Transition to Professional Practice
- Clearly state the problem/s
| Ethical Issues | -The nurses did not do good- The nurse (Sue) did not remain truthful.
– There was lack of patient advocacy |
Sue did not respond adequately to the illness of EmilyThe information concerning the patient was not communicated to the other third parties.
The nurses did not advocate for the treatment of Emily |
| Legal Issues | – Omission-Lack of adherence to code of conduct | The patient was not examined and no record put in placeThe nurse (Sue) did not adhere to the code of conduct. |
- Consider and explore the fundamental ethical principles and their meanings and whether they were upheld or breached (you will also have to consider whether or not they apply in the case study circumstance)
| Principle | Explanation |
| Autonomy- This is the duty of allowing the individuals the right of making independent decision. | The scenario reveals Emily’s autonomy upheld since the nurses did not get involved that contradicted the decision of Emily. |
| Beneficence- This the duty to actually do good | The case study shows that Sue did not actually do well in responding to Emily’s condition. This can be noted in Sue’s statement “there is also a bit of dementia there too you know, remember she gets forgetful……sometimes it’s best just to let the oldies go when it’s their time.” |
| Non-maleficence- This is the duty to actually do no harm | The scenario breached this principle since the nurses negligence led to health harm to Emily. |
| Confidentiality /Privacy- The nurses should keep the information of the patient secret and should not disclose without their permission. | The scenario did not breach this since the information concerning the patient was not communicated to the other third parties. |
| Veracity- This is the duty to actually be truthful as well as provide the individual with sufficient information necessary to make a very informed decision. | The case study shows that this was breached by Sue when she lied to the doctor that she had examined Emily. |
| Advocacy- The nurses should be the advocate of the patients | The scenario breached this principle since the nurses did not advocate for the treatment of Emily on time. |
- Consider and explore the Law and Professional Nursing standards and whether they were upheld or breached (this section needs to be completed in essay style as you are developing an argument)
In the perspective of the ethical concerns, the ethical decisions are reported to occur infrequently and sometimes the nurses are faced with the ethical dilemmas. The nurses are expected to make very informed decisions regarding caring, care delivery, as well as the patient advocacy in the provision and caring of the safe patient care (Thiroux 1990). The Ethical principles serve as a guide to the nurses in decision making. The nurse is expected to support the ethical decision through making reference to American Nurses Association’s (ANA’s) code of ethics. The code is reported to actually delineate the various ethical standards for the nurses across the levels, settings, as well as roles, setting various expectations and consequently providing guidance (American Nurses Association 2001).
One of the main ethical standards is the ethical concerns that actually arise for the nurses relates to the demonstration of care within a custody environment. The nurses are expected to find a balance in the display of an attitude of compassion and care while maintaining and recognizing as well as maintaining very safe boundaries. However, Sue as a nurse showed unprofessional behavior since she did not show care to Emily who maws the patient. The professional practice is reported to an area that has the ability of creating ethical concerns for the nurses. The various nurses are actually encouraged to make reference to the ANA’s standards and scope of practice for the nursing as well as to their nurse practice within the state in ensuring that the practice issues are addressed. The nurses did not adhere to the Act (American Nurses Association 2001).
The legal allusion of the nursing practice are reported to be tied to the licensure, federal and state laws, scope of the practice as well as public expectation that the nurses are practicing at the high professional standard. The education of nurses, license as well as nursing standard offer the framework by which the nurses are actually expected to practice (Kerridge, Low & McPhee 2005). When the practices of nurses’ falls bellow the acceptable standards of the care as well as competence, this is reported to be exposing the nurses to litigation. The basis for the litigation could be related to negligence or simply failing to exercise level of care that a very reasonable and prudent nurse would under the similar malpractice, malpractice, as well as professional negligence which simply means the act of neglect that is committed in the professional role of the nurse (International Council of Nurses 2006). The acts of commission and omission will definitely subject the nurses to litigation as well as professional license review. Both the litigation as well as professional license is likely to lead to reprimand of the license of the nurse or simply the loss of the license (Unimed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 2001). Sue committed the act of commission and omission regarding the case of Emily.
