The newborn nursery is desperately short of staff. A nurse agrees to work an extra shift. During the 14th hour on duty, the nurse makes a medication error. Because the nurse was filling a "desperate" staffing need and therefore was fatigued, what is the legal responsibility of the nurse?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The nurse is still held to the same standard of care as any nurse with her education and experience, regardless of the staffing shortage or fatigue. The hospital may share some responsibility for the situation, but ultimately the nurse is responsible for her own actions and adherence to nursing standards. Filing an incident report is important but does not absolve the nurse of legal responsibility if the medication error caused harm to the patient.

The Newborn Nursery Is Desperately Short of Staff