Why Should Nurses Care About the Supreme Court?

Many cases have direct and indirect bearing on health care policy and public health.

Delegation-better safe than sorry

Occupational health nurses, like other registered nurses, often must decide whether to delegate. They must be familiar with the laws and standards governing delegation of nursing tasks. Many different resources exist for obtaining this information (e.g., jurisdictional nurse practice acts, position papers from boards of nursing, and publications from professional and regulatory organizations). Registered nurses who delegate must know which tasks may be delegated, how to determine the competence of delegates, and the level of supervision necessary.

Nurses ready to right back. Ruling that full-time charge nurses can't belong to unions has labor leaders determined to work for ways around it

Nurse labor leaders are fighting mad over last week's ruling that full-time charge nurses aren't eligible for union membership. Labor and healthcare insiders say the decision leaves gray areas that will have to be settled at the negotiating table. Barbara Medvec, left, an executive at the system that brought the case before the NLRB, says she finds the "silence" on part-time charge nurses puzzling.

Nurse who compromised patient care through delegating a task

Sheila, a staff nurse, was in charge of a busy surgical ward on the afternoon shift; she was covering for the sister of the ward who had taken a day's annual leave. When Sheila came on duty at noon, she received a handover from Angela, another staff nurse, who had been working on the early shift. When she arrived, Sheila realized that it had been a very busy morning as it was a theatre day and that her own shift was also going to be busy.

Staffing: know your liability

Read this case of poor staffing judgment regarding outside agency employees and answer the questions, then check your answers at http://www.nursingmanagement.com.

Prevent discrimination against employees in the reserves

Learn how the Uniformed Service Employment and Reemployment Rights Act may affect your staff members.

Nurse manager who did not take any action over 'bad' nurse

Brenda was the nurse in charge of a continuing care ward for elderly people. Most of the residents, all of whom were male, had a dementing illness. The ward itself was a 24-bedded facility consisting of several four-bedded bays and single units, together with a large lounge/dining area. The ward was staffed by Beryl, a junior sister, four E-grade staff nurses three D-grade staff nurses, and several nursing assistants.

Unlicensed assistive personnel: a dilemma for nurses

There has been much discussion in the past 4 years concerning the use of UAP. One thing is certain: UAP are going to be part of the healthcare team for the foreseeable future. Nurses must educate themselves to be prepared to head the team of caregivers found in today's acute care facilities. Studying the literature and being aware of the role of UAP, the legalities of nursing delegated tasks, and legislative changes will help nurses cope with the ever changing landscape of medicine.

Avoid the pitfalls of progress

As health care technology options increase--namely, infrared ID systems--so do your legal liabilities.

Legal and ethical issues: questions and answers

This article, in Question and Answer (Q&A) format, focuses on legal concerns raised by practicing school nurses across the country. In this Q & A edition, four questions submitted to the Section Editors by JOSN readers are included, with responses to each. The main topics of the questions are (a) the rights of emancipated and mature minors; (b) the "rights" of nonnurse supervisors to direct or assume the practice of school nursing; (c) the right of a school district to exclude a student from a fieldtrip (versus the right of the student to participate); and (d) the right of a school district to change the level of nursing care provided to a special education student.