Nurse Law: Safe HarborCheree' M. KirkwoodTexas Tech University Health Science Center School of NursingIntroductionNursing is a profession in which people place their trust in you to provide care that they are not only effective, ethical and moral, but safe. Not all healthcare situations are simple or rule-compliant. Not all hospitals have the same nurse-to-patient ratio, equipment, supplies or support available, but all nurses have a “professional obligation to raise concerns about any patient assignment that places patients or themselves at risk of harm ” (ANA, 2009). When they arrive at work for a shift, nurses must ensure that the assignment is safe not only for patients, but also for themselves. There are times when this is not the situation. In these cases, the nurse has the right to invoke Safe Harbor, because according to the ANA, nurses also “have the professional right to accept, refuse, or object in writing to any patient assignment that places the patient or themselves at risk. serious risk of harm” (ANA, 2009). “Peer review is the evaluation of nursing services, the qualification of a nurse, the quality of patient care rendered by nurses, the merit of a complaint about a nurse or a 'nursing care and a decision or recommendation regarding a complaint,' (Board of Nursing of Texas, 2013). There are two types of nursing peer review: incident-based peer review (IBPR) and safe harbor peer review (SHPR). The purpose of this document is to discuss the Texas Board of Nursing (BON) Safe Harbor Peer Review (SHPR). Facility Policy The facility policy referred to appears to be in line with the BON. “The hospital's policy is to allow nurses to advocate for their patients when asked to participate in what they... middle of paper... iation. (2009). ANA position statement: Patient safety: rights of professional nurses when considering patient assignment. Washington, DC: Author.American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Texas Health Resources. (2012). Safe harbor peer review. Unpublished internal document.Texas Board of Nursing. (2013). Texas Board of Nursing Position Statements: 15.14 Duty of a nurse in any professional setting. [Located at https://www.bon.texas.gov/practice_bon_position_statements.asp]Texas Board of Nursing. (2013). Texas Board of Nursing: Practice – Peer Review: Safe Harbor or Incident-Based. [Located at http://www.bon.texas.gov/practice_peer_review.asp]Westrick, S. (2013). Legal and ethical issues in healthcare. Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.