Legal and Ethical Cases in Nursing Assessment Case Study

Tags: ethical issues patient outcome nursing liability negligence hospital litigation claims

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Legal and Ethical Scenarios in Nursing: A Discussion

Part One

Yes, one can conclude that the lack of documentation in the admitting nurse’s assessment and notes did have an impact on the ultimate outcome of the case. It demonstrates that there was a gap in recording-keeping and this impeded the clarity and accuracy of patient information. This information could potentially have saved this patient’s life and been able to redirect the type of care that he received.

One can conclude without at a doubt that there was in fact negligence on the part of the nursing staff in the care of this patient. The testimony of the wife is very clear in demonstrating this negligence. She reached out to the nurse at 3:22pm and “The nurse… informed her that the doctor was aware of the patient’s breathing pattern and that there was nothing about which she should worry. The nurse did not leave the nursing station” (Guido, 2014, 185). This is in direct contradiction to the nurse’s testimony that “she had called the surgeon immediately to report that the patient’s respiration were 50, that she had taken vital signs that were within the normal limits for this patient, and that she had obtained a pulse oximeter reading that was acceptable. She also testified that she kept calling the physician’s office to report these findings” (Guido, 2014, 185). Based on these two very different accounts, it is clear that one of the people involved in this incident is lying.

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Since the patient outcome was so negative and so tragic, it is most likely the nurse who is lying and covering up her negligence, as she appears to describe actions she should have taken and could have taken, but did not in actuality take. Had the nurse been as on top of things as she claims to be, then the patient might have survived this incident. Further proof that the nurse is lying and covering up her own negligence is the testimony of the nurse in the surgeon’s office, who testified that a call was received from the hospital at 4:00pm, and that the surgeon then made haste to the hospital. Not only had the nurse been misrepresenting the truth to the patient’s wife, as she had not spoken to the doctor about the patient’s breathing any time soon, she then waited 38 minutes before reaching out to the surgeon. This is clear, doubtless negligence. Had the nurse done everything she had claimed to have done during her testimony (but did not), the patient might have survived. I would decide this case by putting complete and total guilt and negligence on the nurse.

Part Two

Many of the provisions were located in the sample professional liability insurance policy. Some of them were definitely more difficult to….....

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References

Guido, G. W. (2014). Legal and ethical issues in nursing.

Scijinks.gov. (2018, May 16). NOAA SciJinks :: What is a Heat Wave? Retrieved from https://scijinks.gov/heat/

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