The Importance Of Nursing Home Staff Misconduct

Abuse is a big hazard in the nursing home setting for example a member of staff could be secretly treating the patient with disrespect by calling them names, not washing them, and hurting them physically. This could lead the patient feeling worthless, upset and angry which would affect the patient emotionally and physically and may cause them to stop eating.

This includes reporting violence, abuse or neglect towards clients by other nurses and extends to reporting conduct involving third parties, including family members and other healthcare providers

When you hear the words, “Nursing Home”, what comes to mind? Sad, helpless, elderly individuals? The smell of urine? An overall, unpleasant place to reside in? Unfortunately, this generic description is accurate amongst majority of the nursing home facilities across the United States. More often than not, the elderly suffer from inhumane living conditions while residing in a nursing facility. Quite often we hear stories on the news about cases of elder abuse in the nursing home and we automatically think physical, mental, or emotional abuse from caregivers. However, the fact that these individuals are also living amongst unsanitary, inhumane conditions, and ran by a staff that includes

Some care aides were wonderful and went out of their way to go the extra mile; however, I noticed many of them didn’t tell the residents what they were going to be doing before they would do it, which would scare many of them. Often the residents would scream or wince from shock or pain, as the care aides would begin their care without prior disclosure. Many residents were not verbal, or had dementia and that was considered to be the factor in which it was justifiable to treat them this way. I was dismayed at how I witnessed the lights turn on, the blankets torn off, the residents being turned from side to side and their briefs being taken off, leaving them cold and completely exposed without any notice or indication of what was going to happen.

working in the care environment we must ensure safe and good practise is provided. We are influenced and have such provides to help us gain knowledge such as national factors such as; codes of practise, national occupational standards, legislations and government initiatives. Working in the care environment it is an legal requirement to have an inspection every now and then, which must meet agreed national standards. If not, to result in the home being shut down. Also, the ways of working are set out in legislation and government papers. Every nursing home will have there own policy and procedures which you are able to read for guidance. Also caring and providing for people it is important we behave in a professional manner.

Although it does not usually make news headlines and is rarely discussed, nursing home residents and the elderly experience abuse sometimes on a daily basis. Medical errors, physical abuse, or stealing from them could all be classified as abuse. All around the world today, a population that is not able to help itself is being harmed, whether it is physical or sexual abuse, exploitation, or not being properly supervised; the elderly and nursing home residents are being abused.

The State of Tennessee Board of Nursing’s Rules and Regulations of Registered Nurses, Rule # 1000-01-.13-1r states that unprofessional conduct is defined in part by "failing to take appropriate action in safeguarding the patient from incompetent health care practices" (State of Tennessee, 2011). There are a number of arguments in this case study that incompetent health care practices are being performed, from the decision to place a patient on a ventilator for an oxygen saturation of 88%, circumventing the patient’s written and verbal advanced directives, utilizing an unauthorized family member to get consent for

In any field of work there is a code of conduct. If you choose to stray away from the rules it can lead to disciplinary action; denial, suspension, or even revocation of a license. A thing we are seeing a lot of any more is sexual misconduct in the work place. Nurse-patient relationship is founded on mutual trust. Sexual misconduct in the practice of nursing means violation of the nurse-patient relationship through which the nurse uses said relationship to induce or attempt to induce the patient to engage, or to engage or attempt to engage the patient, in sexual activity outside the scope of the practice or the scope of generally accepted examination or treatment of the patient. Sexual misconduct in the practice of nursing is prohibited. The following acts constitute grounds for denial of a license or disciplinary action, as specified in s. 456.072(2):
Making or filing false reports or records; false, misleading, or deceptive advertising; unprofessional conduct; Engaging or attempting to engage in the possession sale or distribution of controlled substances set forth in chapter 893; Being irresponsible and unable to practice without reasonable skill and safety to patients due to illness or use of alcohol, drugs, narcotics, or chemicals, or any other type of material as a result of any mental or physical condition. Failing to report to the department anyone who the

