CCNS Certified Clinical Nurse Specialist

Answer - A - A nurse who has been named in a lawsuit can use documentation on the specific patient’s record with a focus on the nursing process for the best protection in a court of law. Documentation is the key to protect nurses when a lawsuit is filed. Thorough documentation should include all steps of the nursing process: assessment, analysis, plan, intervention, and evaluation. In addition, it should include pertinent data such as times, dosages and sites of actions, assessment data, the nurse’s response to a change in the patient’s condition, specific actions taken, if and when the notification occurred to the provider or other health care team members, and what was prescribed, along with the patient’s outcomes.