safe harbor

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Have any nurses reading this ever evoked safe harbor ?

If so did you keep your job or was that pretty much asking to be let go? I am wondering what the consequences would be career wise for taking a step like this.

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Specializes in Nursing Home ,Dementia Care,Neurology..

Can you perhaps,explain what 'safe harbor' is please?

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Safe Harbor is state board of nursing policy in Texas by which a nurse can prevent discipline from the board if something goes wrong. If they submit in writing a request for safe harbor r/t things like unsafe staffing conditions , refusal to accept an assignmnent, or perform procedures you feel are questionable and might cause harm to patient.

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Specializes in ER/Trauma.

Here's an older - but related - thread about the topic.

cheers,

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Sounds like a great way to protect yourself, wish we had that in Tenn.

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Safe Harbor as you are referring to it, is just a means of documentation; but does not stop you for caring the patients that were assigned to you for that shift.

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Safe Harbor is a farce. It is 1-2" of paperwork that must be filled out ASAP - which means that you will be staying late after your shift to fill it out.

It does nothing to reduce your workload or force the facility to change their staffing grid. It is time consuming and most nurses decide it is not worth filling out since it does not change the working conditions.

If a pt decided to pursue a lawsuit against you or complain to the board, if you filled out the papers, you might be able to keep your nursing license if you had the papers to document the unsafe conditions. Even then it is no guarantee. The facility can still claim that the staffing was according to the grid and they felt it was safe - and that you were just a crappy nurse.

The facilities don't care if you feel it out. They don't get investigated - nothing happens to them. And they love to make the paperwork very complicated and time consuming to fill out so that the nurses won't even bother to claim safe harbor.

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Safe Harbor is a farce. It is 1-2" of paperwork that must be filled out ASAP - which means that you will be staying late after your shift to fill it out.

It does nothing to reduce your workload or force the facility to change their staffing grid. It is time consuming and most nurses decide it is not worth filling out since it does not change the working conditions.

If a pt decided to pursue a lawsuit against you or complain to the board, if you filled out the papers, you might be able to keep your nursing license if you had the papers to document the unsafe conditions. Even then it is no guarantee. The facility can still claim that the staffing was according to the grid and they felt it was safe - and that you were just a crappy nurse.

The facilities don't care if you feel it out. They don't get investigated - nothing happens to them. And they love to make the paperwork very complicated and time consuming to fill out so that the nurses won't even bother to claim safe harbor.

If you look at the paperwork you will see that the nurse initiating it is only part of it, The first page is for the nurse starting it, then it goes to the supervisor, then manager then don. That person has so much time to investigate and get back to you about what they found. Yes you keep taking care of the pts but if anything happens during that time you are safe with the board of nursing

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You are correct that the facility is supposed to investigate. Coming from both a staff and management position - safe harbor is still a joke.

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If a pt decided to pursue a lawsuit against you or complain to the board, if you filled out the papers, you might be able to keep your nursing license if you had the papers to document the unsafe conditions.

perhaps, but I've also heard people say that signing paperwork where you acknowledge you are taking an unsafe assignment is like putting a nice watch in your pocket that you didn't pay for and announcing that you plan on walking out the store with the watch, without paying for it

One way or the other, it's a myth that i'd like to know the absolute truth of whether one should call for safe harbor or not.

Are there cases where someone envoked safe harbor has been challenged used in a courtroom? Or is it all theoretical?

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