during a lingering illness. However, if the patient does not desire to use these medications due to not wanting to become “addicted”, feeling “out of it” or for other reasons, the nurse needs to respect the patient’s decision. It is the nurse’s duty to make sure the patient has been accurately informed of treatment options including side effects, common misperceptions, etc. but to not sway the patient’s decisions for treatment based on his/her own beliefs. A nurse may personally feel that a patient who is dying of cancer should utilize any and all pain management options available to them, however, if the patient does not wish to use pain medications because he/she feels “out of it” or is afraid of becoming “addicted”, the nurse needs to respect that patient’s choice.
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?
Ethical Standards and Nursing for the Elderly Kate Smith Walden University NURS 6050, Section 18B Policy and Advocacy for Improving Pop. Health November 7, 2012 Ethical Standards and Nursing for the Elderly Health care ethics are ways of practice that are followed in making good judgment in regards to patient care, involving moral principles and professional guidelines. Health care ethics helps in making good moral decision bases on beliefs and value of life, health, suffering, and death (Cleveland Clinic, 2012). Allocating resources for the elderly in relation to ethics is a complex issue that put the health care provider in a thin line, not knowing how to resolve the situation. I will look on allocating resources for the elderly and end of life, and how it goes against ethical standards.
Kjell Asplund and Mona Britton, authors of Ethics of life support in patients with severe stroke, argue that there is a specific protocol that should be followed in order to deal with the multitude of ethical complications coma patients introduce. I disagree with this argument, because I think that the quantification of one’s life is an inhumane and ineffective method of treating patients. As an idealistic student aspiring to pursue allopathic medicine, I believe that the field I immerse myself in should not be an environment bogged down with impediments to moral action. Instead of a rigid method, I think that a case-by-case method remains the most appropriate action for patients with severe brain malfunctions. Before we delve into the moral implications surrounding care for stroke patients, it is important to understand what a stroke is.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss that as a patient’s life deteriorates care is no longer able to improve a patient’s quality of life but their projected outcome is thought to be a continued degeneration. It is further considered to be in the best interest of the patient and their family to terminate active care. Also, ethical issues need to be addressed concerning what is right for the patient and how making decisions on withdrawing care affects nursing. As stated in Hickey and Montgomery (2009) “with the continued growth of technology, it is difficult to determine if the patient ‘truly benefits’ from such advances”. “Truly benefits” will be used to mean the patient will, in time, have an improved quality of life (Hickey and Montgomery, 2009).
A caregiver, while providing supporting care can instill a sense of strength. Nursing requires special consideration. The patient must be treated as a whole not just physically and not just medical. To better adhere to this practice, nurses use what is called as the nursing process. An actual nursing process is a practice of an outcome-oriented execution to find the best possible care for a person.
When providing patient care in the healthcare field, as professionals, nurses need to be prepared for the challenges that might arise on the hospital setting. Being prepared can make challenges or situations in the nursing field less difficult or provide less resistance for decisions to make in delivering the best quality of care. Whether it is caring for a minor in labor or a same sex couple in the hospital being evaluated, special protocols must be implemented to provide the highest quality of care. As in the case of Rachel who is a minor unwed and in the early stages of labor admitted to the hospital, accompanied by her parents who has not been given meds or been seeing by the physician on duty who happens to be attending another emergency. Where clearly has brought a difficult situation to the healthcare team of the hospital raising ethical and legal issues in all aspects due to the fact that the parents of the pregnant teen have refused any assistance and the nurse assigned has complied silently.
This paper will explore factors that contribute to medication errors and their effects on mental health nurses. In addition this paper will offer some future recommendation in order to decrease medication errors. Medication errors Medication administration is an essential aspect of nursing, however, failure to consider the details of adverse reactions, drug interactions or administration schedules may compromise the efficiency of the therapeutic medication regime (Jordan, Jones, & Sargent, 2009). According to Haw, Stubbs & Dickens (2007) and Ramanujan &
Registered nurses are in a position to advocate for the rights of their patients and are often involved in ethical decision-making processes. Ethical decisions arise when the nurse is faced with a choice, in which he or she believes there is the potential for a bad or good outcome. In the case of Marianne the ethics committee will have to weigh the physician’s recommendation of surgery to remove the clot, her husband’s desire to “try everything” and her children’s belief that she would not want to have surgery only to live with a poor quality of life. In a malpractice case it is essential to remember the ANA Code of Ethics. According to “Code of Ethics” (2007), the second provision states, “The nurse’s primary commitment is to the patient, whether an individual, family, group, or community” (ANA, 2001, p. 18).
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.