Standards that Act as Guidelines in the Nursing Profession - Term Paper Example

Kim Lee Case Study Name Course Lecturer Date Introduction It is expected that nurses conduct themselves in a professional while carrying out the daily duties. In Australia, the Code of Professional Conduct has set minimum standards that act as guidelines in the nursing profession. Nurses should uphold legal and ethical principles in their duties. The case study provided gives examples of issues faced in various health institutions. The paper analyzes the issues as indicated in the case study. Legal issues This includes medication error (Barbara and Phillip p.1). This is supported by the fact that the nurse continued administering Kim with pain killers without first establishing the cause of the pain. The other issue is negligence (Barbara and Phillip p.1; Carvalho et al., p. 43). From the presented case, Nurse 2 tells Kim that the pain is to be expected and that he should see his own doctor in case the pain persistent. Still, the nurse did not mention of Kim’s pain which reflect negligence. Under documentation, the entries in the inpatient notes lacked important entries. For instance, there was no mention of Kim’s pain but there was an administration of oral narcotics. Still, the Nurse gave false information that the patient was progressing on well and he was ready to be discharged and recover over the weekend. Ethical issues Confidentiality is an vital issues (Sule p.1 ).This is evidence in the presented case as the Nurse 1 who is assigned to Kim says that he will enquire from another nurse (who may not be assigned to Kim) on what to do with the pain he was undergoing. Indeed, it is expected that the nurse enquires from the doctor who was attending. Therefore, the patient health and treatment is not kept as confidence. Value laden These are terms that depict positive or negative view that a healthcare giver has towards a patient. In the case provided, Nurse 2 use negative words to describe the means of transport that Kim uses. She insists that the pain was self inflicted. Simply she did not care about the patient situation. Fundamental ethical principles and their meanings Principle Explanation Autonomy: the principle means that the individual has the right to self determination (Cipriano and Ludwick p.1) A patient has the ability to be self directed and independent. The patients have the right to of self determination and entitled to choose what need to be done to them. Simply put, adult patients have the consent to refuse for agree to certain treatment. The principle states that the nurse should agree to the patient’s requirements as much as they are wrong and they do not agree with the patients. This ethical principle was not approached from the right perspective in respect to the patient. As such, the principle was not held and therefore, breached. Regarding the state Kim was, pain, he did not have the right to make the right decisions concerning the pain, that is, ask for the best option to reduce the pain. Indeed, it is expected that Kim would have insisted in knowing the cause of the pain. However, the nurse continued to administer oral narcotic despite the persisting pain. Notably, Kim could not clarify that the accident was not his fault as the nurse had already confirmed to him that people who ride on motorbikes are expected to get hurt. Of importance to note is the fact that Kim could have received excellent treatment if only he had and was ready to make the right decision concerning his treatment. Beneficence: this principle basically means doing well or promoting good.. This principle expects the nurses to be efficient in their daily tasks in order to promote the interest of the patients and continue to strive in order to meet the optimal outcomes. Indeed, the principle is at the core of everyday nursing activities and practice. However, while defining this principle it is noted that there is a difference between what is good for the patient and what the nurse believes is good for the patient. As such, the principle may give rise to ethical issues between what the nurse believes it is good and the patient. Analyzing the presented case to some extent the patient did not receive the benefits. This may be urged from the point that this principle cannot be applied from what the nurse believes to be good to the patient. It is obvious that the nurse had good intention of eliminating or subsidizing the pain that Kim felt. However, the intended benefit did not work. The pain continued and there was no change of drugs or further diagnosis to find the main cause of the pain. . Essentially, Kim did not receive the needed benefits which resulted to the deterioration of his health. Non-maleficence: the third principle simply means, do no harm (Cipriano and Ludwick p. 1). This principle is directly tied to the duties of the nurse to protect the safety of the clients. It is important to note that this principle is derived from the Hippocratic Oath that states that the nurses are not expected to cause injury to the