The Nurse's Duty to Report Child Abuse Versus the Attorney's Duty of Confidentiality: The Nurse Attorney's Dilemma

Date

2007

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Journal of Nursing Law

Abstract

Description

Nurses are specifically identified as mandatory reporters in a majority of state child protection statutes. The nurse's statutory duty to report child abuse conflicts with the duty to keep patient information confidential. State legislatures statutorily resolved this dilemma in deciding that the nurse's duty to report child abuse trumps the nurse's duty of confidentiality. The duty of the nurse attorney to report child abuse is not as clear, however, particularly when the information is gained through the confidential communications of an attorney-client relationship. The mandatory reporting versus duty of confidentiality conflict exists for nurse attorneys in states like Massachusetts that do not specifically identify or exclude attorneys under the child protection statute. Under these statutory schemes, the question remains as to whether or not the nurse attorney has a statutory duty to report a reasonable belief of child abuse. In balancing the nurse attorney's statutory and professional duties, it may be determined that nurse attorneys are discretionary, not mandatory, reporters of child abuse.

Keywords

Child abuse, legal

Citation

Kearney, K. M. (2007). The Nurse's Duty to Report Child Abuse Versus the Attorney's Duty of Confidentiality: The Nurse Attorney's Dilemma. Journal of Nursing Law, 11(1), 13-26.

DOI