Does Nursing School teach you what you can and can't say to patients?

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I'm just curious, my daughter is in nursing school and I was wondering if she'll be taught what she can and cannot say in front of a patient. Is there a class that specifically addresses the legalities of nursing?:confused:

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

It's not usually taught as a separate course. However, it is a topic that should come up as a thread within several classes. Hopefully, she will develop good judgment about such matters as she engages in supervised practice in a wide variet of situations.

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Professionalism, therapeutic communication, and legal/defensive Nursing will all be major topics taught both in the classroom and in the clinical setting.

Someone worried their daughter has a potty mouth?

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Also if you are worried about the legalities of Nursing look into your State's Nurse Practice Act and NSO.com

NSO is a very popular Nurse malpractice insurer, only about $80-$95 for coverage, covers students too. They have many very good resources on their website including case studies.

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Professionalism, therapeutic communication, and legal/defensive Nursing will all be major topics taught both in the classroom and in the clinical setting.

This.

As to your other comment, in my experience the general public really has no idea of the ins and outs of nursing, including the fact that nurses can think and function independently. I remember relaying to my parents a disagreement I had with a physician, which culminated in my refusing to carry out his (very inappropriate and dangerous) orders and going over his head to the chief of staff. Their reaction was "It it even legal for you to *not* do what he says?" As if a physician's word is law, and as if I have no recourse but to mindlessly do what he says.

Between school and decent common sense, your daughter will develop an understanding of how to speak with patients.

I do, in fact, have a potty mouth, as well as a rather direct, blunt manner of speaking, and I have been sued yet!!! ;)

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Specializes in ED.

In my program, with each semester, the topics of communication, patient education, therapeutic communication, legal issues, patient's privacy, etc. are woven into every lecture.

Plus, for me, the living example of my clinical instructors and how they speak to patient's, what they choose to say, how they speak to doctors, staff, other RNs etc, is a pretty powerful teaching tool!

Are you worried about your daughter?

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I'm just curious, my daughter is in nursing school and I was wondering if she'll be taught what she can and cannot say in front of a patient. Is there a class that specifically addresses the legalities of nursing?:confused:

Legalities in nursing should be included in the required classes.....if not I'd find another school. There are also many seminars she could go to......believe it or not your daughter just might be ok and will mature and grow to know what to and not to say. Her instructors will lead her and if she really wants to be a nurse she will learn. Always remember....manners matter, say to someone else the way you would like it said to you, fight with the MD's being a jerk in the back room with a witness, smile, be kind, and remember not everyone is going to like you know when to throw in the towel. I have a rather frank way of expressing myself and worked in some inner city ED's and can have a truck drivers vocaulary when crossed.......I have been talked to when younger, i have not been fired or sued!:lol2: YOu sound like a nice lady.....I bet she wil do just fine!

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Ha! :lol2:That reminds me of a story. There was this young nurse in my ICU. A patient had drank anti-freeze a lot of anti-freeze and was being dialyzed. In her most theraputic voice she asked "How much did you drink?" the patient responded "Oh, a cap full here and a cap full there..." she responded "for how long?" the patient responded " Awe.. only 8 or 10 months or so" to which she responded "What where you thinking Ripple's cheaper!":eek: after picking myself up off the floor from laughing my a-- off we had a nice dinner and I explained the finer methods of communication! She now has her PHD in nursing and is a lawyer! Your daughter will be fine!

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Professionalism, therapeutic communication, and legal/defensive Nursing will all be major topics taught both in the classroom and in the clinical setting.

Someone worried their daughter has a potty mouth?

Oh my goodness, no. My daughter is on the shy side. I was just reading some threads on allnurses and found that some nurses seem to not always say the right thing. We all do that, I was just wondering if legally, not saying the right thing could be a problem.

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Specializes in Mother-Baby, Rehab, Hospice, Memory Care.

Yes. Near the end, we actually had a short course on professionalism and transitioning from student to nurse. I remember watching a cheesy video about a nurse who over steps the therapeutic nurse-pt relationship.

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Oh my goodness, no. My daughter is on the shy side. I was just reading some threads on allnurses and found that some nurses seem to not always say the right thing. We all do that, I was just wondering if legally, not saying the right thing could be a problem.

There is a great deal of confusion in Nursing on the differences between civil and criminal offenses. Unless she assaults a patient she should be ok criminally. Civily however...well the list of the things someone can sue you over is much longer than the list of the things they cannot...

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Specializes in CT stepdown, hospice, psych, ortho.

Lets differentiate between upfront about a health or safety issue and saying something stupid about something with no bearing on their care.

There are plenty of times lots of people in healthcare say stupid things and nothing ever happens.

My ex husband was of another religion when I was in the hospital for a procedure. He had a tattoo that was visible relating to his religion and the nurse asked what it was. He explained it to her matter of factly and she said he needed "to quit all that silliness and find Jesus."

What? Can we say cultural sensitivity? Can we say blatantly inappropriate?

PS -- I believe she was right, he DID need Jesus, which is why he's my X but it wasn't her place to tell him that.

I told her very nicely that I thought her comment was inappropriate and she shrugged it off. Had I been feeling better I might have carried it further because even though I'm a Christian, her judgement and attitude towards my X was distressing but even more so was the fact that she couldn't even admit her comment was not appropriate in a caregiver-patient/family context.

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