With increased autonomy comes increased responsibility, accountability, and potential liability. Are we ready?

See this article.

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20090102/NEWS/901020350/1003/newsfront

Barbara DiCicco-Bloom is quoted as saying "The thing that needs to change for nurses is the respect they have. There's a need for them to have the authority, the autonomy and the capacity to really meet their potential as a professional, which I think, in the end, would be very beneficial for patients," she said. "Every paper that I've written has that at its core."

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With the increased authority and autonomy, an increase in accountability, responsibility, and potential liability follows. 

Is the profession ready for the increased accountability, responsibility, and potential liability that flows from increased authority and autonomy in your opinion?  

As a licensure defense attorney on the front line and in the battlefield with cases involving licensure, employment, regulatory, criminal, and civil implications, my answer may differ from your answer.

Comments

[alliy]

Registered Nurse since June 2007

Employed at this facility since 2004
Terminated October 2008
Transferred from surgery to CVICU
Second week of orientation with preceptor
First week on Night Shift 1830-0700

That night a respiratory therapist came in and said he had just worked a code in ICU bed#. I have never experienced a code situation. I was informed we could access the cardiac rhythms on the monitor so the ICU bed# was pulled up on the monitor, it did not show signs of a code. So I was sitting at the computer, logged in under me, accessed the dictation under ICU bed# to read about the situation because I was informed the patient could possibly come to our unit if it is determined a need for open heart surgery or evaluation in a Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit if there was a code and there was damage done to the heart. I wanted to be prepared.
The name was unknown the account was not flagged as confidential. I was unaware of the patient VIP status until the next day when I was called to Human Resources. They asked if I knew of a VIP patient there in the hospital and I did not at the time. I had slept all day to prepare for my night shift and did not watch the news or hear about the VIP at this facilty. This account I pulled up has terminated my employment, flagged my license and is now under investigation with the FBI.