Biomaterial Database

Physical Exams: Legal Liability (Versus Professional Norms). 2019

Perry A Zirkel

University Professor Emeritus of Education and Law Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA.

This article summarizes the facts and rulings of a relatively recent and representative federal appellate court decision concerning a parent's civil rights lawsuit in response to a school nurse's visual examination of a child's "private parts." The discussion of the court's rulings extends to a sampling of related case law and, as in a previous NASN School Nurse Zirkel article, the difference between legal and professional boundaries.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D010808	Physical Examination	Systematic and thorough inspection of the patient for physical signs of disease or abnormality.	Physical Exam,Examination, Physical,Physical Examinations and Diagnoses,Exam, Physical,Examinations, Physical,Exams, Physical,Physical Examinations,Physical Exams
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012573	School Nursing	A nursing specialty concerned with health and nursing care given to primary and secondary school students by a registered nurse.	Nursing, School,Nursings, School,School Nursings
D013714	Tennessee	State bounded on the north by Kentucky and Virginia, on the east by North Carolina, on the south by Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, and on the west by Arkansas and Missouri.
D016365	Liability, Legal	Accountability and responsibility to another, enforceable by civil or criminal sanctions.	Institutional Liability,Personal Liability,Professional Liability,Legal Liability,Medical Liability,Torts,Institutional Liabilities,Legal Liabilities,Liabilities, Institutional,Liabilities, Legal,Liabilities, Medical,Liabilities, Personal,Liabilities, Professional,Liability, Institutional,Liability, Medical,Liability, Personal,Liability, Professional,Medical Liabilities,Personal Liabilities,Professional Liabilities,Tort