Discretion and Legal Responsibilities of Nurses in Drug Management Based on Advanced Physician Directives

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Doctors give visiting nurses written instructions on drug dose and route of administration for each patient in advance. Based on their assessments of the changes in the patient's condition at home, nurses use their discretion in drug administration. They usually make reports to the doctor after visits unless there were no abnormalities in the patient's condition. Nurses usually administer drugs according to comprehensive and specific orders in various clinical settings. However, standard protocols for drug administration by nurses and physicians have not been well established ; therefore, appropriate protocols need to be prepared as rapidly as possible. Nurses bear heavy responsibilities as professionals responding to the health needs of a sophisticated and diverse society. When a patient death is attributed to a nurse's inappropriate drug administration, the courts will hold nurses criminally responsible for critical negligence in addition to civil liability.