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Patient Abandonment: an Annotated Bibliography

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Patient Abandonment: an Annotated Bibliography
Patient Abandonment: An Annotated Bibliography

A changing practice that should be examined by all new nurses is the abandonment of a patient. Many nurses do not see clocking out at the end of their shift without giving report to the oncoming nurse as abandonment. These nurses believe that they have left the patients in another nurses’ care and therefore they have not abandoned them. The previous example is showing physical abandonment, however psychological abandonment can be equally harmful. A nurse may be tending to the physical needs of a patient while ignoring the patients’ mental and spiritual needs which would still be considered patient abandonment.

Morales, K. (2009). Patient abandonment. Retrieved on 5/24/2010 from http://www.n

ursetogether.com/tabid/102/itemid/1829/Patient-Abandonment.aspx

Morales is a certified legal nurse consultant who practiced in the nursing profession for twenty-five years. She has written items for the NCLEX as well as Policy and Procedure, and taught as a nursing instructor. Her intended audiences are nurses and legal nurse consultants. Morales (2005) discusses the various liabilities congruent with patient abandonment and also gives scenarios with discussions explaining what actions a nurse may take when faced with abandonment issues. Four elements including duty, breach of duty, damages, and causation are explained which must be proven to reveal malpractice (Morales, 2005). Other liabilities consistent with patient abandonment include the loss of nursing license and COBRA violation charges (Morales, 2005). Examples of abandonment as well as situations in which refusal may be acceptable are discussed. A clear point made by Morales (2005) is that health care providers do not have to provide care if their personal safety is at risk.

Trentham, M. (2009). Patient abandonment: What is it really? ASBN Update, 13(1)

Retrieved on 5/24/2010 from



Bibliography: Morales, K. (2009). Patient abandonment. Retrieved on 5/24/2010 from http://www.n ursetogether.com/tabid/102/itemid/1829/Patient-Abandonment.aspx Trentham, M. (2009). Patient abandonment: What is it really? ASBN Update, 13(1) Retrieved on 5/24/2010 from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfvi Oklahoma Board of Nursing. (2010). Abandonment statement. Retrieved on 5/24/2010 from http://www.ok.gov/nursing/prac-aband.pdf

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