NURSE'S LEGAL HANDBOOK -- CONTRIBUTORS -- FOREWORD -- 1 Nursing practice and the law -- Levels of nursing practice -- Laws, rules, and regulations -- Interpreting your nurse practice act -- Keeping nurse practice acts up to date -- Standards of nursing care -- Legal significance -- Nursing licensure -- 2 Working in diverse clinical settings -- Nursing practice vs. medical practice -- Legal risks in diverse clinical settings -- 3 Patients' rights -- Documents upholding patients' rights -- Informed consent -- The patient who refuses treatment -- Respecting the patient's autonomy -- Confidentiality and the right to privacy -- Patient's right to privacy -- When the patient demands his chart -- Patient discharge against medical advice -- When a patient dies -- 4 Understanding malpractice liability -- Understanding malpractice law -- Understanding the statute of limitations -- Avoiding malpractice liability -- Maintaining professional liability insurance -- 5 Lawsuits and the legal process -- The medical malpractice lawsuit -- Defending yourself in a lawsuit -- Res judicata -- 6 Legal risks on the job -- Hospital policies -- Legal risks caused by understaffing -- Legal risks in special care units -- Legal responsibility for patient safety -- Legal risks when administering drugs -- Telephone triage -- Patient teaching and the law -- Incident reports -- Caring for a minor -- Caring for an abused patient -- Caring for a mentally ill or developmentally disabled patient -- Caring for a suspected criminal -- Upholding a patient's living will -- Working as a quality management nurse -- 7 Legal aspects of documentation -- Purpose of accurate documentation -- Legal significance of the medical record -- Nursing documentation -- Witnessing and signing documents -- Computerized medical records -- 8 Legal risks while off duty -- Legal protection for Good Samaritans.

Giving free health care advice -- Donating nursing services -- Acting during a disaster -- 9 Nurses' rights as employees -- Understanding employment contracts -- Unions -- Legal issues in collective bargaining -- Grievances and arbitration -- 10 Ethical decision making -- Law vs. ethics -- Moral dilemmas -- Values and ethics -- Ethical theories -- Basis of ethical decisions -- Internet resources -- 11 Ethical conflicts in clinical practice -- Right to die -- Organ transplantation -- Perinatal ethics -- HIV and AIDS -- Abortion and reproductive technology -- Genetic engineering and screening -- Personal safety in the workplace -- Substance abuse among nurses -- Glossary -- Understanding the judicial process -- Types of MCOs -- Interpreting legal citations -- Court case citations -- Index.