Mandatory Reporting Paper
Locate the mandatory reporting laws for your state, locate your workplace policy & procedure for mandatory reporting. Discuss the following scenarios:
1) A colleague striking a patient
In Massachusetts, as a nurse, I am mandated to report any type or forms of abuse to the Board, in addition to my supervisor. According to M.G.L c. 111 S 172, if I suspect patient abuse, neglect, mistreatment or misappropriation of a patient, I am mandated to report the situation (www.mass.gov).
If such an event like this were to occur, I would immediately contact my nursing supervisor and report what occurred. After doing this, I would make sure to document what occurred as well as fill out the form for the MA Board of Registration in Nursing and submit them
to the appropriate personnel. In addition to this, I would also keep a copy of these documents for my own personal records.
According to the states website in regards to reporting these situations, a verbal report must be made in addition to contacting the Department of Public Health within 48 hours of the incident. Anyone who fails to do so, will be fined $1000 (www.mass.gov).
2) A 15-year old Mother brings her 3 month old to the PCP and perineal bruising is observed.
My first reaction to this situation would be to investigate and find out what happened. In situations like these, trying to find out what really happened can often times be very challenging. I would look to rely heavily on my assessment skills in this situation, given that the patient may feel conflicted with telling me what occurred, depending on the nature of the abuse (Lazortiz, 2011).
Building trust with my patient would also be crucial in this type of situation. By forming a trustworthy relationship with this patient, I would be able to obtain more information and better assess this patient.
As stated above, nurses are mandated reporters of abuse, neglect, mistreatment or misappropriation (www.mass.gov). If during my assessment with this patient I suspected any of these, I would report the situation to my supervisor and follow through with the appropriate paperwork.
1) A colleague striking a patient
In Massachusetts, as a nurse, I am mandated to report any type or forms of abuse to the Board, in addition to my supervisor. According to M.G.L c. 111 S 172, if I suspect patient abuse, neglect, mistreatment or misappropriation of a patient, I am mandated to report the situation (www.mass.gov).
If such an event like this were to occur, I would immediately contact my nursing supervisor and report what occurred. After doing this, I would make sure to document what occurred as well as fill out the form for the MA Board of Registration in Nursing and submit them
to the appropriate personnel. In addition to this, I would also keep a copy of these documents for my own personal records.
According to the states website in regards to reporting these situations, a verbal report must be made in addition to contacting the Department of Public Health within 48 hours of the incident. Anyone who fails to do so, will be fined $1000 (www.mass.gov).
2) A 15-year old Mother brings her 3 month old to the PCP and perineal bruising is observed.
My first reaction to this situation would be to investigate and find out what happened. In situations like these, trying to find out what really happened can often times be very challenging. I would look to rely heavily on my assessment skills in this situation, given that the patient may feel conflicted with telling me what occurred, depending on the nature of the abuse (Lazortiz, 2011).
Building trust with my patient would also be crucial in this type of situation. By forming a trustworthy relationship with this patient, I would be able to obtain more information and better assess this patient.
As stated above, nurses are mandated reporters of abuse, neglect, mistreatment or misappropriation (www.mass.gov). If during my assessment with this patient I suspected any of these, I would report the situation to my supervisor and follow through with the appropriate paperwork.