Leaving Against Medical Advice (AMA): Nurse's Role

Legal & Ethical Issues · Question from the ATI RN Leadership 2023 Proctored Exam study set

Correct answer: Let the patient sign a form

Why this is the answer

Competent adults have the right to leave; the nurse should explain the risks and have them sign the AMA form to protect the facility.

The bigger concept

A competent adult has the right to refuse treatment and leave, and blocking the door, restraining them, or calling security to hold them is false imprisonment. The nurse notifies the provider, explains the specific risks of leaving in plain language, offers alternatives, and asks the patient to sign the AMA form — then documents the teaching, the patient's stated understanding, and who was notified. If the patient refuses to sign, chart that too. Capacity is the exception: a patient who cannot understand the risks needs a capacity evaluation before leaving.

Related Legal & Ethical Issues practice questions

• Staying Silent About a Doctor's Mistake: Non-Maleficence
• Giving a Medication the Patient Refused: Battery
• The 'Reasonable and Prudent Nurse' Standard: Negligence
• Who Can Legally Give Informed Consent for Surgery
• Not Documenting a No-Harm Medication Error: Veracity

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