Legal implications discussion post
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Chamberlain University College of Nursing *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
506
Subject
Health Science
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
2
Uploaded by BaronCoyote1034
Analyze the case study for potential issues for members of the healthcare team from office conflict. Contrast the potential effects for each member of the healthcare team based upon the required readings from the week. Discuss the potential ethical and legal implications for each of the following practice members: Healthcare is a fast paced, high stress work environment. Typically, our patients are there
because they are not feeling good, or they have gotten bad news. It is important to understand this and help create a team based, healthy work environment to support both your patients and your coworkers. There will be conflicts but also was to resolve those conflicts without place anyone including our patients at risk. Healthcare is autonomous and therefore we also need to understand and accept sole reasonability for our own actions and their consequences.
Medical Assistant
In this case study the medical assistant (MA) neglected the code of ethics within health care. Specifically, the MA broke beneficence and non-maleficence. Gaines (2020) provides us the definitions of these principles in her article: beneficence is acting for the good of others and nonmaleficence pertains to doing no harm. The patients blood pressure is vital for life and without it being within certain limits a patient cannot sustain life. By withholding the information from the nurse practitioner (NP) the MA placed their patient at risk. This can leave the MA susceptible to a lawsuit for malpractice or neglect. Nurse Practitioner Although the Nurse Practitioner (NP) was not the caretaker who failed to ensure that the vital sign was acted upon, they are responsible for the care of the patients within that practice. Due to this, they are in a ethical and legal bind as well, with protentional for negligence and malpractice. Accepting an NP position also places you in a leadership role. Therefore, when the nurse practitioner noticed that there had been conflicts occurring within the workplace that was interfering with care measures, actions needed to be taken. Medical Director The Medical Director is “top dog” over all the medical staff within the building and the patients being seen within that practice. They oversee the practice to ensure it follows both ethical and legal laws. As the case study stated it appears these conflicts have been occurring for a long period of time. The medical director most likely has been aware of the situation and has not acting upon it with reeducation or discipline. These actions are placing them at risk for the same legal implications as the rest: negligence and malpractice. The longer these types of situations occur the greater the chance of patient harm. Practice
The practice itself is being put at a risk of closure. The staff within the building are not only creating an unhealthy environment but also unsafe. If a patient does get harmed, the practice
will face the same charges of malpractice and negligence, ultimately being terminated. Also, possibly liquidated for patient funding related to injuries.
What strategies would you implement to prevent further episodes of potentially dangerous patient outcomes?
As stated, before healthcare is considered a high stress job and can create tons of conflicts. Saridi et al. (2021) help us point out two things we can tackle to decrease conflict within the healthcare environment: communication and job stress. Communication needs to occur from the leader positions within the practice. An in-service needs to take place on the importance of care delivery. The medical assistant needs to be held accountable for their actions and reeducation needs to occur. The entire staff needs to participate in a communication event and practice good communication skills. The workplace itself then needs to be assessed. What are the conflicts about? Do the staff feel work is distributed unequally? There are tons of questions that need to be assessed and changes need to be made. All of these goals need to be directed towards a healthy and safe work environment for both the patients and staff.
What leadership qualities would you apply to effect positive change in the practice? As an Advanced Practice Nurse, we are in the role of leaders. To ensure that this practice sees changes for the better, we ourselves need to apply effective leadership qualities. Delgado and Mitchell (2016) found that integrity, communication clarity and problem-solving ability were among the top valued leadership qualities. We have already agreed that increased effective communication needs to occur within this practice, this includes the NP. The NP noticed that the practice needed some resolution of conflicts early after accepting this position, as it did not surprise them of the conflicts. Therefore, problem-solving techniques need to be implemented. Creating an open door policy for conflict and resolution within the NP office my assist in a healthier workplace. Lastly, being confident within oneself or possessing integrity can help influence the same from coworkers. If the NP has been taking part in the conflicts throughout the
practice, they need to remove themselves and present a professional leader. References Delgado, C., Mitchell, M. M. (2016). A Survey of Current Valued Academic Leadership Qualities in Nursing. National League for Nursing. 37 (1). https://chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/
login.aspx?direct=true&db=c8h&AN=114678187&site=eds-live&scope=site
Gaines, K. (2020). What is the Nursing Code of Ethics? Nurse.org. https://nurse.org/education/nursing-code-of-ethics/
Saridi, M., Panajiotidou, A., Toska, A., Panagiotidou, M., Sarafis, P. (2021). Workplace Interpersonal Conflicts Among Healthcare Professionals: A Survey on Conflict Solution Approach at a General Hospital. International Journal of Healthcare Management. 14 (2). P 468-477. https://doi.org/10.1080/20479700.2019.1661114
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help