See the published version of this article at BMC Nursing.
This is a preprint, a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
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Research article
Japanese Nurse Practitioners’ Legal Liability Ambiguity Regarding their Medical Practice: A Qualitative Study
Shoko Sugiyama
Tohoku Daigaku
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4534-1277
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published version at BMC Nursing.
Background: Nurse practitioners’ role is always expanding. The Japanese Nurse Practitioner (JNP) system was initiated in 2015 to shift some aspects of doctors’ work to various other healthcare professionals, including nurses. JNPs’ fulfillment of their roles was shown to have a certain degree of efficacy and provide positive outcomes for patients (e.g., shortening hospitalization period). Nurse practitioners are considered legally liable for their medical practices because they are performed on doctors’ behalf; however, in real life, there is ambiguity regarding such practice. It is necessary to clarify nurse practitioners’ legal liability in order to ensure the safety of their medical practice and protect them in medical procedures performed on physicians’ behalf. This study aimed to clarify how JNPs understand their own legal liability in medical practice.
Methods: A qualitative, inductive research design was adopted to record participants’ opinions. The survey was conducted from October 2017 to February 2018. Participants were nurses working as JNPs at general hospitals in eastern Japan. We recruited participants via snowball sampling.
Results: With regard to JNPs’ legal liability in their medical practice, three themes understanding were observed: “determining whether the JNP has the ability to perform the assigned medical procedure,” “exercising caution when performing medical procedures on a doctor’s behalf” and “an urge to follow up with appropriate medical practice until the end of care.”
Conclusions: We demonstrated that JNPs recognized their own legal liability in medical practice. They had to protect themselves because their legal position was ambiguous. Furthermore, JNPs accepted that diagnosis and drug prescription could be performed (even if not within the 38 procedures JNPs are qualified to perform) on behalf of doctors if trusting relationships had been previously established.
Keywords
Japanese nurse practitioner, medical practice, nurse practitioner, legal liability, qualitative research
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Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Published
Version 2
Posted 26 May, 2020
Published
On 09 Jul, 2020
No community comments so far
Editorial decision: Accept
On 01 Jul, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 27 May, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 25 May, 2020
Editor assigned
On 20 May, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 20 May, 2020
Editor invited
On 19 May, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 14 May, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 17 Feb, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 13 Feb, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 29 Jan, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 20 Dec, 2019
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 13 Dec, 2019
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 08 Dec, 2019
Editor assigned
On 29 Nov, 2019
Submission checks complete
On 28 Nov, 2019
Editor invited
On 28 Nov, 2019
First submitted
On 14 Aug, 2019
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Nursing
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This preprint is under consideration at BMC Nursing. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research article
Japanese Nurse Practitioners’ Legal Liability Ambiguity Regarding their Medical Practice: A Qualitative Study
Shoko Sugiyama
Tohoku Daigaku
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4534-1277
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Published
Version 2
Posted 26 May, 2020
Published
On 09 Jul, 2020
No community comments so far
Editorial decision: Accept
On 01 Jul, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 27 May, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 25 May, 2020
Editor assigned
On 20 May, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 20 May, 2020
Editor invited
On 19 May, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 14 May, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 17 Feb, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 13 Feb, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 29 Jan, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 20 Dec, 2019
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 13 Dec, 2019
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 08 Dec, 2019
Editor assigned
On 29 Nov, 2019
Submission checks complete
On 28 Nov, 2019
Editor invited
On 28 Nov, 2019
First submitted
On 14 Aug, 2019
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Nursing
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published version at BMC Nursing.
Background: Nurse practitioners’ role is always expanding. The Japanese Nurse Practitioner (JNP) system was initiated in 2015 to shift some aspects of doctors’ work to various other healthcare professionals, including nurses. JNPs’ fulfillment of their roles was shown to have a certain degree of efficacy and provide positive outcomes for patients (e.g., shortening hospitalization period). Nurse practitioners are considered legally liable for their medical practices because they are performed on doctors’ behalf; however, in real life, there is ambiguity regarding such practice. It is necessary to clarify nurse practitioners’ legal liability in order to ensure the safety of their medical practice and protect them in medical procedures performed on physicians’ behalf. This study aimed to clarify how JNPs understand their own legal liability in medical practice.
Methods: A qualitative, inductive research design was adopted to record participants’ opinions. The survey was conducted from October 2017 to February 2018. Participants were nurses working as JNPs at general hospitals in eastern Japan. We recruited participants via snowball sampling.
Results: With regard to JNPs’ legal liability in their medical practice, three themes understanding were observed: “determining whether the JNP has the ability to perform the assigned medical procedure,” “exercising caution when performing medical procedures on a doctor’s behalf” and “an urge to follow up with appropriate medical practice until the end of care.”
Conclusions: We demonstrated that JNPs recognized their own legal liability in medical practice. They had to protect themselves because their legal position was ambiguous. Furthermore, JNPs accepted that diagnosis and drug prescription could be performed (even if not within the 38 procedures JNPs are qualified to perform) on behalf of doctors if trusting relationships had been previously established.