Malpractice/negligence and liability - Assignment Example

In the above case, the authorities in the health facility discovered a discrepancy that the written documents could not reconcile with the electronic date record (Lyer & Aiken, 2001). The concerned nurse could hardly explain the cause of the discrepancy to the supervisor. According to the above case, nurses in the health facility did not follow the acceptable procedures in nursing since some prepared IV drip bags in advance and discarded them when not needed by the physician or patient. Surprising, nurses selected to provide medication by an IV route rather than following the physicians orders for the IM injection.

The healthy facility also failed in implementing a well documented that guide the preceptor and mentee relationship in drug administration. Surprisingly, the concerned nurse testified she even recorded some of the drugs she had issued the following day (Lyer & Aiken, 2001). The law concerning negligence and liability of nursing practitioners is clear that nurses should exercise due care and diligence in their work. The established standards of nursing practice assert that nurses should be guided by the informed consent of the patient in delivering the health care services (Lyer & Aiken, 2001).

The patients have a right to be treated with dignity and also receive information concerning the risks and benefits associated with every medication. It is the duty of the nurse to disclose to the supervisor any nursing process that he or she deems may present a health risk to the concerned patient (Lyer & Aiken, 2001). I believe that the hospital has enough evidence to issue suspension to the concerned nurse. The nurse has already testified that in some cases she recorded the drugs issued to patients in the following day.

According to nursing practice guidelines, it is the duty of the nurse to execute the physician orders unless she has a reasonable suspicion of an error. In such cases, the nurse is expected to clarify the issue with the concerned physician or forward a complaint to the supervisor. If event the nurse breaches this duty of care, the patient can sue for damages in case of harm or injury due to the negligence of the nurse in his or her duty. Supervisors in the health facility must ensure that nurses have the necessary skills when making a request for floatation to another unit (Lyer & Aiken, 2001).

Nurses who float to other units without the necessary skills will bear personal responsibility for carrying out a mandate that is not within their skills and knowledge. Nurses are expected to report to the management of the health facility on any suspicion or errors in administering medication to the clients (Lyer & Aiken, 2001). Surprisingly, nurses are supposed to sign for the narcotics through an electronic system and prepare IV drips in advance. The others nurses evidence is useful in determining the ruling in the case.

Other nurses asserted that they also did not follow the standards of nursing care involved in medical documentation. The testimony of the other nurses is clear that no policy that could guide the relationship between a mentee and preceptor. The institution has a duty of issuing clear guidelines on the preceptor-nurse relationship. In the above case, the suspended nurse would be also guilty for not following the standards of care in nursing practice (Lyer & Aiken, 2001). Some of the principles of safeguarding patient safety that are involved include the principle of due care and diligence.