The entire foundation of a nurse's job is to take care of patients. It's no surprise that patient abandonment is so serious that it could have adverse effects on a nursing license. Still, it doesn't have to cost you a nursing career if you know how to handle an accusation of patient abandonment.
For example, one of the first things to do is to call the Lento Law Firm. Respected nationwide for their understanding of professional license issues, the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team is ready to advocate for you. Call them now at 888.535.3686 or fill out this contact form.
What Counts as Patient Abandonment?
As a nurse, perhaps you don't question that patient abandonment is never acceptable. What you may question is what constitutes abandonment. Sometimes, patients feel abandoned when that's not the case, or there are unique circumstances to consider. It helps to know how the law defines this concept.
Leaving Without Making Arrangements
Once you accept a patient/nurse relationship—either by clocking in for a shift or signing a contract—you are obligated to do everything in your power to ensure that the patient receives the care they need. This includes keeping careful notes and reports on any medications, incidents, and progress related to their health.
If you leave your normal shift or end a contract without arranging for another nurse to take over and making sure they're informed, you're risking an interruption in the care that you agreed to provide to the patient, effectively abandoning them. Your supervisor should always know when you leave, too, so that they can handle or be aware of new arrangements.
Failure to Respond to an Emergency
Leaving work while your patient is in a state of emergency is an even more serious example. Rather than expecting an incoming nurse to handle the situation, you must provide any medication and treatments that you can before clocking out. Anything less risks the patient's safety and is therefore considered abandonment.
Failure to Acknowledge Acute Distress
Patients may occasionally experience periods of acute distress, particularly if they recently endured a traumatic medical event. Anxiety, paranoia, nightmares, and hallucinations are common symptoms. Severe episodes of acute distress are not always emergent, but you must still alert the incoming nurse to the situation before leaving so that they can handle it.
Failure to Meet a Patient's Needs
Even when your patient is not enduring an emergency or acute distress, they often need consistent attention. If you're not administering medication at the appropriate times, adjusting treatments as appropriate, or monitoring their comfort and progress, then they may be missing out on what they need, possibly making you guilty of patient abandonment.
Inadequate Documentation
You work hard to provide a patient with proper care, but your efforts may go to waste if they're not well-documented. If incoming nurses and other medical staff can't tell what you've already done for the patient or what changes occurred during your shift, they won't know what to do next. This is regarded as patient abandonment because it compromises their care after you're gone.
Inappropriately Refusing Assignments
You don't have to do any assignments with which you feel uncomfortable. In fact, if you're inexperienced in a particular treatment or task, the ethical response would be to decline it.
However, you must inform your supervisor or the patient's doctor about your decision. That way, they can transfer the assignment to a different and more appropriate medical professional. Failing to communicate regarding your refusal leaves a patient without something they need, which is tantamount to abandonment.
Poor Delegation of Tasks
If you're a nurse in a supervisory position, part of your job may include delegating tasks to your direct reports. You should make each assignment with careful consideration so that the patients receive all the attention they require.
Assuming you have more experience or the right temperament for leadership, patient care is ultimately your responsibility. A nurse who effectively abandons a patient because they followed inadequate instructions or did not have the right tools will not be held to the same level of accountability as the one who issued those instructions or failed to provide everything needed for the task.
Providing Care While Impaired
There are a variety of reasons why you may become impaired while at work, but regardless of the circumstances, you may be committing patient abandonment by working while in such a state. After all, if a patient receives anything less than a nurse's alert, competent care, then they're not truly receiving care at all.
Sleeping on Duty
Nurses commonly work 12-hour shifts and may become exhausted for many reasons outside of work as well. It's tempting to take a nap during your shift, even outside your normal break times. Nevertheless, sleeping on duty means that you're not giving proper attention to your patients, so nursing boards categorize this as abandonment.
What Patient Abandonment Is Not
Sometimes, the legal definitions of patient abandonment may appear to apply to gray situations. Nursing regulations address this problem by specifically explaining what does not fall under the category of abandoning a patient. Use this information to work with the Lento Law Firm in combating false accusations.
Failure to Notify Employing Agency
Some nurses receive work assignments through agencies. For them, declining an assignment without notifying the agency is not the same as patient abandonment because there was no contract. Without a formal agreement about forming a professional relationship between a nurse and a patient, the nurse can't be held responsible for the patient's care. By definition, you can't abandon someone you didn't promise to help.
Refusing Mandatory Overtime or Extra Shifts
Considering the nationwide shortage of medical staff, it's no surprise that some employers would expect you to work overtime or cover someone else's shift. However, nurses are just as entitled to rest and personal time as anyone else, particularly if a shift has already left you so fatigued that you could harm yourself or others by continuing to work.