patients. There are various ways that harm may occur to the patients. For instance, through communication failure. Indeed, the failures may be done intentionally or basically through human error. It is important to note that this principle is considered before a new treatment is approached. Before administering any treatment, there is a need for the nurse to consider whether the treatment will cause more harm to the patient or will create further implications. From the case presented, this principle was not entirely considered. It is obvious that before the ministration of oral narcotics, the nurse could have consulted the doctor in order to establish what would be the right action to take. Failure to communicate with the doctor in charge and the patient (in order to establish the cause and the intensity of the pain) it resulted to a worse scenario that could have been avoided. More harm was introduced when the nurse did not accurately document the patient state. Lack of clear documentation would indeed have resulted to wrong diagnosis in case of future treatment. One may argue that the fact that the nurse told the patient that the pain would reduce after sometimes, without her being sure of what was causing the pain would be a failure to consider the principle. Of importance to note is the fact that unless open discussions relating to ethical issues do occur, the harm that may be done to the patient may not be made clear unless nurses are practicing. This principle is measured in terms of equality, fairness, need and other criteria that Confidentiality/ privacy: privacy belongs to every individual and it cannot b taken away from the person unless the individual is willing to share (Cipriano and Ludwick p. 1). Confidentiality on the hand implies that the any information shared with other individuals should be spread to other unauthorized persons and would only be used for the intended purpose (WHO p.6). It is obvious that a patient sharing information to a nurse or a health practitioner does oblige a duty of confidentiality on the nurse or the health care provider. This duty indicates that the health provider will only provide or there the information on a need to know basis. However, this does not imply that anyone who is working within the health care facilities should share the information. Actually, it is argued that only the health care who are concerned and taking care of the patient should know the information. It has been noted that there are various reports of confidentiality being breached. This mainly involves cases related to HIV/AIDs, mental illness and genetic diseases. Patients with these diseases are very vulnerable. In the cases provided, there is an evidence of lack of confidentiality. It expected that Nurse 1 should enquire on what way should be taken in order to reduce the persisting pain that Kim is experiencing. However, she goes on to enquire other people resulting to leaking of the stated of Kim to other healthcare providers. Veracity: the principle means conformity to facts. It may also means accuracy of the information given. It is expected that the patient and the family members are given correct information concerning the treatment that the patient is undergoing. In the case provided, the Nurse is expected to explain to Kim and his sister on the treatment and what Kim should do in order to lessen the pain and ensure quick recovery. However, she comments that the pain the Kim is going through is self inflicting. In addition, she is also expected to refer Kim back to the same hospital in case of poor recovery. However, the nurse tells him to seek medication attention from his doctor and that the pain would reduce thereafter. Lack of correct documentation is also an evidence of poor confirmation of facts to the right persons. It was noted that there was lack of important and sufficient information relating to the state of the patient when he was admitted in the hospital and undergoing nursing care. Advocacy: this is the act of arguing or pleading in favour of something, policy or an idea. It also refers to as active support. In the case provided, Kim’s father noted that the son was not treated well and advocated that there was a need for the son to have more time to recover and it would be hard for him to obtain a sick leave because he had only worked for a month. Apparently, he felt that the Nurse 2 was responsible for this as he had not done her job well. Law and professional nursing standards and whether they bleached Principle Comment Evidence Confidentiality As per the laws and nursing standard, the nurses need to observe confidentiality on any information related to the patient. In the case study, Nurse 1does not upheld the principle. Monitor and deterioration report Professional nursing standards of care demands that the health care providers assess the patient continually (Austin p. 34). Nurse 2 does not assess the patient continuously. If she were she could have diagnosed the persisting pain and offer a different mediation or an alternative. Value diversity of