20 legal tools no nurse should be without

Which area of practice are you thinking about specializing in? Is teaching your passion or is clinical practice? You, as a nurse, have innumerable decisions to make in developing your career now and in the coming years. Your pathway can change along the way (as did mine). What you can't and shouldn't change is how you protect your nursing license. Throughout your career you will face some situations that may present legal liabilities for your practice as well as for your place of work. Nancy Brent, RN, JD states that “a nurse can be named as a defendant in a professional negligence case, for instance, or accused of violating the nurse practice act or its rules, defaming a fellow worker, breaching a contract of employment or breaching a patient's confidentiality. But there are legal means that can help protect you and your practice.” ²

Here some tips from my experience as well as from general resources for avoiding potential liability: