Nursing’s Role in Informed Consent
Because nurses do not perform surgery or direct medical procedures, in most situations, obtaining clients’ informed consent does not fall within the nursing duty. Even though the nurse often assumes the responsibility for witnessing the client’s signature on the consent forms, the nurse is not legally responsible for obtaining the informed consent.
What that means is you, as the RN, are merely collecting the signature, not responsible for the information included on the form or provided by the physician. You are like a notary when you sign it yourself. You are simply verifying that the patient signed the consent voluntarily.
That’s the legal standard, but the ethical standard, the moral standard is a little more complicated. When you hand the patient that form you should ask, “Do you understand the procedure you are agreeing to?” If they say no, or provide a description that is fuzzy, or if, as the nurse, you suspect they don’t really get it, you must notify someone. Call the physician, talk to your nursing supervisor, let someone else know that there is a lack of understanding on the patient’s part and don’t let them sign until that has been clarified.
The reality is lots of people, healthcare workers included, get lost in the explanations. As they teach us all in nursing and medical school, the worst time to talk to a patient is right after they have been given a diagnosis. They often just don’t hear you because their minds are wrapping around the fact they have kidney disease, or cancer or whatever else. They nod, they agree to things, but they don’t really hear.
Also, many people hesitate to question their physicians. Either it is generational, or cultural or they don’t want to appear stupid, but patients often just say ok without asking further questions of the doctor. It is often reported that nurses are easier to approach, plus we are the caregivers at the bedside 24/7. We are the familiar faces, the hand holders, and the teachers. According to JCAHO (Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations), in their Accreditation Manual for Hospitals under patient rights and responsibilities: “Nursing staff and other professionals who routinely obtain signatures on consent forms shall take reasonable steps to ensure that the benefits, risks and alternatives of any procedure to be performed on a patient has been explained to the patient or patient representative or surrogate by the physician before obtaining signatures.”
Informed consent is NOT the form. It is the explanation leading to understanding of the proposed procedure or treatment by the patient. What defines “reasonable” and what steps a nurse may take to “ensure” patient comprehension differs from place to place. It is defined by individual states’ nursing scopes of practice and by each facility’s scope of practice and standard protocols for nurses.