A patient died from suspicious circumstances. What should the nurse do next?
a. Notify the coroner.
b. Notify the newspaper.
c. Chart what the nurse thinks happened.
d. Chart opinions from the health care staff.
A
State statutes specify that, when there are reasonable grounds to believe that a patient died as a result of violence, homicide, suicide, accident, or death occurring in any unusual or suspicious manner, you need to notify the coroner. Notifying the newspaper would break confidentiality. Charting must be objective and factual, not what the nurse thinks happened or opinions.
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