It becomes burdensome when the terminal client, has no advanced directive and the loved ones that are to make decisions are in disagreement with each other. The Nurse Practice Acts and Code of Ethics for Nurse’s can help with dealing with ethical and legal issues in Nursing. An example of a malpractice case is a nurse as a witness in a malpractice suit that involved harm to a client. The case is against the healthcare institution, and a nurse whom she knew was overtly negligent. On previous occasions, it is noticed this nurse violating standards of care.
Ethics committees can be useful in this situation, because they can help explain the patient’s situation and provide possible answers to those hard questions. The nurse who neglected care towards the patients, in my opinion, should lose their job. Nurses who neglect care are putting their patients at danger. According to the Code of Nursing Ethics, “The nurse owes the same duties to self as to others, including the responsibility to preserve integrity and safety, to maintain competence, and to continue personal and professional growth” (ANA Code of Nursing Ethics). This nurse neglected the patient, therefore, neglected the responsibility in preserving the safety and integrity of the patient.
Laws on the other hand are binding rules of conduct. When laws are broken, it is punishable by an authority figure. An example of this would be a nurse making a medication error and not reporting it. The legal system and ethical system overlap in most situations, and every patient contact has the potential to produce a legal or ethical situation. “Knowledge of legal issues are essential because nurses are required to practice in accordance with legislation affecting nursing practice and health care failure to respect the legal rights of clients may result in legal or disciplinary actions.” (Makely, Austin, & Kester, 2013, p.64).
Nurses are relied upon to advocate for our patients dignity, privacy, confidentiality, improper and incompetent care. The case of Marianne is a good example of how the ANA code of nursing ethics could help a patient that can't make convey their needs the healthcare team. The stroke has left Marianne unresponsive and without an advanced directive the healthcare team has no way of knowing what her desires would be for the plan of care. Her husband and children are in disagreement with which direction to go in regards to her care. The ANA code of ethics has provisions in place to assist in a decision for this case.
She was admitted following an elective termination of pregnancy. Pre operatively she had an interpreter present, but she had returned to the ward and was not present in recovery. When she woke up, Joanna turned to her right and saw the 3 year old boy next to her. She became distressed and started to cry. Joanna appeared to understand no English at all, I tried to calm her down and reassure her, but she did not seem to comprehend.
B -- Explain that the client will not be able to move her head thoughout the CT scan #4 The neurologist also prescribes a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head STAT, why? C -- Right hip replacement #5 Nancy's daughter Gail, starts to cry and states, 'Mom was fine last week when we went out to eat and to a show. I love my mom so much, and I am so scared. She is all I have.' How should the nurse respond B -- 'I know this is scary for you.
The patient made it very clear that she did not want the phlebotomist to draw her blood (Finnegan, 2013).This same phlebotomist has drawn her for several days for a Prothrombin Time (PT) and Activated Thromboplastic Time (aPTT) without incident, so he reports this situation to the nurse. The nurse informs the phlebotomist that the patient has formed a complaint against him and did not want him, in particular, to draw her blood. The blood had been drawn from the dorsal side of her hand for several days, which was now bruised and swollen. The patient complained of moderate pain, especially when she moved her fingers. Upon observation there was a diffuse ecchymosis over the dorsal side of the hand that extends up the forearm to the elbow.
her daughter would ask if she was okay and all Maria would do is cry and say no. Jane was upset by her mother’s response which is why she decided to buy a hidden camera It was the only way she was going to get answers and to know what was really going on. It was recorded that two female carers hulling Maria out from the chair and manhandling her onto the bed she was crying out in pain and you see one of them drop her legs onto the bed, all you heard Maria say was “oh god oh god!” they would comment on how bad her breath smelt. The second night she filmed she noticed the male carer on the footage obviously in Marias room all on his own and Jane stated only female carers. He was seen tugging Marias clothes, shoving her on her side whilst Maria was crying with humiliation and pain his arm swung back whilst he slapped her thigh.
Whenever she visited with her mother, she cried and ran away from her. There was no evidence of abuse when Jojo was examined by the doctor, but still, it was clear that Anna had some parenting issues. Anna was referred to a psychiatrist for further assessment. It was discovered that she suffered from depression and suicidal ideations as well as an eating
Respect for human dignity and the rights of the patient as an individual must be observed (American Nurses Association, 2012). In this particular case study there is a conflict between family members on the care pathway of the patient. This is a common problem in end of life decisions due to the high emotional impact. The spouse is in denial and is not ready to accept this loss. The children of the patient are thinking of what their mother would have wanted if she were able to speak.