Court cases like Martha Bull’s who reads “Greenbrier Nursing and Rehabilitation Center had been negligent in treatment of Martha Bull, 76, who died at the nursing home April 7, 2008 after staff failed to act on a doctor 's orders to get her transferred to a hospital emergency room for treatment of severe abdominal pain,” are one of the many that support this disturbing stigma. Something as simple as a competent health provider, that was willing to see a task out into its completion could have been the saving grace for this women. For almost an entire twenty-four hours’ staff heard her cries of agony yet never made sure the proper paperwork was completed once it was filed. (Brantley, 1) In the case of Holder Vs. Beverly Enterprises Texas, Inc. an 83-year-old, bedridden woman by the name of Ruth Waites was hospitalized for dehydration as a result of an understaffed nursing home. Once admitted back to the nursing home she had developed pressures sores from being left unattended. The pressure sores soon became so severe that they caused a serious infection and led to Ms. Waites’ death. This entire case is a story of neglect, what the nursing home states as understaffing, and fraud. The fact that the nursing home was understaffed should have never been hidden from the families of the patients. These are facts that should have been announced to the community so that the appropriate qualified personnel could have attempted to solve the issue. (Nursing, 1) Another case follows with

As the healthcare system in this country has changed, so have traditional nursing homes. Families have the right to expect that their loved ones will be taken care of by professionals in a caring environment. Unfortunately, may people are being abused and neglected in nursing homes. It is very clear that abuse is a serious problem among nursing home patients, and something needs to be done to put a stop to it.

In the medical field, the workers are highly trained to be able to make a distinction between what is right and what is wrong. Elder abuse is becoming a serious issue in the health environment. As defined in the website, MedicineNet.com, elder abuse is: “the physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of an elderly person, usually one who is disabled or frail”. The older population consists of people over sixty-five years old. They are very fragile and sometimes they are forgotten or abused. The elderly can be victims of mistreatment in nursing homes, hospitals, or even in their own house. Nursing is the act of promoting health for others, and of providing care and security with the skills nurses have acquired. However, those who are nursing

However, the studies suggest that about 40 % of people will enter a nursing home before they die according to the National Center on Elder Abuse [NCEA]. In my experience when working in the long term facility some of the problems we came across due to being understaff were untreated bedsores, inadequate care, preventable accidents sometimes it could cause serious enough harm to residents or to place the residents in immediate jeopardy of death or serious injury. One study showed reported instances of residents being punched, slapped, choked or kicked by staff members or other residents, causing injuries such as fractured bones or lacerations. Some of the violations uncovered are particularly disturbing. One attendant walked into a resident 's room, said "I 'm tired of your ass," and hit her in the face, breaking her nose.

The issue of elder abuse is clearly an ethical concern. As a caregiver, the nurse has the responsibility to ensure that the environment of the patient is safe and supportive of health and wellness. In the case of an elderly patient who is too frail to engage in effective self-care, the demands upon the nurse increase as the nurse must

There have been problems within Long-Term Care and many of these abuses were turned over to the patients, there was hardly any direction on how to handle Long-Term Care. “Poor houses and Almshouses and developed in response to an impoverished, aging, and

Ethical principals are the seed of which nursing flourishes from. Many ethical principals were involved and dishonored in this case such as, justice, autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, confidentiality and fidelity (Burkhardt et al., 2014). I believe justice was the main principal involved as the entire ethical predicament was revolved around unjust behavior and treatment of the residents. The residents were treated poorly and given unequal rights as a causation of their illnesses. Autonomy, an essential piece of human rights was also being violated in this ethical dilemma. The residents did not have any choice or independence in their care or how they were being treated. Beneficence and non-maleficence are significant dynamics of this ethical situation, as the health care providers needed to reflect on how they can have the maximum benefit while diminishing possible damage to the residents (Burkhardt et al., 2014). Our actions as nurses should always be beneficent and non maleficent, continuously being kind, compassionate and doing what is in their best interest as well a removing and preventing harm. Confidentiality is a key component of nursing and it was blatantly being violated as the health care