It is a path to the open road for nurses to gain critical thinking, differ aspect of life. Nurses can advocate a nonjudgmental help to their patient's autonomy (self determination, chap. 4 pg 56). In the case study of Marianne, who experienced hemorrhagic stroke, unconsciousness, and without advanced directive. The husband wanted to save his wife, but on the other hand, their children belief that their mom wants a quality of life with dignity.
When a nurse witnesses another health care provider “acting in a way that could endanger the health or safety of a patiet, they should make a report of what they witnessed.” (Austin, Brooke, & Glenn, 2004, p. 363 ) The concept of moral agency should guide the nurse when reporting witnessed or suspected malpractice. The nurse has to determine if whistle-blowing is the appropriate decision at this time. The nurse needs to gather the facts, state the problem, determine the reason
Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing The nurse has a unique ability to follow a specific and a general code of ethical decision-making while caring for the most vulnerable of patients. The nurse must navigate public health law, educational law, and his or her institutional policies while keeping his or her own personal beliefs from controlling what is best for the patient. Ethics are “the principles of conduct governing one’s relationships with others-basic beliefs of right and wrong…. Law is the minimum ethic, written down and enforced.” (Ellis& Hartley, 2008, p. 288) The registered professional nurse must use resources to assist her, including the ANA Code of Ethics and the state’s nurse practice act. A final influence in the case of both of these cases, as with case one, Marianne could not make her decisions, as a patient advocate, the code ethics states in provision 1.3, “The nurse respects the dignity and rights of all human beings irrespective of the nature of the health problem.
In the second case study regarding the malpractice and negligence of a nurse, the primary obligation according to the ANA code of ethics is to the patient. Provisions II and IV of the ANA code of ethics states that the nurse is responsible to provide optimum patient care and the primary commitments are to the patient. “Business priorities may be pressing in the organization, and powerful enough to cause conflict of interests.” (Lachman, 2009). Therefore, it is important for the RN to maintain integrity as a professional and act in
This may leads to offensive quality of care and unprofessional code of conduct. By violating the expected behaviour, she had put the safety of the patient at risk. Apart from that, false documentation was also being made which clearly proves that she is competent and untruthful in profession. Traditional process used for apprising and displaying nurses who have made honest mistake in the course of the work need to be substantially modified as they are odds with the modes of human error management that are currently being advocated and adopted globally to improve patient safety and quality of care in health care domains. The nursing profession expect that nurses will conduct themselves personally and professionally in a way that will maintain public trust and confidence in the profession.
Fundamental legal aspects of each case The ANA Code of Ethics are used to help uphold fundamental legalities. When we look at the ethical responsibility and fundamental legalities that are associated with direct patient care and as it applies in the case study case study of patient Marianne, a 79 year-old female, who is brought to the emergency department with hemorrhagic stroke, a bad prognosis of recovering and she does not have an advance directive. The legal aspects of the legal responsibilities of the registered nurse who was a witness in a malpractice case of a nursing colleague that was found to be negligent in following the standards of the nursing practice. The primary obligation of the nurse is to protect the patient’s best interest, maintaining safety, dignity and ethical accountability, which is essential in the first case of Marianne, as she is neurologically unstable and unable to have a voice in her care and does not have a living will. According to the ANA Code of Ethics, the nurse is responsible to provide the family with full disclosure about Marianne’s condition and inform the family of possible outcomes of having
Rights of Medication Safety Medication plays a key role in healthcare but can also be an important key cause of medical error. Patients are entitled to receive safe care including receiving the correct medications. The administration of medication is a daily routine for nurses therefore, it is vital to remember the “Five Rights” of medication safety. Many different things can go wrong when it comes to the administering medication, for example communication between the patient and the nurse could go wrong, or the labeling of the medication, even the dosage can cause improper usage of the drug. The question is what role do nurses play when it comes to medication safety?
Six Step Process with an Ethical Dilemma Nurses face ethical dilemmas on a daily basis anywhere they practice. In nursing an ethical dilemma can be caught between conflicting duties and responsibilities to your patients, your employer, and to yourself. There is no right answer to an ethical dilemma. As a nurse when finding yourself in an ethical dilemma you ask yourself “are you supposed to do what is right by your employer, but is it right? Or did you help the patient?” As a nurse you want to help the patient in every situation.
After reviewing each specific case study, the team will examine the fundamental legal aspects, the legal responsibilities of nurses in the work setting, how personal and societal values can influence ethical decision making, and how the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics would influence a final decision in each case study. The fundamental aspects of each case must be understood to make a decision. In the case of a potential end-of-life decision, there are multiple family members with conflicting views trying to make a decision on behalf of a 79 –year old female who has suffered a hemorrhagic stroke and is in an unresponsive state on a ventilator. There is no advanced directive or durable power of attorney. In the case of malpractice, a nurse has been called as a witness to testify against a fellow colleague who performed negligent patient care resulting in harm.
It is the duty of the nurses to help protect patients’ right to confidentiality in an organization. Patient’s confidentiality may be violated when nurses or student nurses openly discuss patient information in the cafeteria, hallways and other public places. It is the duty of the nurse or whoever comes in contact with patient information to prevent unnecessary disclosure of patient data and also assess information that is needed to perform their duty. There are certain times when patient confidentiality should be applied. Patient Confidentiality should apply when a nurse or others need to gain access to patient information, especially when the patient information may include basic identifiers for patients past, present or future physical and mental health conditions.