Responsible Intervention

Abstract

Nursing administrators contend with various legal problems involving patients, staff, and other hospital departments. Recognizing that you need up-to-date information on the ever-changing legal implications in health care delivery, we're pleased to present a new department that focuses on your important legal responsibilities. Law for Leaders will address the top nursing administrator's legal obligations to patients, staff, and employer. With the help of Maureen Cushing and William H. Roach, Jr., two highly qualified special consultants in health law, we will present articles by qualified professionals to help meet your needs in this area. Maureen Cushing, B.S.N., J.D., is both an attorney and a nurse with extensive knowledge in health law. She was employed in nursing practice for many years prior to establishing a private law practice in Boston. She received a B.S.N. from Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts and a Juris Doctor from New England School of Law, Boston, She is actively involved in the health law and disability law committees of the Massachusetts Bar Association and is a member of the Massachusetts Nurses' Association Council of Professional Practice. Ms. Cushing was a contributing editor to Introduction to Nursing Practice by Saperstein and Frazier(F.A. Davis) and is a legal contributor to two pending nursing texts. She is currently writing a book on nursing jurisprudence for Reston Publishing Company, due for publication in 1982. She has lectured extensively on nursing and health law, in both the United States and Germany. William H. Roach, Jr., M.S., J.D., is a partner in the Chicago law firm of Gardner, Carton & Douglas, specialists in health and hospital law. He is also assistant professor at Rush University, Chicago. Formerly vice president for legal affairs at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Mr. Roach received his Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University School of Law, and is a member of numerous Bar and professional associations, including the American Society of Hospital Attorneys and the American Society of Law and Medicine. He was president and founding director of the Illinois Association of Hospital Attorneys and for several years has conducted inservice training in hospital law for hospital nursing and medical staffs throughout the United States. His publications include “Medical and Nursing Staff Organization and By-Laws” in Hospital Law (Illinois Institute for Continuing Education), and “The Patient's Right to Know” in Practical Approaches to Patient Teaching, to be published by Little, Brown & Company in 1980. He is author of the first article in JONA's Law for Leaders department. In this article, Roach points out that, beyond their moral duty, nurses have a legal duty to take whatever reasonable action is necessary to safeguard the lives of their patients. He examines the legal implications of the nurse's failure to take appropriate action and presents some of the court decisions that have established what constitutes a nurse's legal duty. He then outlines systems that nursing administrators can establish to smooth the way for staff nurses in obtaining the responsible intervention they need to protect their patients.