Reference no: EM132470788

Legal Ramifications for Exceeding One's Duties DB

You have been the evening nurse in the emergency department at Memorial Hospital for the last 2 years. Besides yourself, you have two LVNs and RNs working in your department. Your normal staffing is to have two RNs and one LVN on duty Monday through Thursday and one LVN and three RNs on during the weekend.

It has become apparent that one of the LVNs, Maggie, resents the recently imposed limitations of LVN duties because she had 10 years of experience in nursing, including a tour of duty s a medic in the first Gulf War. The emergency department physicians admire her and are always asking her to assist them with any major wound repair. Occasionally, she has exceeded her job description as an LVN in the hospital, although she has done nothing illegal of which you are aware. You have given her satisfactory performance evaluations in the past, even though everyone is aware that she sometimes pretends to be a "junior physician." You also suspect that the physicians sometimes allow her to perform duties outside her licensure, but you have not investigated this or actually seen it yourself.

Tonight. you come back from supper and find Maggie suturing a deep laceration while the physician looks on. They both realize that you are upset, and the physician takes over the suturing. Later, the doctor comes to you and says, "Don't worry! She does a great job, and I'll take the responsibility for her action." You are not sure what you should do. Maggie is a good employee, and taking any action will result in unit conflict.

Assignment: What are the legal ramifications of this case? Discuss what you should do, if anything. What responsibility and liability exist for the physician, Maggie, and yourself? Use appropriate rationale to support your decision.