This is why you can refuse mandatory overtime without being guilty of patient abandonment. If patients suffer because you decide to leave after your regular shift, employers must find reasonable solutions for staffing and task delegation rather than trying to pin the blame on you.
Declining Tasks Outside of Scope
You may sometimes receive assignments that you're unprepared to fulfill. Perhaps the reason is a lack of experience, or the fact that the assignment in question should only be handled by doctors.
Either way, a nursing board wouldn't think you were abandoning a patient by declining tasks outside your scope. After all, if you stepped outside your scope, you could accidentally hurt the patient, directly or indirectly. In that case, refusing your assignment would be more ethical than fulfilling it. Again, the appropriate delegation of tasks is a supervisor's responsibility, so they would be guilty of patient abandonment, not you.
Declining Tasks Outside Your Experience or Comfort
Whether by coincidence or design, many nurses end up specializing in certain departments, fields, regions, or facilities. If an employer asks you to work someplace where you lack experience, education, or general familiarity, you can decline if you'd like. Since other nurses can step in, that's not patient abandonment.
Declining Tasks Due to Religious, Cultural, Legal, or Ethical Objections
You don't ever have to perform tasks that don't align with your conscience, convictions, or moral sensibilities. Doctors and supervisors can usually find other nurses who are willing to take those assignments, so as long as you're upfront and honest about what you're willing and unwilling to do, you're not abandoning any patients.
Declining Tasks That Cause Harm
If you have reason to believe a task you were assigned would harm a patient, then you are ethically obligated and legally permitted to decline it. Not only would you be innocent of any wrongdoing, but you should consider reporting the doctor or supervisor who gave you the task, especially if they try to get you in trouble for patient abandonment.
Resignation Without Notice
Nurses are allowed to resign for whatever reasons they choose. As long as your contract doesn't say otherwise, you can quit working immediately without legal repercussions. You're not even legally required to finish all your remaining shifts.
While a two-week notice is a professional courtesy to give your employer time to find a replacement, declining to provide it is not the same as patient abandonment. The same is true if you do provide notice and then only work for part of it.
Not Returning to Work After Leave
Whether your leave is voluntary or involuntary, no one can force you to return to work when it's over. This does not mean you're abandoning your patients. Your supervisor would have been arranging for other nurses to cover your duties while you were gone, and they can continue doing so if you decide not to come back.
Possible Consequences of Patient Abandonment
The worst that can happen in a case of patient abandonment is that the patient in question suffers unnecessary harm. That's why nurses may face several kinds of discipline if a nursing board finds them guilty of it. The following administrative consequences are the most common.
License Suspension
A nursing board could issue a license suspension at the beginning of a case to stop you from working while they investigate, or it could be a disciplinary response to a guilty verdict. The written suspension order would come with instructions to restore your license. Requirements may vary case by case, but they often include payment of fines, completion of remedial or rehabilitation programs, or agreeing to restrict your scope of practice.
License Revocation
Often a consequence of failing to fulfill the demands of a suspension, license revocation means that you cannot legally work as a nurse at all. Although you can apply to have a nursing board reinstate a revoked license, you may be required to wait at least a year, sometimes more.
Probation
Perhaps you'd be allowed to continue working, but any further complaints and negative reports would come with harsher disciplinary actions. That's what probation would be like. If you're already on probation for patient abandonment when you're investigated for it again, your license is more likely to be suspended or revoked.
Restricted Practice
Patient care is a crucial aspect of nursing, but it's not the only one. The nursing board may discipline you by restricting your scope of practice, and limiting your contact with patients to reduce the risk of abandonment. You may still be able to perform tasks like recordkeeping, diagnostic test analysis, educating or training other nurses, and communicating with other medical staff.
Administrative Leave
Administrative leave is meant to be a temporary arrangement, removing you from patient care until your employer or the nursing board decide otherwise. It could last anywhere from a few days to several months, and your employer decides whether to pay you for it. During that time, the nursing board may debate whether to revoke or suspend your license, so your leave could end with a change in your eligibility to practice.
Process for Investigating and Adjudicating Cases of Patient Abandonment
Knowing what to expect if you're ever accused of patient abandonment could be half the battle to winning your case. That way, you can prepare for each step of the process and present yourself in the best possible light. The exact procedure may differ depending on the case, but it will generally go something like this.
A Complaint or Report is Filed
Upon suspecting that you have abandoned a patient, your employer may file a complaint or report to the nursing board. It will detail the specific reasons why you're being accused.
Most nursing boards respond to complaints within a few weeks and decide whether to investigate further. Although nursing boards take patient abandonment seriously, they may dismiss the complaint or simply send you a written warning or reprimand if the offending action was minor or there is a lack of evidence to prove your guilt.