- Consider how the problem would look from another perspective
The stakeholders in this cases scenario include the hospital, nurses, patient, and the doctor. The interest of the hospital is to ensure that the patients are provided with adequate and efficient healthcare services. The nurses should ensure that the patients are well taken cared of while adhering to the legal and ethical issues in nursing. The interest of the patient is to ensure that she gets maximum healthcare services from the hospital. Finally, the interest of the doctor is to ensure that the patient is treated. All the stakeholders are expected lose their personal interest and adhere to the ethical and legal standards while dealing with their interest in the perspective of the case scenario (Hamilton 1996).
The nurses have a serious problem since she does adhere to the legal and professional standards. In the deontological context it fosters morality through the teaching of the human beings in accepting and obeying the fixed laws. Deontology simply means the duty to obey. The theory is mostly identified by Immanuel Kant. The theorist stated that some of the actions are either wrong or right irrespective of the end result or the exact situation (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations 2009). This school of thought in the context of the case scenario shows that the nurse who is this case is Sue made a wrong decision irrespective of the justification she might have given.
- Identify any ethical conflicts in the case study (this section needs to be completed in essay style as you are developing an argument)
The nurses are expected to give the information regarding the patient to the family members while at the same time there is the principle of confidentiality (Rawls 1971). However, the case scenario has not indicated adequately the reason why the nurse did not give the information to the family members of Emily. The conflict can be resolved by seeking informed consent from Emily in order to pass the information to the family members.
The ethical concepts include the duty of allowing the individuals the right of making independent decision and the duty to do good as well as do no harm (Food and Drug Administration Regulatory Information 2009). Further, the nurses should keep the information of the patient secret and should not disclose without their permission as well as the duty to actually be truthful as well as provide the individual with sufficient information necessary to make a very informed decision (Raths, Harmin & Simon 1979). Finally, the nurses should be the advocate of the patients. The legal concepts of law includes the acts of commission and omission and this will guide the management by ensuring that they tackle all the issues regarding providing adequate and efficient healthcare to the patient (Frankena 1973).
- State the ethico-legal decision and justify it: (this section needs to be completed in essay style as you are developing an argument)
The nurse who in this case is Sue as well as several other nurses should be taken through a refresher course of the ethical and legal standards in nursing. Further, the nurse who has misbehaved and who is in this case is Sue should be taken through disciplinary. The action should be communicated direct to the nurses as well as several other stakeholders concerned so as to ensure that the same does not repeat itself (Drug Policy Research Center. 2009).
References
American Nurses Association (ANA). (2001). Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements. Washington DC: American Nurses Association.
Drug Policy Research Center. (2009). How State Medical Marijuana Laws Vary: A Comprehensive Review. Retrieved September 21, 2012 from http://www.rand.org/publications/RB/RB6012/.
Food and Drug Administration Regulatory Information (FDA). (2009). Retrieved September 21, 2012 from http://www.fda.gov/RegulatoryInformation/Legislation.default.htm.
Frankena J. (1973). Ethics. New York: Prentice-Hall.
Hamilton PM. (1996). Realities of Contemporary Nursing (2nd ed.). St. Louis: Mosby.
International Council of Nurses (ICN). (2006). ICN Code of Ethics. Geneva: International Council of Nurses.
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). (2009). Hospital Accreditation Standards. Oakbrook Terrace, IL: JCAHO.
Kerridge, I., Low, M. & McPhee, J. (2005) Ethics and law for the health professions. Annandale: The Federated Press.
Raths LE, Harmin M, Simon SB. (1979). Values and Teaching (2nd ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill.
Rawls J. (1971). The Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Thiroux JP. (1990). Ethics, Theory, and Practice (4th ed.). New York: Macmillan.
Unimed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (2001). To Be Sole Marketer of Marinol. Retrieved September 21, 2012 from http://www.solvaypharmaceuticals-us.com/newsroom/pressreleases/0,,14591-2-0,00.htm.
