Hwu Yueh-Juen
PhD, RN, Professor, Department of Nursing, Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan, ROC.
Hu Li Za Zhi. 2021 Aug;68(4):4-5. doi: 10.6224/JN.202108_68(4).01.
Nursing professionals constitute the largest occupational group in all healthcare system departments, and are the healthcare professionals who work most closely and frequently with patients. The complexity and variability of the human body make nursing a high-risk occupation. The practice behaviors of nursing professionals must be safe, competent, and ethical, and must comply with relevant laws and regulations. Based on statistics published by the Colorado Nurses Association and the Nurses Service Organization (2020), professional conduct (32.5%), scope of practice (2.8%), and documentation error or omission (9.7%) are the three most-common categories of litigation faced by nurse practitioners. Smart medicine, which has emerged in the past decade, poses potential risks to patient privacy, safety, and professional nursing-care standards and holds the potential to significantly transform or even revolutionize the legal industry (Neary & Chen, 2017). Therefore, legal risk management is of particular importance to the nursing profession. Creating a legal-risk-management program in a workplace may start by focusing on one or more workplace aspects (e.g., individuals, teams, organizations, systems). However, the most crucial element is the frontline implementer. Therefore, the beliefs and attitudes of nursing staff and hospital care attendants toward the legal risks that may arise from the process of patient care are critically related to whether these professionals adhere strictly to the code of practice (Fontaine et al., 2019). This column proposes a safety initiative (SAFE) for the nursing-care workplace through special articles such as "Legal Risk Management in Nursing Practice: The Importance of Duty of Care," "Legal Liability for Negligence: Nurse Aides Working in Hospitals," and "The Legal Risks Faced in Nursing and Smart Healthcare." This initiative entails familiarizing nursing staff and care attendants with the legal risks associated with the patient-care profession (Support); setting high standards for patient care in the workplace that address these risks (Arousing); giving positive feedback to strengthen personal motivation, technical operation, and interpersonal interactions (Feedback); and creating a healthy workplace for practitioners while carrying out complex patient care (Environment). Shakespeare's famous drama The Tempest includes the timeless saying: "what's past is prologue." Analyzing litigation cases provides critical evidence to guide the evolution and improvement of nursing workplaces. Learning from past experience enables nurses and hospital care attendants to help others in a safe and dignified manner that will benefit all people.
护理专业人员是所有医疗系统部门中最大的职业群体，也是与患者工作联系最紧密、最频繁的医疗专业人员。人体的复杂性和多样性使护理成为一项高风险职业。护理专业人员的执业行为必须安全、胜任且符合道德规范，并且必须遵守相关法律法规。根据科罗拉多护士协会和护士服务组织（2020年）公布的统计数据，专业行为（32.5%）、执业范围（2.8%）以及文件记录错误或遗漏（9.7%）是执业护士面临的三大最常见诉讼类别。在过去十年中出现的智能医疗，对患者隐私、安全和专业护理标准构成了潜在风险，并有可能显著改变甚至彻底变革法律行业（尼尔里和陈，2017年）。因此，法律风险管理对护理行业尤为重要。在工作场所创建法律风险管理计划，可以从关注一个或多个工作场所方面（如个人、团队、组织、系统）入手。然而，最关键的要素是一线实施者。因此，护理人员和医院护理人员对患者护理过程中可能出现的法律风险的信念和态度，与这些专业人员是否严格遵守执业规范密切相关（方丹等人，2019年）。本专栏通过《护理实践中的法律风险管理：注意义务的重要性》《疏忽的法律责任：在医院工作的护理助理》和《护理与智能医疗面临的法律风险》等专题文章，为护理工作场所提出了一项安全倡议（SAFE）。该倡议包括让护理人员和护理人员熟悉与患者护理职业相关的法律风险（支持）；在工作场所为解决这些风险设定高标准的患者护理要求（激发）；给予积极反馈以增强个人动力、技术操作和人际互动（反馈）；以及在开展复杂的患者护理工作时为从业者创造一个健康的工作场所（环境）。莎士比亚的著名戏剧《暴风雨》中有一句永恒的名言：“凡是过去，皆为序章。”分析诉讼案例为指导护理工作场所的演变和改进提供了关键证据。从过去的经验中学习，使护士和医院护理人员能够以安全和有尊严的方式帮助他人，这将造福所有人。
