abandonment of duty?

[roanne]

Would leaving your unit for 5 minutes to go somewhere, like the restroom or your locker room, be considered abandonment of duty? A co-worker did that and our unit manager told her to make an anecdotal report because it was already abandonment of duty.

[jnrsmommy]

Slightly off topic, I got my TBON Bulletin in the mail yesterday, and saw a paragraph stating that: Senate Bill 476 amends the Nursing Practice Act by adding new Section 301.356 relating to Refusal of Mandatory Overtime. Following passage of SB 476, nurses working in a hospital may refuse to work mandatory overtime and refusing to work overtime "does not constitute patient abandonment." How many times have nurses been threatened w/ that phrase in the past?

Now, if only we can get that passed to LTC.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

Would leaving your unit for 5 minutes to go somewhere, like the restroom or your locker room, be considered abandonment of duty? A co-worker did that and our unit manager told her to make an anecdotal report because it was already abandonment of duty.

i would suggest this nurse start looking for a new job......it would appear she/he has a target on their back....

[txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN]

this may help...it has always been my understanding that one must assume a patient assignment before there can be a issue of abandonment....

http://www.bne.state.tx.us/practice/position.html#15.6

"

there is also no routine answer to the question, "when does the nurse's duty to a patient begin?" the nurse's duty is not defined by any single event such as clocking in or taking report. from a bon standpoint, the focus for disciplinary sanctions is on the relationship and responsibility of the nurse to the patient, not to the employer or employment setting."

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

This thread has been split.

[elkpark]

I'm not in TX, but, in every state in which I have practiced over the years, in nursing in general, leaving the unit during your shift without informing someone that you're leaving the unit and turning over the care of your clients to another nurse, even for a short time, is technically abandonment. As long as nothing bad happened, you wouldn't lose your license or anything, but it is a no-no. I wouldn't be surprised that someone got in trouble with their boss (but not the BON) for doing that.