looking for legal related case scenarios in psych nursing

[nurseteacher74]

hi i'm a new teacher. i'm lecturing about legal matters in psych nursing. i want to put together several case scenarios for my students to work on.

do you have any good case scenarios in such matter you could share?

or have you had any experiences dealing with legal matters with psych patients you could share?

thank you :)

[teiladay]

Legal cases can readily be found in case law books, horn books, etc.. you know, many of the books that are the standard books for law students.

You're probably talking about "tort" cases involving Psych Nursing, so check out the book on "Torts" by Prossor and Keeton. This is probably regarded as the tort bible at many law schools. I've found the book excellent and better than many other books on torts. Most law professors probably fancy this book over others on the same topic.

Torts is broken up into many different areas as you can imagine. Even if you can't find something directly related to a nursing case, the premise, basics of the case, and outcome might be the same when referencing another case dealing with a totally different subject. The basics of law are often unilaterally applied over a myriad of subjets.

Remember: Processor & Keeton book on TORTS. Ask any attorney and they can direct you to a copy. Check eBay, and or do a google search and you'll find it in a hearbeat!

Good Luck!

[elkpark]

Hi, and welcome to allnurses! I teach psych and legal/ethical issues, too.

You would certainly want to familiarize the students with the specific legal requirements of your state related to restraint/seclusion, involuntary admissions, AMAs, forcing medication, mandated reporting of abuse, and Tarasoff requirements. Those are the obvious topics that occur to me right away, and the laws vary somewhat from state to state.

It would be v. easy to put together scenarios dealing with those issues, since they are dealt with every day on psych inpatient units.