certain that the policies are followed. Although the nurse has not yet been disciplined, it could be that the grievances haven’t been properly investigated, as required by policy and procedure, for instance. In addition, the nurse was not supplied with the small print of the patient’s grievance. This goes against basic principles of fairness between employer and worker. Although the nurse could also be an “at-will” worker (meaning that there is no such thing as a employment contract), failure to offer the small print of the grievance may violate Alleged contract fair dealing between the employer and the RN. If she is dismissed in these circumstances, a lawyer can bring a case for unfair dismissal.

An additional concern

Another potential problem for this nurse—and for you in the same situation, in case you ever end up in the same situation—is reporting the alleged incident to the state board of nursing. The board could possibly be contacted a couple of patient grievance by the director and/or the patient, alleging that she acted unprofessionally while caring for a patient. Unprofessional conduct is a serious allegation. Although it shouldn’t be clear that the nurse’s conduct would meet the necessities of this allegation, she would still must defend herself against it to avoid any disciplinary proceedings by the board. The nurse will need a lawyer to represent her in any nursing board proceedings. It could also be that the lawyer initially consulted on employment law issues also has experience representing nurses before the board. Otherwise, she’s going to must hire one other nursing lawyer or a private lawyer to handle the board proceedings.

The crux of the matter is that, like a nurse, you might have the correct to hunt legal advice to avoid an unfair decision that might lead to the lack of your job and ultimately your skilled repute.

Sign up for these courses to learn more about protect patients and yourself:

Nurses have a responsibility to remain current on current issues related to the regulation of nursing practice not only of their states but in addition nationwide. Nurses have a responsibility to their patients to practice in a protected, competent, and responsible manner. This requires licensed nurses to practice in accordance with state statutes and regulations. This course provides information on nursing practice laws and their impact on nursing practice.

This course provides an summary of bioethics because it pertains to health care and nursing within the United States. The course explains the weather of ethical decision-making as they relate to patient care and ethics committees. The course concludes with a discussion of the moral challenges related to physician-assisted suicide, organ transplantation, and genetic testing.

Although documentation has all the time been a crucial a part of nursing practice, the increasingly complex health care environment, the litigation-prone society, and the range of settings during which patients receive care are requiring nurses to pay greater attention to documentation. Computerized patient records have grow to be standard practice, and the times of repetitive, task-oriented narrative notes have gotten a component of nursing history.