Threat of Patient Abandonment?

AgentBeast, MSN, RN · Jan 11, 2012

Yeah, they like to say that, but no you can't be charged with patient abandonment. You need to #1 accept assignment and #2 then leave without handing the patients off to another nurse to be charge with patient abandonment. Yeah resigning 7 hours before you are scheduled to work is somewhat bad, but it doesn't constitute abandonment and doesn't fall within the jurisdiction of the Ohio Board of Nursing.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Jan 11, 2012

you are correct. this "your license is at risk" thing is grossly overused, not just in this context but in many others.

our state nurses association publishes the lists of license revocations and conditions periodically. they are for (generally) having committed fraud, narcotics diversion, theft or other felony, appearing at work under the influence, and the like. "******* off the staffing coordinator" and "quitting on short notice" are not on the list.

Morainey, BSN, RN · Jan 11, 2012

Sounds like BS.

Asystole RN · Jan 11, 2012

As a professional registered nurse you really need to read you Nurse Practice Act (NPA), you state's board of nursing website, scope of practice, and your state's board of nursing advisory opinions....in full. If you had, I am sure you would have known the answer to this already.

For example, here is my state's advisory opinion on patient abandonment

Arizona State Board of Nursing
4747 North 7th Street, Suite 200 Phoenix,
AZ 85014-3655
Phone (602) 889-5150
Fax - (602) 889-5155
E-Mail: [email protected]
Home Page: http://www.azbn.gov N:\ADVISORY

ADVISORY OPINION
ABANDONMENT OF PATIENTS

STATEMENT OF SCOPE

Registered Nurses (RN) and Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) are required to provide reasonable notice to the supervisor for the continuity of patients care, rather than terminate the relationship without notification, which is defined as abandonment. The following requirements constitute patient abandonment:

I. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

A. The nurse must have first ACCEPTED the patient assignment, thus establishing a nurse-patient relationship. Accepting a patient assignment varies from setting to setting and requires a clear understanding of workload and agreement to provide care, AND then

B. DISENGAGED the nurse-patient relationship without giving reasonable notice and report to the qualified person (supervisor, nurse, etc.) so that others can make arrangements for continuation of nursing care.

C. Examples of patient abandonment include, but are not limited to:

i. Leaving without giving the supervisor or qualified person adequate notice

ii. Leaving without giving report to a qualified person

iii. Accepting an assignment of patient care and then leaving the nursing unit or patient care setting without notifying the qualified person

D. Situations NOT considered to be patient abandonment, but are examples of employer- employee or contract issues of which the Board has no jurisdiction (salary, work conditions, hiring and termination policies):

1. No call/no show for work

2. Refusal to accept an assignment or a nurse-patient relationship

3. Refusal to work mandatory overtime

4. Refusal to work additional hours or shifts

5. Ending the employer-employee relationship without providing the employer with a period of time to obtain replacement staff for that specific position

6. Refusal to work in an unfamiliar, specialized, or "high tech" area when there has been no orientation, no educational preparation or employment experience

7. Resigning from a position and not fulfilling the remaining posted work schedule

8. Refusal to "float" to an unfamiliar unit to accept a full patient assignment

II. RATIONALE

To provide the nursing community with guidelines to clarify those circumstances which may be characterized as patient-abandonment.

III. REFERENCES

California Board of Nursing, (2009). Scope of Practice. Retrieved from http://www.rn.ca.gov/practice/rns/htm

Kentucky Board of Nursing. (2009). Scope of Practice. Retrieved from http://www.kbn.ky.gov/practice/aos.htm

Maryland Board of Nursing. (2009). Scope of Practice. Retrieved from http://www.mbon.org/main.php?v=norm&p=0&c=practice/decregs.htl

Texas Board of Nursing. (2009). Scope of Practice. Retrieved from http://www.bne.state.tx.us/practice/gen_practice.html#Scope_of_Practice

http://www.azbn.gov/documents/advisory_opinion/AO%20ABANDONMENT%20OF%20PATIENTS.pdf

xoemmylouox, ASN, RN · Jan 11, 2012

Nursing admin use this all of the time to scare you. Any place that is pathetic enough to use that is not a place you want to be anyway.. Cut your losses and move on to bigger and better things!

DanRN78 · Jan 1, 2015

Employers not individual nurses are responsible for continuity of nursing services. Abandonment occurs when a nurse prematurely severs the nurse patient relationship, like leaving the shift early. Don't worry.

Whispera, MSN, RN · Jan 1, 2015

Don't worry about being charged with abandonment, but you'll never get a job in the facility's system again, and maybe not from any other system in which your manager or co-workers (who were left covering your hours) have friends... People do talk, especially when they feel someone dumped on them...

calisss · Dec 8, 2019

Dec 31, 2014 by Whispera, MSN, RN

Further from the truth, I've resigned same day as my shift and have been working steadily since then. People may talk but talk is cheap.