Why Should Nurses Care About the Supreme Court?

Many cases have direct and indirect bearing on health care policy and public health.

Failure to Meet Nurse Staffing Standards: A Litigation Case Study of a Large US Nursing Home Chain.

Large for-profit nursing home chains in the United States have generally reported low nurse staffing levels. This historical case study examined a class action litigation case regarding staffing levels, resident rights, and quality outcomes in 12 Arkansas nursing homes owned by a large for-profit chain. The questions were as follows: (1) How did the residents' care needs compare with actual nurse staffing levels? (2) How did the staffing levels compare with federal and state nurse staffing requirements and professional staffing standards? (3) Did the facilities comply with state and federal residents' rights and quality of care requirements? The findings showed staffing levels marginally above state minimum standards, staffing shortages that violated state standards, staffing levels not adjusted for resident acuity, and shortages that resulted in omitted care. Staffing levels were lower than needed according to nursing directors, lower than average facilities in the state, and lower than professional standards. The findings showed many resident grievances regarding basic care and residents' rights, clinical measures of poor quality, and state deficiencies. A large settlement was agreed on to compensate the residents. The case shows that chain's management, as well as the regulatory system, failed to ensure adequate staffing levels that took into account regulatory requirements and professional standards and resulted in violations of residents' rights, health, safety, and well-being.

Enfermería penitenciaria: marco legal y realidad asistencial / Prison nursing: legal framework and care reality

Introducción: La Enfermería Penitenciaria ha experimentado durante las últimas décadas una profunda trasformación, similar a la experimentada por el resto de la Enfermería, pero hay una distancia importante con la legislación que la ampara. Objetivo: explorar la realidad asistencial de la Enfermería Penitenciaria mediante la recopilación y análisis de los principales documentos legales que regulan la Sanidad Penitenciaria en los centros penitenciarios españoles. Metodología: Revisión bibliográfica en fuentes como Medline, Cuiden, Scielo, Dialnet, etc. Se emplearon las palabras clave: 'enfermería', 'cárcel', 'prisión', 'evolución', 'funciones enfermería prisiones', 'leyes enfermería prisiones' y 'sanidad penitenciaria'. Se revisan artículos entre 1834 y 2015. Además se utilizaron tres libros especializados sobre Sanidad Penitenciaria, se revisó Revista Española de Sanidad Penitenciaria y la página web del Ministerio del Interior de Instituciones Penitenciarias, así como varios documentos legales relacionados con el tema. Resultados: Se seleccionaron 43 documentos, debido a su pertinencia con el tema objeto de estudio. Se rechazaron 4 artículos por carecer de la misma. Se analizaron los documentos en cuanto a marco legal y funciones de enfermería en prisiones en sus diferentes apartados (asistencial, docente, investigador y de gestión). Conclusión: Las funciones que los enfermeros desempeñan actualmente en los CP son las marcadas por la legislación sanitaria extrapenitenciaria, además de las normas administrativas internas establecidas por la Institución Penitenciaria. Debería replantearse la necesaria integración de la Sanidad Penitenciaria en el Sistema Público de Salud de forma que garantice la igualdad de la asistencia sanitaria para las personas privadas de libertad y proporcione los mismos derechos y deberes a los profesionales sanitarios que la ejercen (AU)

Introduction: Prison nursing has undergone a major transformation in recent decades, similar to that experienced in other sectors of nursing. However, a considerable distance has to be covered before the provisions of protective legislation become a reality. Objective: To analyze the main legal documents which regulate the functions of Prison Nursing and to compare it with the reality of health care for nurses in Spanish prisons. Methodology: Narrative bibliographic review based on various sources such as Medline, Cuiden, Scielo, Dialnet, etc. Results: 43 documents were selected for their relevance to the subject matter of the study. 4 were rejected for not having any relevance. The documents were analysed for references to the legal framework and functions of nursing in prisons in different sections (health care, teaching, research and management). Conclusion: The functions currently carried out in prisons are the ones provided for by health care legislation outside the prison context, along with the internal administrative regulations established by prisons. The possibility should be reconsidered of integrating Prison Healthcare into the Public Healthcare System so as to guarantee equality of healthcare for persons deprived of liberty and to provide the same rights and obligations to health professionals working in this sector (AU)

Nurse's murder sentence is upheld.

Former nurse Victorino Chua has failed in a bid to challenge his conviction and sentence.

Evaluación de la percepción de riesgo en el personal de enfermeraí en la atención de pacientes sospechosos de riesgo biológico IV / Evaluation of the perception of risk in the nursing staff in care of patients with suspected biological hazard

Introducción. El personal sanitario es una población especialmente vulnerable a los riesgos derivados del ejercicio de su profesión. La complejidad que tiene la atención de los pacientes con virus Ébola lleva al estudio de la percepción de riesgo de este colectivo. Objetivo. Conocer la percepción de riesgo en el personal de enfermería que atendió a los pacientes con sospecha de Fiebre Hemorrágica Virus Ébola (FHVE). Material y métodos. Estudio transversal realizado en el Hospital Clínic de Barcelona. Se incluyeron 19 profesionales de enfermería que atendieron directamente a pacientes con sospecha de FHVE. Los datos se recogieron mediante un cuestionario de evaluación dimensional del riesgo percibido junto a variables sociodemográficas y un posterior análisis estadístico. Resultados. Un 68 % del personal de enfermería refirió tener un nivel de conocimiento elevado del riesgo asociado al factor de estudio. Un 42 % determinó que había una posibilidad muy alta de experimentar un daño. Un 63 % apreció que las consecuencias más nocivas se experimentarían a corto plazo y, finalmente, un 48 % valoró que había un riesgo muy alto de accidente o enfermedad asociado al factor de estudio, frente a un 5 % que lo valoró muy bajo. Conclusiones. Las respuestas obtenidas ponían de manifiesto que los profesionales de enfermería poseían un nivel de conocimiento muy alto sobre el riesgo asociado al factor de estudio, y que el temor emocional era también muy elevado (AU)

Introduction. Healthcare personnel is especially vulnerable to the risks derived from their job. The complexity that has the care of patients with Ebola justifies the study of the perception of risk of such professionals. Objective. To know the perception of risk in the nursing staff that takes care of patients suspected of suffering the Ebola virus. Material and methods. Transversal study carried out in the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona. 19 professionals of nursing staff that attended suspected Ebola patients were included in the study. The data was collected through a questionnaire of dimensional evaluation of the perceived risk along with sociodemographic variables and a subsequent statistics analysis. Results. A percentage of 68 % of the nursing staff refereed having a high level of knowledge of the risk associated with the factor of this study. A percentage of 42 % determined that there was a very high possibility of being harmed. A percentage of 63 % considered that the most harmful consequences would appear in short term, and finally a percentage of 48 % considered that there was a very high risk of accident or illness associated to the factor of this study, whereas a percentage of 5 % considered the risk to be very low. Conclusions. The answers obtained showed not only that nursing staff had a very high level of knowledge regarding the risk associated to the factor of this study, but also that the emotional fear was very high (AU)