Legal question.......

[allele, LPN]

Hi everyone!! I'm posting this on Legal Nursing and General Nursing, just to get a bigger audience. I have a quick question. When we take a telephone order or verbal order we usually write out the order, then end it with TORB/VORB Dr. So-and-so/J. Doe, RN...............right? Recently I found an order where a nurse basically squeezed in her order to transfer a patient to us with the order the doctor himself wrote and signed, and never signed her own name to it. I'm not looking to report this girl, I just want to know if there's an actual law saying you can't do this? I tried looking under the board of nursing website of the state I work in (NH) and couldn't find anything, but I think I just don't know how to look. If it turns out this IS against the law, I just want to make sure the unit director makes a general announcement to everyone that this can't be done. I know I've seen it before, I just figure something had better be done before we find ourselves in trouble. Thanks for any help!! :)

[mommatrauma, RN]

Its called fraud and falsifying documents..illegal and unethical

[allele, LPN]

Thanks. I was pretty sure it was illegal, I know they told us this in school. I'm definitely going to call the BON tomorrow to get the actual word to back me up...........but it does also seem SO unethical!! It's like this nurse (and others that have done the same thing) aren't taking responsibility for orders they take from the docs! Thanks for your input, mommatrauma! I appreciate it! :)