I am frequently required to float to an unfamiliar unit and feel that I am not competent to safely care for some of the patients on that floor. Can I be charged with patient abandonment?
In most instances, the Education Department would not consider a charge of patient abandonment when a nurse refuses to float to an unfamiliar unit when there has been no orientation, preparation, or appropriate modification of assignment (such as another RN providing assistance in the care of select patients for which you are not competent to provide care). However, to become licensed as an RN or LPN, you met educational and examination requirements that assure minimal competence in the delivery of basic nursing care. Refusing to float, based on your statement that you are not competent to provide patient care to an entire unit of patients, when there has been good-faith efforts to re-assign only those duties that fall within your expected level of competence, may be considered abandonment.
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