Nursing Assignment: Law & Ethical Consideration For Nursing Profession
Question
Task:
Aim
This nursing assignment is related to the legal and ethical considerations of practice requirements of a registered nurse. It is important to be familiar with a wide scope of governing requirements related to daily situations in your professional role. In this assessment, you must locate, understand, critically evaluate, and apply various legal, ethical, risk management processes, codes of conduct and guiding practices that form the framework for registered nurse’s practice. This assessment allows for the application of theory to a dynamic nursing environment.
Instructions
Using your knowledge of material encountered throughout NURS13140, address the legal, ethical and risk management implications as they relate to the practice of a registered nurse for the scenario provided. A recommendation to improve the quality of care for this organisation is also required
Answer
Introduction
The nursing assignment paper aims to provide a view on the ethical and legal considerations for the nursing profession. The paper eventually discusses the legal implication within the healthcare sector provided in the case study. The paper also discusses the ethical implication that eventually occurred according to the case study. The paper also discusses the code or the standard of practice nurses should follow within the healthcare sector. A suitable and effective recommendation is also provided to improve the healthcare sector's service and nursing profession activities.
Legal implications
The case effectively provides the view that Register Nurse Ray, according to the policy, leaves the medication trolley locked outside a resident room and goes to assist another patient. The pharmacy delivery was late, and RN Thomas left the package on the medication trolley, which Mr Cooper further gained. He performed self-medication which led to serious injuries and the medical health condition of the patient (in der Schmitten, Jox, Pentzek, & Marckmann, 2021). The case effectively shows that RN Ray has forgotten about the pharmacy delivery package while providing medication to other patients. This incident led to the conclusion of Breach of Duty performed by RN Ray because the pharmacy package was to be received by RN Ray, and if he was unable to get the package, he should have provided the duty to other nurses. RN Thomas has also performed the breached duty as he left the pharmacy package on the medication trolley outside a resident room (Soteras, Mackay, Borràs-Maixenchs, & Martí, 2019). The breach of duty can eventually occur due to the RN's avoidance or negligence for performing their activities. According to this case study, RN Ray did not breach the duty intentionally, but he forgot to perform the duty while busy taking care of other patients.
The situation might look like a breach of duty, but the entire situation provides the view that RN Ray did not intend or want to avoid his duties. The patient family became highly disturbed due to the incidents, and for that, the consequence that RN Ray might face within the organization is the suspension for the time being. Terminating the nurse would be very high legal action as the breach of duty is performed due to the various circumstances that took place within the healthcare sector (in der Schmitten, Jox, Pentzek, & Marckmann, 2021). Another consequence that might take place in this situation is the demotion of RN Ray or fines for the injuries that Mr. Cooper had to face in this situation. In the healthcare sector, as the patient family are not available; therefore, it is the legal aspect of the nurses to take care and make decisions suitable for the patients. It is the fact that Mr. Cooper was entirely under RN Ray take care and for that anything happen to the patient, then RN Ray is entirely responsible, and for that, the consequences also need to be faced by the nurse (Soteras, Mackay, Borràs-Maixenchs, & Martí, 2019). It can be effectively seen that the entire activity of the nurse needs to be performed under legal consideration to take care of the patient and should be ready to face any consequences if the nurse breaches the legal aspect.
Ethical implications
The ethical value eventually provides the framework for the behavior assessment and nursing values that influence the goal then strategies as well as the action of the nurses. It is a fact that the nursing profession has been ranked as the most honest and ethical profession over the years. The ethical principle in nursing guides contemporary nurses to perform their activities effectively in the field (Coronado-Vázquez et al., 2020). According to the case study, the ethical concept or the principle that needs to be maintained and followed by the nurse are non-maleficence and veracity. It is the fact that non-maleficence show that the nurse needs to be active and avoid risk or minimize the risk for the betterment of the patient. According to this ethical principle, the nurses might try to lower the risk associated with the patients in any situation. The various events that took place within the healthcare sector in the scenario provide the view that RN Ray tries to maintain his non-maleficence ethical principle by immediately considering medical help for Mr. Cooper when he found that the patient was unconscious and also badly injured (Yoder, Soule, Nguyen, & Saluta, 2022). The events one by one that took place within the scenario provides the view that RN Ray is not directly responsible for the incident that took place. Still, at the same time, he maintained the ethical principle n the best way that could have been done for the patient.
Another ethical principle is the nurses' veracity to maintain honesty in their interaction with the patients. This ethical principle shows that one should be honest in every situation. In the case of the nursing profession, honesty and telling the truth is highly essential as this is associated with the care and treatment provided to the patients. The nurses have to be faithful to the care and responsibility they need to provide to the patients (Yoder, Soule, Nguyen, & Saluta, 2022). In the scenario, it can be effectively seen that RN Ray tried to take care not only of Mr. Cooper but also, he helps the other nurses take care of other patients. He was honest that he had forgotten about the pharmacy parcel. Being a nurse RN, Ray cannot ignore any patient within the healthcare sector, and for that, he got busy with other patients while providing them suitable medical care and treatment (Coronado-Vázquez et al., 2020). Both the ethical principle effectively provides the view that the entire activities of the nurses are to maintain the mental and health care of the patients and provide them suitable conditions within the healthcare sector. Nurse needs to maintain ethical principles while performing their duties. RN Ray also took immediate action when they found out that Mr. Cooper was being injured and unconscious due to self-medication.
