What a nurse should do, according to the BON

Great article Jackson, thanks for posting it. First off, lets define a few terms which will inevitably be used during this trial.

• Good Faith—Taking action supported by a reasonable factual or legal basis. Good faith precludes misrepresenting the facts surrounding the events under review, acting out of malice or personal animosity, acting from a conflict of interest, or knowingly or recklessly denying a nurse due process.
• Bad Faith—Knowingly or recklessly taking action not supported by a reasonable factual or legal basis. The term includes misrepresenting the facts surrounding the events under review, acting out of malice or
  personal animosity towards the nurse, acting from a conflict of interest, or knowingly or recklessly denying a nurse due process.
• Malice—Acting with a specific intent to do substantial injury or harm to another.
• Duty to a patient—A nurse’s duty is to always advocate for patient safety

The nurse did the right thing by reporting the physician, but as it was pointed out, she didn’t do it in quite the right way. Under the Nurse Practice Act Sec. 301.4025 Optional Report by Nurse it states:

• (a) In a written, signed report to the appropriate licensing
  board or accrediting body, a nurse may report a licensed
  health care practitioner, agency, or facility that the nurse
  has reasonable cause to believe has exposed a patient to
  substantial risk of harm as a result of failing to provide
  patient care that conforms to:
  (1) minimum standards of acceptable and prevailing
  professional practice, for a report made regarding a
  practitioner; or
  (2) statutory, regulatory, or accreditation standards, for
  a report made regarding an agency or facility.
  (b) A nurse may report to the nurse’s employer or another
  entity at which the nurse is authorized to practice any
  situation that the nurse has reasonable cause to believe
  exposes a patient to substantial risk of harm as a result of
  a failure to provide patient care that conforms to
  minimum standards of acceptable and prevailing
  professional practice or to statutory, regulatory, or
  accreditation standards. For purposes of this subsection,
  an employer or entity includes an employee or agent of
  the employer or entity.

As it states, she should have signed the report, and had faith in the system. The Board further counsels nurses to keep written records of believed misconduct. These records should be objective. That being said, I don’t think she deserves to go on trial here.

I am much inclined to lean on the side of the nurse in this situation, especially since the Dr. has confirmed cases of not practicing safe medicine. I can understand why the nurse did it the way she did though. The system does not always work. While she is offered a certain amount of protection, that’s not going to change the feelings of the town toward here or her family. I think this is a case of bad, small town politics.

Nurse associations are notorious for for coming to the aid of their own, which seems to be the case here, and this nurse should get excellent representation.