The Impaired Nurse Research Paper

As the article The Impaired Nurse stated, “Impaired nurses can become dysfunctional in their ability to provide safe, appropriate patient care” (Thomas, C.M., & Siela, D. 2011). As we learned in class the four ethical principles include; beneficence which is the act of doing the most good, non-malfeasance which is the act of doing the least amount of harm, autonomy which focuses on allowing each individual to make their own decisions and justice which focuses on being fair to all involved. Nurses who are abusing substance typically can’t follow these for ethical principles to the best of their ability because they are too focused on themselves. As mentioned in the article Substance Abuse among Nurses, nurses who are abusing substances are not able to complete tasks and function as a typical nurse would (Talbert, J. J. 2009). These types of nurses are not able to apply the four ethical principles to their everyday work environment because they are too focused on the substances they need. These nurses would not be able to function and apply to principle of doing the most good because they will not be doing the best if on substances. As mentioned in both articles, these nurses will spend a good amount of time in the bathrooms hiding and using, take medications from patients, and forget tasks that need complete. Beneficence and non-malfeasance in my opinion could not apply to nurses who are abusing substances because they are not caring for their patients as

Legal Issues: Due to several medical errors from both the Hospital and Nursing facility legal can step in and make a case for Medical Negligence. This case may not have been intentional but too many mistakes bypassed people on several occasions and by two different organizations caused the patient to have an extension of a stroke. Doctors and medical staff have an obligation and duty to their patients to be in line with the “Medical Standard of Care.” This legal term is defined as, “the caution that a reasonable person in similar circumstances would exercise in providing care to a patient.” Here the physician did not provide the quality of care to the patient because he/she did not adequately review the patient history and medications properly.

Some basic questions, about the case on May 20, will be answered to the best of its ability. Mr. Ard was in pain and had shortness of breath, yet he was given medication for nausea. The patient was neglected to be given the proper medication and on top of that the patient had to suffer through the tardiness of the medical personnel. After receiving the wrong medication he was neglected. No one had come by to check on the patient’s progress.

The case scenario portrayed Jackie, as a typical nurse who was conflicted and stressed out from both the demands of family and of the workplace environment. At home, she was pressured by her husband to take on extra overtime to supplement and augment the family’s income. Thus, in spite of feeling that her skills were not current, Jackie signed up with her previous hospital to be on the flexible staffing pool (Badzek, et al., 1998). As expected, “Jackie found the work extremely stressful. She rarely had the same unit and patient assignment” (Badzek, et al., 1998).

If the defendant would have adhered to the numerous safeguards for nurses, it could have prevented the alleged wrongdoing. According to the American Nurses Association’s Code of Ethics for Nurses, nurses must advocate for proper assistance for coworkers when indicated. This supports nurses in early recovery when they return to work (O’Neil, 2015). If the coworkers of the defendant would have recognized her issue and spoken up prior to December 9th. 2015, than this hearing could have been prevented. It is the nurse’s ethical responsibility to safeguard the patient, the public, and the profession from prospective harm when a nurse appears to be impaired. This can be

Legally nurses have a duty to act vigilantly when treating their clients, nurses are expected to achieve at least the minimum standard of care consistently. If a nurse fails this they will be judged as negligent (McHale and Tingle 2007). When analysing the scenario within our sessions, it was discussed that the nurse providing care was negligent, if so they would have been held accountable. Chitty and black (2005) inform the reader that negligence is ‘the failure to act as a reasonable careful practitioner would, in particular circumstances '. To assess how particular practitioner would act in a certain situation in relation to another is more complex and hard to resolve. The law simplifies this judgement using a tool called the bolam test. Simplified this dictates that a practitioner cannot be deemed negligent if the actions taken conform with that of another rational competent health care professional. (samanta 2004). The scenario can be related to adult nursing as well as the other

This essay will look at the issues which influence mental health and learning disability nursing practice. The issue which will be the focus of discussion will be dignity. The ways in which patient dignity can be maintained will be identified within both fields of nursing along with the threats to dignity.

