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  5. Leaving Against Medical Advice: What's a Nurse to Do?

Leaving Against Medical Advice: What's a Nurse to Do?

File(s)
39972589.pdf (261.96 KB)
No Access Until
2/20/26
Permanent Link(s)
https://hdl.handle.net/1813/116879
Collections
Department of Medicine
Author
Walker, J.M.
de Melo-Martín, I.
Abstract

Each year approximately 1% to 2% of patient acute care discharges in United States hospitals are described as against medical advice (AMA). AMA discharges are associated with higher patient morbidity, increased risk of readmission, and higher mortality. Most discussions dealing with AMA discharge tend to focus on physicians. However, nurses have a pivotal role in the care process and in ensuring the safety of patients. The aim of this paper is to increase awareness regarding nurses' ethical responsibilities when confronting AMA discharges. We highlight nurses' leadership role in discharge planning and argue that they have moral obligations to promote as safe a discharge as possible. Such obligations are consistent with nursing codes of ethics, according to which nurses have a primary moral duty to promote patients' well-being. Moreover, nurses' training, expertise, and scope of practice place them in an ideal situation to address problems related to AMA discharges. We also offer suggestions that can contribute to helping nurses to fulfill their ethical responsibilities in this context.

Journal / Series
The American journal of nursing
Volume & Issue
125(3)
Date Issued
2/20/25
Publisher
Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
Keywords
Treatment Refusal/ethics
•
Patient Discharge/standards
•
Nurses/standards
•
Ethics, Nursing
•
Documentation
•
Communication
•
Health Resources
•
Aftercare
•
Humans
•
WCM Library Coordinated Deposit
Related DOI
https://doi.org/10.1097/AJN.0000000000000031
Previously Published as
Walker JM, de Melo-Martín I. Leaving Against Medical Advice: What's a Nurse to Do? Am J Nurs. 2025;125(3):56–9. Epub 20250220. doi: 10.1097/ajn.0000000000000031. PubMed PMID: 39972589.
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Rights URI
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Type
article

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