people This requires the nurse to appreciate different languages and backgrounds during health care and nursing (ANMC p.1 ) The father complains that his son was ill-treated due to his accent Value quality nursing (ANMC p.1) The principle requires the nurse to uphold the standards and principles that are measured by acceptability, quality and availability if healthcare services (Carvalho et al., p.19). Nurse 2 did not uphold this principle Communicate effectively ( (Staunton and Chiarella p. 34) Nursing standards call for good communication with the patients and colleagues (WHO p.8) Nurse 2 did not communicate effectively to the patient and the inpatient note showed poor communication. Document accurate and timely manner (Austin p.34) Accurate documentation for patient medical records is important as it is one of the documents that are required by the state and it used as a communication tool for the care givers. Nurse 2 left some crucial information in the inpatient note. State of the problem from different stakeholders The problems as indicated in the case affect various stakeholders both directly and indirectly. As a patient, Kim suffers as the pain does not reduce despite medication. This is as a result of poor treatment. His father also suffers as he wonders whether his son will be able to get back to work as the employees do not offer sick leave. The health institution is also to blame as it does not uphold the nursing professional standards and does not monitor its employees while they are performing the duties. The nurses indeed, have breached the code of conduct and appropriate measures need to be taken. Their action directed affected the health of the patient. Conflicts The primary conflict is between the nurses and the patient. Indeed, the nurses do not consider Kim’s state as wanting. This leads to treatment option conflict as Kim was not given the right attention in order to receive the right treatment. Legal concept and how to guide management The management would take the actions after referring to the legal principles that include negligence, documentation, medication administration, coding and billing. These principles will enable the management to appreciate that the nurse breached the code of conduct and appropriate action is undertaken. Ethical principle and how to guide management In addition, ethical principles will play a great role in determining the action to be taken. Such principles include confidentiality and privacy, capacity and consent, autonomy, justice, beneficence and veracity. Ethical- legal decision In nursing, professional conducts need to be upheld (Johnstone and Kanitsaki p.2). It is normally accepted that when a nurse is performing their duties that they should conduct their affairs professionally while upholding excellent conduct (ANMC p.1). Indeed, nursing profession recognizes universal human rights of individual and safeguarding the dignity and equal values of every individual (Kerridge and Lowe p. 2). In the case presented, Nurse 2 did not uphold the professional nursing standards and therefore, appropriate actions should be undertaken. The nurse in charge should be notified of the situation through a memo. She will then be in a position to take the right actions. She may also involve other appropriate stakeholders such as the disciplinary persons. Conclusion Indeed, as the nurses are carrying out their daily activities, they need to follow the set standards that govern their relation with the patients. The case study shows a situation where the standards were breached by the nurses while treating. As a result the patient was directly affected in that his health deteriorated. Therefore, using the ethical and legal principle as guidelines, the health institutional management should take appropriate measure against the nurse. Works Cited ANMC. Code of professional condusct for nursing in Australia. Dickson, ACT: ANMC, 2008. ANMC, Codes of professional conduct and ethics for nurses & midwives in Australia. South Australia: Nurses Board of South Australia, 2008. Austin, S. "Seven legal tips for safe nursing ." Nursing 2008 March 2008: 34-39. Barbara, C and Phillip. "Nursing Professionals:Avoiding potential legal issues ." Guardian Healthcare 2012: 1. Carvalho, S, Reeves, M and Orford, J. Fundamental aspects of legal, ethical and professional issues in nursing. Huntingdon: CLE, 2011. Cipriano, M and Ludwick, R. "Ethical: interstate nursing practice and regulation. Ethical issues for 21 st century." Online Journals of Issues in Nursing 2 July 1999: 1. Johnstone, M and Kanitsaki, O. Professional conduct: a report to the nurses Board of Victoria. Melbourne: RMIT University, 2001. Kerridge, I and Lowe, M. Ethics and law for the health professions . NSW: The Federation Press, 2005. Staunton, P and Chiarella, M. Nursing and the law. NSW: Elsevier Marrickville, 2008. Sule, A. "Ethical issues in nursing." Buzzle 9 September 2010: 1. WHO. "Nursing competency standards." Pacific Health Legislation. Port Moresby: Nursing Council of Papua New guinea, 2009. Read More