• The nurse manager might be approached by a junior nurse with a complaintnurse on duty image by Pix by Marti from Fotolia.com
  
  A nurse manager has a professional duty of care to his patients, and to his colleagues. It is no longer acceptable for a nurse to claim he was following the instructions of a physician--he is now accountable for his own actions or omissions. Each state has its own Nurse Practice Act, and the common law also applies. The nurse manager occupies a particular position in the chain of command, and might be approached by a junior member of the team with a complaint. For negligence to be proved it must be shown that an act or an omission led to damage, and that this damage was reasonably foreseeable.
  
  

Report to Supervisor

• A member of the nursing staff might report negligence.miniature model of nurse image by L. Shat from Fotolia.com
  
  The nurse manager may be involved in negligence when she is approached by a nurse, patient, relative or other professional with a complaint. The nurse manager should listen attentively to the complainant, and take immediate action. The nurse manager is directly responsible for the actions of nurses in the unit, but she is just one person in the chain of command, so she is duty-bound to pass the detail to the next person up.
  
  

Advocate for the Patient

• The nurse manager is in a position of authority and respect and must uphold the nurse's professional duty. According to the American Nurses Association, a nurse "promotes, advocates for and strives to protect the health, safety and rights of the patient." This places a clear responsibility on the nurse to act as the patient's advocate, and an even higher duty on the nurse manager to investigate and intervene when patient's rights are not being upheld.
  
  

Investigate and Intervene

• The nurse manager has a legal and ethical duty to take any reports of negligence seriously. The nurse manager should get further details to accurately and appropriately record the incident. If the danger is ongoing, he should also intervene to protect the patient.