Hello all,

Re: the nurses who gave abm against a physicians order. This is major! The
parent's would be completely with-in their rights to do any number of
things. The first thing I would do is write a letter of complaint to the
nurse's regulatory body - the Registered Nurses Association of Nova Scotia
here in NS, Canada. This is the body that handles disciple of RN's who
break standards of care or practice outside their scope. Ignoring a
physician's order definitely falls in these categories. Next I would write
(or copy the previous letter) to the hospital's CEO, the risk management
department (they would flip at this, and would definitely work to prevent
such a thing from occuring again), and the physician involved. Thirdly, I
would contact a lawyer re: lawsuit. I have been unable to locate any refs
to successful lawsuit for abm being given against parent's wishes/
physicians order, but there must be something somewhere. I'm not advocating
suing, because I don't know the full details of the occurance, chances of
success, and financial status of the family, but it would be a possibility.

RN's and physicians alike need to be aware of the implications of
practicing without consent!

Joan MacNeil
RN, BScN, IBCLC
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