It is crucial for nurses to demonstrate competence and knowledge of ethics. Nurses should adhere to the code of ethics to conduct competent nursing actions. Jacoby and Scruth (2017) emphasize that by neglecting the rules and practicing outside the established scope, nurses “are breaking the law and place themselves and the organization where they work at risk for malpractice” (p. 183). Essentially, negligence and malpractice have differences that should be explained in detail.
For instance, negligence refers to actions that violate standards of nursing. Jacoby and Scruth (2017) state that negligence is somewhat unintentional than intentional. Nurses should be aware that in complex situations, it is vital to refer to an advanced practice nurse (APN), who will assist in dealing with the problem (Jacoby & Scruth, 2017). Thus, an example of negligence is when a nurse unintentionally misses a change in the health progress or writes a wrong name on a patient’s chart. In comparison, malpractice can be described as a form of negligence, which is “committed in carrying out professional duties” (Jacoby & Scruth, 2017, p. 183). Malpractice is when nurses intentionally harm or place patients at risk by violating laws and established standards. The nurse’s actions can refer to malpractice when the nurse purposely makes an error or does not update a patient’s chart with progress (Berger & Lagnese, 2021). Consequently, another example of malpractice is when a nurse intentionally does not feed a patient or does not call a doctor when urgently needed.
References
Jacoby, S. R., & Scruth, E. A. (2017). Negligence and the nurse: The value of the code of ethics for nurses. Clinical Nurse Specialist, 31(4), 183-185. doi: 10.1097/NUR.0000000000000301
Berger & Lagnese, (2021). The 9 most common examples of nursing malpractice.Berger & Lagnese.