An Investigation Begins
Should the nursing board choose to proceed with an investigation, you'll receive a written notification. Over the course of several weeks to months, the board may ask for statements and evidence from you, your accusers, witnesses, and references for your character.
During this step, it's imperative to retain a lawyer from the Lento Law Firm to help you organize and present everything that the board requires.
The Nursing Board Holds a Hearing
Once the investigation is complete, the nursing board may schedule an adjudication hearing to assess your guilt. This is your chance to use all the statements and evidence to plead your case. Witnesses and references could testify on your behalf or elaborate upon statements they already gave. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team can also offer compelling arguments to advocate for leniency or acquittal.
The Board Makes a Decision
Once the nursing board has reviewed every element and angle of your case, they'll decide whether you're guilty of patient abandonment and how to discipline you if appropriate. Even if you avoid license suspension or revocation, you may have to agree to administrative leave, fines, remedial education, and other conditions to continue working.
How to Reinstate a Revoked Nursing License
What if your nursing license is revoked or suspended, despite your best efforts to retain it? Don't worry—there are processes in place for getting it back. The Lento Law Firm can assist you with that as well. These are usually the steps you must take.
Use the Designated Time Wisely
Revocation is meant to last for a specific amount of time, differing based on factors like the offense, previous disciplinary history, and state law. However, a year is typically the minimum, and two to five is more common.
Put that time to good use. Consider volunteering at hospitals and medical offices, if your state allows you to do so without a license. Take courses and programs that help you stay up-to-date in the field and show your commitment to resolving any issues that contributed to your abandonment of a patient.
Not only will things like this keep your skills sharp, but they'll show the nursing board that you're worthy of reinstatement. Document everything that you do with dates, times, and qualitative measurements demonstrating your progress or effectiveness. The Lento Law Firm can advise you on what actions to take and documentation methods to use.
Of course, you'll also need to spend this time working in another field to continue paying your bills. As you do so, set aside as much money as you can to retain the Lento Law Firm. When the revocation period is done, they'll support you in reinstating your license.
Petition With Documentation
Once the revocation period has passed, you can petition the nursing board to renew your license. Along with your application, submit all the documents that you've kept showing how productively you used your time while unlicensed. Consider including reference letters from patients and co-workers as well. Let the Lento Law Firm advise you on what to send with your application.
Present Your Case to the Nursing Board
The nursing board will likely hold another hearing with you. They may want more information about your readiness to become a nurse again. Take the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team with you to the hearing so that they can provide the most effective wording and arguments on your behalf.
How Can the Lento Law Firm Help You?
Knowing how complex the investigation, adjudication, and license reinstatement processes can be, you should garner all the help you can. The Lento Law Firm is the first place you should call. Signing on with them promises you the following benefits.
Experience in License Defense
If the Lento Law Firm sounds familiar, it's probably because you've seen them featured in the news around the country for the cases they've covered. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team has handled numerous patient abandonment cases like yours and brought them to satisfactory conclusions. They have the experience necessary to protect and advocate for you.
Nationwide Reach
While some law firms focus on specific cities or regions, the Lento Law Firm stands out for its availability throughout the nation. No matter where you are in the United States, the Lento Law Firm will know how to defend your nursing license according to the regulations of the state where you're practicing. Your professional relationship with the Professional License Defense Team can follow you wherever you go.
Effective Multifaceted Approach
Part of the reason for the Lento Law Firm's famous success is that they adopt a winning strategy for each case. The Professional License Defense Team doesn't just argue the facts; they strive to stay ahead of the investigation, thoroughly consider every possible angle or outcome, and find diplomatic solutions to keep your career and reputation intact.
Take a Deeper Look
If you haven't committed patient abandonment, the Lento Law Firm will dig as much as necessary to exonerate you. If you did abandon a patient, the Lento Law Firm will advocate for the nursing board to consider important factors like context and your overall character or work ethic. Either way, they won't interpret your actions at face value and will convince the board to do the same, sparing your license.
Excellent Service and Dedication
Whether you're innocent or guilty of patient abandonment, investigations and adjudications are stressful. They can take a toll on your mental health, which may, in turn, affect your work and social life.
The Lento Law Firm can reduce the burden you feel by handling all the heavy lifting in your case. With their support, you'll find it easier to keep your life on track.
Don't Abandon Your Nursing License!
Being investigated for patient abandonment doesn't mean you deserve to lose your nursing license or suffer any other interruptions to your career. The Lento Law Firm has all the skills and tools necessary to help you continue working as a nurse. To protect your license, call the Lento Law Firm today at 888.535.3686 or fill out a contact form.