Standards and codes
The standard and codes in the nursing practice effectively help maintain the responsibilities, duties, and care provided to the patients. There are numerous standards and codes of practice that the nurses need to effectively maintain to provide safe and secure healthcare treatment to the patients. According to the scenario, RN Ray has not adhered to critical thinking and analysis in the nursing practice. In this, the registered nurse needs to think critically and make suitable strategies for maintaining and providing safe care to the patients (Sales et al., 2018). From the scenario, it can be effectively understood that RN Ray knew that the pharmacy package would arrive. Also, the medication trolley was locked outside the resident room, which was not a good decision to make for an RN. In this, no ethical framework was done while deciding to leave the medication trolley outside Mr. Cooper's room and visit other patients. It is not acceptable as the standard of practice in nursing activities. The registered nurse needs to make a suitable decision while dealing with the patients. The regulation and the policies and guidelines should have been followed by RN Ray so that the incident that took place could have been avoided (Sales et al., 2018). The situation was sure that Mr. Cooper would take medicine and perform self-medication as most patients try to perform self-medication. It was the responsibility of RN Ray to keep the medicines at a safe distance from the patient.
Another standard of practice that has not been adhered to is that the nurses work together to promote the patients' well-being. In this scenario, RN Ray did not ask help from the other nurses to look after the package or Mr. Cooper while he was away to look after another patient (Biz et al., 2019). Another activity of RN Ray effectively provides the view that the standard has not adhered to is that he did not even ask other nurses or RN Thomas to hand over the pharmacy package to the senior nurses so that any patients cannot get the medicines. The situation was highly critical because due to the poor decision-making of the nurse, the patient had to face injuries and other issues. RN Ray would have effectively involved other nurses in the activities to avoid this critical situation (Biz et al., 2019). It could be effectively understood that nurses had to make a suitable decision while performing any work because their simple negligence and poor decision can create huge consequences within the healthcare sector. It is also essential for the nurses to provide the best service and medical care to the patients to recover fast and do not have any further complications like Mr. Cooper's case.
Recommendation
The situation created within the healthcare sector shows some gaps in providing care to the patients. It is highly recommended to the healthcare sector that they provide the registered nurses' suitable support and the decision-making process to avoid further incidents like the case study. It can be effectively understood that making a suitable decision and getting support from the other nurses allow the healthcare sector to upgrade their service and their value for the patients. It is also highly effective for maintaining the working function and standard of the nurse's practice within the healthcare sector. Each of the patients gets suitable and effective service from the nurses and avoids any risky situation shortly. The entire activity of the nurses is to perform valuable working functions in the medical facilities, which can be improved by improving the decision-making process within the healthcare sector and increasing the number of nurses within the healthcare sector. It could be also understood that the nurses effectively maintain the entire value of the patients. For that, getting an adequate number of nurses within the hospital is highly essential for maintaining their activities and providing valuable care to the patients.
Conclusion
It can be effectively concluded from the paper that RN Ray has performed a breach of duty because the pharmacy package was to be received by RN Ray. If he was unable to get the package, he should have provided the duty to other nurses. It can also be concluded that RN Ray performed non-maleficence and veracity ethical implications while performing activities within the healthcare sector. It can be also concluded that RN Ray has not adhered to the thinks critically and analysis in the nursing practice. The paper also provides the view that the nurses who work together to promote the well-being of the patients have not adhered to within the healthcare sector.
References
Biz, C., Fantoni, I., Crepaldi, N., Zonta, F., Buffon, L., Corradin, M., ... & Ruggieri, P. (2019). Clinical practice and nursing management of pre-operative skin or skeletal traction for hip fractures in elderly patients: a cross-sectional three-institution study. International journal of orthopaedic and trauma nursing, 32, 32-40.
Coronado-Vázquez, V., Canet-Fajas, C., Ramírez-Durán, M. V., Gómez-Salgado, J., Robles-Romero, J. M., Fagundo-Rivera, J., & Romero-Martín, M. (2020, June). Nursing Care Ethical Implications Regarding Chronic Patients at Hospital Discharge. In Healthcare (Vol. 8, No. 2, p. 167). Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute.
in der Schmitten, J., Jox, R. J., Pentzek, M., & Marckmann, G. (2021). Advance care planning by proxy in German nursing homes: Descriptive analysis and policy implications. Nursing assignment Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Sales, C. B., Bernardes, A., Gabriel, C. S., Brito, M. D. F. P., Moura, A. A. D., & Zanetti, A. C. B. (2018). Standard Operational Protocols in professional nursing practice: use, weaknesses and potentialities. Revista brasileira de enfermagem, 71, 126-134.
Soteras, A. R., Mackay, A. S., Borràs-Maixenchs, N., & Martí, J. A. (2019). Catheter related necrotizing fasciitis in haematological patients: Case report and implications for nursing. Annals of Oncology, 30, v843. Yoder, C. M., Soule, I., Nguyen, C., & Saluta, I. (2022). Ethical global health in nursing education: An integrative review. Nurse Education in Practice, 58, 103263.