In the therapeutic nursing situation, one type of nursing care or management problem would be the chemical dependence of nurses, which largely affects their work attitude and their disposition. Chemical dependent people usually have a tendency to be rude, ill-mannered, and impatient, as an effect of their addiction to a specific drug or chemical. For this, Bettinard-Angres and Bologeorges (2011) have addressed the situation by conducting research on chemically dependent nurses for the purpose of investigating their practices. The study was a profound one, as it delves into the ethical issues that surround both the researcher and the nurses, discussing barriers that may have prevented other nurses to report chemically dependent nurses.

There were several indicators that Beverly was unfit for duty such as staff reported the smell of alcohol on her breath, the unexcused absences, and increase in medication errors. Management is aware that disciplinary problems generally do not go away, they get worse if ignored. When employees are suspicious of being chemically impaired, management needs to collect and record objective data (Marquis & Huston, 2017). In this scenario, the supervisor took time to investigate the problem by waiting to witness the issue directly. By waiting this prevented a quick response that could be influenced by incomplete information, assumptions or personal emotions. The supervisor did the right thing by sending Beverly home after the confrontation and scheduling

The legal ramifications of this case include medical malpractice from the nurse, physician, and the hospital, a wrongful death lawsuit, and possible revocation of licenses of the involved parties. Basing on the Components of Professional Negligence as stated on Table 5.3 by Marquis and Huston (2015), the nurse and the physician are both guilty of malpractice. The physician wasn’t able to provide the best care, failed at meeting the standards of care, disregarded the possibility of the patient bleeding out after numerous attempts by the primary caregiver to inform her of the abnormals, and the patient died as a result of failure to assess the patient on a timely manner. Assuming that the nurse followed the physician’s orders and documented all of her observations and the physician’s responses to every inquiry the nurse made, he or she should have notified the charge nurse of the situation and follow the hospital protocol regarding instances like this. According to the components, the nurse is guilty because her failure of not acting on the perceived threat to patient safety has resulted in demise. Although the learning exercise did not mention any other available employee that could’ve helped prevented this case, the charge nurse, nurse supervisor, or nurse administrators who have not physically provided care for the patient may also be included in malpractice claims as a result of lack of leadership (Cooper, 2016).

Call received from Ray Logan, patient’s son-in-law upset regarding our treat of him mother-in-law. He reported that she has multiple fractures including seven broken ribs. He stated that his family was promised that the facility would not be too aggressive or rough with therapy before he agreed to transfer her to our facility. He reports that we overworked her and that it left her very fatigued and in great deal of discomfort yesterday (4/12/17). He informed me that his souse was present and request that I speak with her. Monica Bosma, RN Nurse Manager and I went to visit with patient and her daughter Laure Logan. We listened to their concerns and asked Robert Barton to join with us. Therapy discussed and a adjustment made to treatment/therapy

Alcohol withdrawal increases the length of stay in the hospital and complicates 40% of hospital admissions (Sen, et Al, 2016). The nurse is the first line contact that will assess the patient and has an integral part in helping to reduce the symptoms and length of stay with the proper assessment and implementation of care since alcohol withdrawal can

Nurses have a crucial role in patient care because they have the most contact with the patient while they are in the hospital, so they have to uphold their role and give the patient the best quality care that they can be given. If a nurse is impaired, they need to be stopped immediately because “nurses have an ethical and moral duty to patients, colleagues, the profession of nursing and the community.” (Thomas & Siela, 2011) Not only would they jeopardize the safety of the patient, they would also taint the name of the facility they work on and the profession of nursing itself. There are a series of steps that should be taken before reporting the impaired nurse. First, I need to “educate [myself] on the signs, symptoms, behaviors, myths, and

Employed nurse have an obligation to maintain one is practising license yearly. To work without a practising licence would deem negligence for the nurse and for the employer. Second, if the nurse chooses to return to work impaired to alcohol and or to prescribed or illicit drugs, that has impaired her cognitive function she would be found negligence including the institution and her immediate supervisor.

Alcohol and/or illegal drugs are prohibited on the premises. Any employee caught with such will be subject to immediate termination. Any prescription drugs should all be approved through HR or the nurse before