Professionalism and Medical Malpractice - Essay Example

The medical staff must be vigilant in providing both medical and nursing services being careful not compromising the patient's dignity by deliberately ignoring the patient's information and by extension causing harm to the patient.

Medical malpractice entails a failure to provide care as stipulated by the codes of professional ethics in both nursing and medicine. For example, Rob Burton who was a basketball coach developed severe abdominal pain after his training session. He sought medical care at Norton Brownsboro Hospital; a nurse who did not care to obtain relevant subjective information regarding his pain attended to him. She did not get detailed information on the nature of the illness leading to a misdiagnosis. Evoking a complete patient history through questioning and active listening in most cases saves time alongside offering critical clues to the diagnosis. Rob was given some oral antibiotics as a treatment for his pain which proved ineffective; he was later admitted to the same hospital with acute diverticulitis that was approaching its fatal stage. He underwent emergency surgery to prevent further complications of the condition. He was found with a perforated bowel and it was compulsory that a colostomy bag was to be fixed to aid egestion.

Rob took this act of misdiagnosis as a form of negligence and sued the hospital for not according to him with the required care. It was considered a case of medical malpractice since the nurse did not take his case seriously and she did communicate as a team. Burton believes that had his complaint of abdominal pain been treated with the seriousness he would not have undergone the surgery that left him uncomfortable with the colostomy bag. The fault lies with the nurse not communicating the patient's complaints as well as not considering patients' complaints as crucial in providing care. In treating dizzy patients, 90% of the cases are treated following the guide of the history given by the patients themselves; their description of the symptoms is the most relevant constituent of the workup. Key information is lost when the healthcare provider interrupts the patients not giving them ample time to explain their conditions (Muhrer, 2014).

In summary, it is in line of care for the nurse to consider the patient's information in planning for care and documentation. Apart from providing useful information for proper care, the nurse will avoid medical malpractice and other punitive action presented as consequences of failure to listen to the patient. Diagnostic studies can be done based on reliable patient history and physical exam and in a way, this limits unnecessary delays and laboratory testing. In this particular incident, Rob Burton will have not undergone the surgery had the nurse listened to his complaint keenly and requested a laboratory investigation Read More