Nursing Home Staff Member Fails to Report Fall

I have provided nursing care for many patients that obtained various types of fractures as a result of a fall in my role as a registered nurse in an acute care setting. In my prior role as a nursing home nurse manager, I worked on a team to help reduce the incidence of resident falls in the senior living setting. I definitely believe that the patient would have had a better outcome if the care had been rendered differently. There are many variables impacting this incident that collectively contributed to this patient’s negative outcome. The nursing aide practices under the delegation of the Registered Nurse based on the resident plan of care. The plan of care is, in turn, based on a comprehensive assessment completed by the registered nurse. In this case it is clear that the nursing aide did not follow the plan of care since, for whatever reason, the nursing aide did not call for assistance. The nurse aide failed to follow the plan of care, and since there was a failure to report to the physician, a delay of diagnosis and a potential for complications of the initial injuries occurred. This delay could have complicated the issue, for instance, if the patient attempted to move with the fracture, or if the fracture was not stabilized in a timely manner. A displacement of the fracture could have caused the client to have to have surgery, versus simple immobilization with a cast. The nurse has a duty to report falls to the physician.