The nurse is providing care to a patient who has a history of suing health care providers. Which of the following can the nurse do to reduce the risk of a lawsuit?

Question

1. Establish communication and trust.
2. Spend as little amount of time with the patient as possible.
3. Delegate care activities to an unlicensed assistant.
4. Switch the assignment with another nurse.

Answer 1

Establish communication and trust.

Rationale: One of the most fundamental aspects of malpractice law involves relationships. For a duty to be owed the patient, one must first establish that a nurse–patient relationship exists. This may be accomplished by showing that a reliance relationship exists: One person (the patient) is depending on another person (the nurse) for competent, quality nursing care. The core of any reliance relationship is trust and communication. Establishing rapport with a patient, informing patients honestly and openly of all aspects of their care, and allowing patients to make decisions for themselves have always been credited to nurses as one means of preventing potential liability. Nursing is a caring profession; part of caring is maintaining communications and ensuring that trust is established and continues throughout the interactions between the nurse and the patient. The nurse should not reduce the amount of time spent with the patient nor delegate activities to an unlicensed assistant. The nurse should also not switch the assignment with another nurse.