What it means
In nursing law, client abandonment happens when a nurse has accepted an assignment and then leaves the clients without handing their care over to someone qualified, such as walking off a shift. It can lead to discipline by the board of nursing. Raising concerns about an assignment before accepting it is not abandonment.
For the nurse
If you must leave, report to the charge nurse and give a full handoff first. Voice safety concerns about an assignment through the chain of command before you accept it.
At a glance
| Also written | patient abandonment, client abandonment |
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Related terms
handoff report
The passing of information and responsibility for a client's care from one nurse or team to another.
tort
A wrong act, or a failure to act, that harms another person and for which a court can make the wrongdoer pay.