A nurse new to geriatric nursing asks the nurse manager to clarify how to handle a patient's claim that she has been physically abused. The nurse manager responds most appropriately when stating

Question

a. "I'll show you where you can find this state's reporting requirements."
b. "As a nurse you are considered a ‘man-dated reporter' of elder abuse."
c. "As long as you are reasonably sure abuse has occurred, report it."
d. "You need to report any such claims di-rectly to me."

Answer 1

A
To be responsive to the legal obligation to report reasonably suspicious acts of abuse and because there is great variation among the states, nurses should determine the specific reporting requirements of their jurisdictions, including where reports and complaints are received and in what form they must be made. The statements that the nurse is a mandatory reporter and that abuse should be reported if suspected are true, but they do not help the nurse learn to handle the complaint. The manager may want to know about claims of abuse and it may be facility policy to report up the chain of command, but the nurse is responsible for filing the formal complaint.