Course Information
OVERVIEW: this course provides a review of theories of liability, standards of care, patient injuries in care, the medical record, scope of practices and defenses to malpractice issues. A wide array of subject content is covered which provides a beginning for review of issues of injury, negligence and malpractice. Focus is also on deviations from standards of care, case analysis and review, and specific areas of common nursing liabilities. There is an emphasis on chart reviews and the use of standards in litigation. The concept and theories of specific nursing malpractice are covered. Course Code: ALNC 600. 45 hours of continuing education credit.
Instructor/Course Author: Dominick L. Flarey, Ph.D, MBA, RN,BC, LNC-CSp.
Link to Resume
TEXTBOOKS: There is one (1) required textbook for this course.
Nursing Malpractice (3rd edition). By: Patricia W. Iyer, RN, MSN, LNCC, and Barbara J. Levin. Lawyers & Judges Publishing Co., 2007. ISBN-10# 1933264209.
NOTE: this is a 1,400 page comprehensive textbook. It is the textbook that is used for all (4) of the courses in this continuing education program sequence.
This book now is on a CD-ROM and is in PDF format. For the best price please order directly from the publisher: link to order.
Ordering Information:
This book now is on a CD-ROM and is in PDF format. For the best price please order directly from the publisher: link to order.
You may also call to order this book directly from the publisher:
Phone: 1-800-209-7109
Assignment/Exam: this course consists of the student developing a comprehensive Learning Portfolio. The learning portfolio is a study/guide format in which students respond to specific questions as they read/study the text materials. Upon completing the learning portfolio, you will turn it in to the American College of Legal Nurse Consulting for grading. There is no objective -type exam for this course.
TIME FRAME: You are allotted two years from the date of enrollment, to complete this course. There are no set time-frames, other than the two year allotted time. If you do not complete the course within the two-year time-frame, you will be removed from the course and an “incomplete” will be recorded for you in our records. Also, if you would like to complete the course after this two-year expiration time, you would need to register and pay the course tuition fee again.
BOARD APPROVALS: The American Institute of Health Care Professionals (The Provider) is approved by the California Board of Registered Nurses, Provider number # CEP 15595 for 45 Contact Hours. Access information
Course Refund & AIHCP Policies: access here
Online Classroom Resources and Tools
* Examination Access: there is link to take you right to the online examination program where you can print out your examination and work with it. All examinations are formatted as “open book” tests. When you are ready, you can access the exam program at anytime and click in your responses to the questions. Full information is provided in the online classrooms.
* Student Resource Center: there is a link for access to a web page “Student Resource Center.” The Resource Center provides for easy access to all of our policies/procedures and additional information regarding applying for certification. We also have many links to many outside reference sites, such as online libraries that you may freely access.
* Online Evaluation: there is a link in the classroom where you may access the course evaluation. All students completing a course, must, without exception, complete the course evaluation.
* Faculty Access Information: you will have access to your instructor’s online resume/biography, as well as your instructor’s specific contact information.
* Additional Learning Materials: some faculty have prepared additional “readings” and /or brief lecture notes to enhance your experience. All of these are available in the online classrooms.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
1. Discuss education programs today for registered nurse practice.
2. Discuss the differences between licensure and certification for nurses.
3. Understand the use of the nursing process in litigation.
4. Identify the histories and functions of state boards of nursing.
5. Define “nurse practice act” and types of violations.
6. Discuss issues related to standards of care and types of practice standards.
7. Define and discuss modern care delivery systems in nursing.
8. Understand the roots of patient injuries in health care.
9. Identify and discuss regulatory issues related to patient safety and injury.
10. Identify current issues related to nurse staffing and potential liabilities of staff issues.
11. Identify and discuss the major types of incidences of nursing negligence today.
12. Identify and discuss major theories of liability and how they related to nursing practice and malpractice today.
13. Review and discuss major nursing roles and issues related to practice liability.
14. Discuss advanced practice nursing and identify major issues for potential liabilities in practice.
15. Review types of nursing documentation systems in place today, as well as each system’s potentials for liabilities.
16. Review legal mandates for patient care documentation.
17. Identify issues related to tampering of medical records and criminal implications.
18. Review standards of care for obstetrical nursing practice.
19. Identify common areas of obstetrical practice with increased risk of liabilities.
20. Review types of deliveries and legal liability issues.
21. Detail and discuss specific areas of nursing liabilities, including care of the mother and newborn, and review common defenses to alleged malpractice.
22. Identify key issues for documenting care in obstetrical nursing.
23. Review key standard of care for neonatal nursing practice.
24. Identify common causes of liability in neonatal nursing practice and strategies to prevent liability.
25. Discuss issues related to informed consent in neonatal care.
26. Identify major issues related to litigation in pediatric nursing.
27. Discuss methodology for reviewing pediatric legal cases.
28. Review standards of care for pediatric nursing.
29. Review and discuss the importance of standards of care in emergency nursing malpractice cases.
30. Review cases involving treat area care.
31. Discuss the nursing process as it related to emergency care.
32. Identify the role of the emergency nurse as patient advocate.
33. Learn methodologies for reviewing emergency nursing malpractice cases.
34. Identify and discuss common defenses to emergency nursing malpractice cases.
COURSE CONTENT:
A brief abstract of content:
1. Profile of the nursing profession
2. Nursing education and licensure, certification
3. Use of the nursing process in litigation
4. Boards of nursing and nurse practice acts
5. Standards of care in nursing practice
6. Regulatory agencies and regulation of practice
7. Standards of care vs. practice guidelines
8. Evidence-based nursing practice
9. Nursing’s contribution to health care
10. Errors in health care
11. Issues of nurse staffing and liabilities
12. Roots and causes of patient injuries
13. Common nursing care delivery systems
14. Theories of liability and negligence
15. Nursing roles and inherent liabilities
16. Advanced practice nursing
17. Legal issues of medical records and documentation
18. Nursing charting systems
19. Guidelines and standards for charting
20. Tampering with medical records
21. Nurse-physician communications and issues
22. Standards of care in obstetrical nursing
23. Deviation from standards of care
24. Screening obstetrical nursing cases
25. Liability issues in labor and delivery
26. Areas of specific nursing liability in neonatal nursing
27. Issues related to charting and documentation
28. Identification of high risk obstetrical patients
29. Common defenses in obstetrical malpractice cases
30.Standards of practice and deviations in neonatal nursing practice
31. Common causes of liabilities in neonatal nursing practice
32. Issues related to informed consent
33. Standards of practice in emergency nursing
34. Common issues in emergency nursing negligence claims
35. The nursing process in emergency care
36. Case studies involving emergency nursing malpractice