question archive Maria Perez is a patient arriving from the Emergency Department (ED) with acute heart failure and confusion
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Maria Perez is a patient arriving from the Emergency Department (ED) with acute heart failure and confusion. Betty, the licensed practical nurse/licensed vocational nurse (LPN/LVN) who receives the call from the ED, recognizes the patient's name and volunteers to take Maria as a patient. While getting Maria settled, Betty recognizes that this patient needs more care than she expected.
SCENE 1: The cardiac care unit receives a call from the ED about a new admission: Maria Perez, a patient with heart failure. Betty, a LPN/LVN, answers the phone and volunteers to take this patient, as Ms. Perez has been admitted here before and Betty has cared for her previously. Betty then assesses the patient and finds that the patient is confused and her vitals are not stable.
2. Should there be any liability to the charge nurse, who was not present when Betty answered the phone and accepted the patient?
A charge nurse is responsible for supervising a specific department within a healthcare facility over a particular period of time. The duties of a charge nurse include overseeing admissions and discharges, creating work schedules, delegating nursing assignments, and monitoring and ordering supplies and medications. An LPN/LVN is responsible for monitoring and observing patient's condition by checking vital statistics, giving medications and intravenous fluids as well as providing information to other healthcare professionals.
Since an LPN/LVN is usually under the supervision of the charge nurse, there will be liability to the charge nurse even he/she is not present when Betty answered the phone and accepted the patient. A charge nurse should have oriented the LPN/LVN on guidelines regarding admitting patient as well as providing ways to improve assessment of patient's conditions.