Dignity – “respecting the inherent value and worth of each person.” Justice – “ advocating and acting in ways that promote respect for all persons.” I remember an incident when I worked in the surgery department where the situation could have turned into a sentinel event and most likely a legal matter. As I was checking in and assessing a patient prior to his surgery, I found the patient to be confused and was unable to confirm the procedure he was having done. He knew his name, the year, but not the month and he was able to verbalized that he was in a hospital. Unable to confirm the consent he signed and state the procedure he was having, I refused to proceed with the scheduled procedure. At the time, I was unable to reach family members as well. I communicated this to the rest of the O.R. team, my manager and the anesthesiologist. They agreed with my decision to cancel …show more content…
I was firm with my reasons and provided reasonable rationale for my actions. The surgeon, however, insisted on doing the procedure and argued that the patient had signed his own consents. I was steadfast in my decision with the support of my peers and managers. The case was eventually cancelled as we were not able to reach the family member who had power of attorney. This family member happened to be a lawyer by profession and he expressed his appreciation for my advocating for his father and my efforts in trying to reach him. Although this son knew that his father was scheduled for surgery, he was not aware that the surgeon decided on the time and day without fully informing him. I believe in this case, I carried myself with dignity and appropriately advocated for the patient in the interest of safety. I adhered to my organization’s values of dignity and justice. With the patient being confused, I became his voice and refused to proceed with an invasive procedure that he likely did not even fully
This case is extremely relevant to what is known as the four D’s of negligence; duty, dereliction, direct cause and damages. Duty is when a doctor and a patient have formed a relationship and said doctor has taken on the responsibility of taking care of the patient. Dereliction or failure to perform a duty, there must be some kind of proof that the doctor somehow neglected the doctor neglected the patient. Direct cause, there must be some kind of proof that what happened to the patient was a direct cause of how the doctor conducted himself or his failure to act which resulted in injury. Damages a patient must prove that harm was incurred by the direct result of the physicians actions.
* Dignity - the patient (and the person treating the patient) have the right to be treated with dignity.
Nightingale Community Hospital identified a recent sentinel event involving the ambulatory surgical center. A sentinel event is defined as an unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or psychological injury, or the risk thereof (http://www.jointcommission.org/sentinel_event). A three year old female presented to the hospital on September 14th for a planned outpatient procedure. The child was accompanied by her mother. The mother registered the patient with the registrar prior to the procedure. The patient and her mother went to the pre-operative area to complete the informed consent and the necessary physical assessment. The pre-operative nurse obtained the necessary contact
One of the problems with malpractice is that sometimes we have a hard time recognizing it. We may not know what exactly constitutes medical malpractice, or what qualifies as medical malpractice. Even worse, we often don't know what our course of action should
David Swenson, who was born in Sweden and was a professor of University of Minnesota. He is well-known to the public for his publication of the article called “The Dignity of Human Life”, which was originally published in 1949 and currently still could be found in many philosophy books (Klemke, 2008). The article of “The dignity of Human life” contains several different valuable ideas of the subject to human life and also includes some great conclusions at the final.
Human dignity includes personal qualities such as consideration, empathy, human kindness, respect and trust. It can be reflected in safeguarding the individual’s right of privacy, and treating others with respect, regardless of background. According to Yancey (1997) “It is respect for the inherent worth of and uniqueness of individuals and populations in professional practice, human dignity is reflected when the health care professional values and respects all clients and colleagues”.
Patients who request for their own doctors should have their wishes respected as a matter of a patient's rights. It does not matter whether those requests occur in the ER or during their hospitalization under the UCR hospitalists. These requests have been routinely ignored, or transmogrified into an ugly
3) Surgeon: Was directly involved in the events leading up to the sentinel event. The surgeon was responsible for all activities taking place in the surgical suite and directly related to the surgery of the pediatric patient. The surgery was completed safely and successfully; however, the surgeon had relevant information in the patient chart at his office yet did not share this information with the hospital. He also did not supply an appropriate or accurate H&P that would have included custodial status for the pediatric patient to the hospital. The surgeon is greatly concerned in the events that lead to the sentinel event and wants to ensure that his patients will be cared for and safe at Nightingale Community Hospital.
An underlining principle that forms all nursing practice is respect for the inherent dignity, worth, unique attributes, and human rights of all individuals. (Jimenez-Lopez, Roales-Nieto, Seco, Preciado, 2016) Nurses are to always treat all patients with dignity. For example, closing doors before you start providing patient care. It’s also essential as a nurse to respect patients regardless of their background, race, culture, value system, or spiritual belief. (Jimenez-Lopez, et al., 2016)
On March 39, 2017, at 1224hrs, VA police received a Duress Alarm for 1E127. Investigation revealed that the Veteran was upset over not being able to receive her Ulfima Five Tens Unit. The MSA Clerk informed her that she would have to attend a class on how to properly us the Tens Unit. The Veteran demanded she give her the Tens Unit, because she had use it in the past. When the MSA Clerk refused and told her she would schedule her an appointment, the Veteran got angry and called the Clerk a witch and walked off. VA Police made contact with the Veteran at Primary Care Desk B lobby. Where the veteran gave an omission and stated she had an appointment and because the clerk was not at her desk she missed it. VA Police did however confirm that
It is important for me to continue to have respect for myself, my coworkers, but most of all, respect for my patients in my chosen profession. I must treat them with honestly and in turn, they will do the same. My patients must know that they can confide in me and count on me at all times. I will honor nonmaleficence and strive to beneficence my patients at all times. By doing this, I will remain accountable to myself, my patients, and to the code of
Human dignity is respect for an individual regardless of sex, race, or gender. This ethical principle promotes respect for life, freedom and privacy. A nurse can promote dignity by providing patient privacy during nursing care procedures, allowing independence, and upholding the cleanliness of the patient. For the nurse, human dignity does not only apply to patients but also to our peer and colleagues. The nursing student can promote human dignity by being respectful to his or her fellow classmates, faculty, and staff. They can also promote dignity by decreasing prejudice, judgment and competition among students (Shaw & Degazon, 2008).
Dignity is a core element of nursing care. In nurses' clinical practice, maintaining the dignity of patients is an important issue because a lack of dignity in care can affect the health and recovery of patients. To treat a patient with dignity is to treat them in a way that shows they are valued and important, in a way that is appropriate and respectful to the individual. A patient needs to feel safe and secure in the nurses care and should be made feel comfortable, in control and valued at all times.
Consent can be quite tricky, a legal minefield for healthcare teams, this is due to the patients who will give or refuse to give private information about themselves who is legally competent but
Dignity and respect is something everyone has a right to. I have chosen this subject because it is an important part of nursing in that to be able to fulfil the role of a nurse is firstly to respect the person you are caring for. Dignity is a feeling of being valued, respected, having self-worth, supported and being able to show empathy and compassion for the people nurses look after. So for me it’s important to outline the principles in dignity and respect when looking after people who are vulnerable.