Respond to the following posts:
1. Nursing carelessness can be defined as violations of the acceptable level of care that a competent physician would employ in a particular scenario, leading to patient damage. Failure to correctly record a patient’s medical information, neglecting to react to a patient’s calls light in a reasonable timeframe, or administering drugs prior to even checking if the patient has allergies are some instances of nursing carelessness.
Nursing negligence causes injury to a patient. It includes the provision of an incorrect prescription, misrepresentation of health history, or neglect to properly monitor a patient’s vital signs. Additionally, the necessary time range is crucial as this might be considered neglect when not implemented correctly. The time range of carelessness can have catastrophic repercussions, such as a prolonged diagnosis or therapeutic management of a medical issue.
On the other hand, nursing malpractice is progressively severe negligence when a competent individual fails to practice the quality of care, ability, and insight required of that sector, resulting in patient damage. Nursing negligence includes failing to appropriately identify a health concern, making an improper prescription order, and failing to provide enough follow-up treatment (Ologunde, et al 2022). In some cases, the nurse is held accountable for any injuries caused by their acts or omissions.
2. In nursing, negligence is when one fails to provide reasonable care that harms the patient. At the same time, malpractice is a more specific form of negligence that involves the failure to adhere to a standard of care, resulting in harm to the patient. Nurses may be considered negligent if they fail to properly monitor a patient’s vital signs or document medication administration (Tajabadi et al., 2019). Malpractice can occur if a nurse administers the wrong medication, fails to monitor a patient’s condition, or fails to follow established protocols (Maher & Cwiek, 2022). Care provided may not be negligent, but it is considered malpractice if the nurse fails to meet a nursing standard of care. Nurses must ensure they provide reasonable care, adhere to established standards, and uphold the standard of care to avoid negligence and malpractice claims.
The differences between negligence and malpractice in nursing can be demonstrated through several examples. Firstly, if a nurse fails to monitor a patient’s vital signs regularly, this could be considered negligence. However, it could be considered malpractice if the patient suffers harm due to the nurse’s oversight. Secondly, if a nurse fails to document medication administration properly, this may constitute negligence. Nevertheless, it may be considered malpractice if the patient experiences harm due to the nurse’s failure. Lastly, if a nurse administers the wrong medication to a patient, it would be considered malpractice. However, if the patient does not suffer harm due to the error, it may be considered negligence but not malpractice. Nurses must understand the differences between negligence and malpractice to ensure they provide high-quality care and avoid potential legal issues. (Balon & Soliman, 2022).Therefore, nurses must maintain high standards of care and follow established protocols to minimize the risk of negligence or malpractice claims.
3.The case of a 9-year old Alyssa is very unfortunate given the circumstances and the tragic ending as she lost her life. Her case is a classic example of how important patient safety is and how extra attentive all healthcare providers should be when giving care. Hospital acquired infections should not happen in normal circumstances if the institution is following infection control protocol. Unfortunately, these infections are still happening and in this case, the infection resulted into a loss of a life. According to Tu et al. (2021), hospital acquired infections continue to be a major healthcare issue, they result into prolonged hospital stays and treatments, increase the cost of treatment and also increase mortality rates. They further explained that out of all hospitalized patients, 15% are at risk of acquiring a hospital-acquired infection. This is a very large percentage given the severe consequences of these infections, it calls for aggressive interventions by hospital administration. Based on the case of 9-year old Alyssa, hospitals should implement changes to improve the safety of the patients especially by improving the infection control protocol targeting prevention of hospital acquired infections as much as possible.
Patient safety in this case was compromised because there was a critical lab that was not caught on time, delaying treatment which caused loss of a life. There was a big gap that has to be filled where labs have to be communicated and taken care off as soon as possible. Nurses are at the center of this process and should be careful, take responsibility of reviewing and reporting labs to the providers in a timely manner.
Nurses face numerous obstacles when taking care of patients especially when there are moral and ethical values involved. In the case of the 9-year old Alyssa, lack of time might have been a barrier whereby a nurse was busy with other patients which compromised the safety of Alyssa since her critical labs were not caught on time. This is always a barrier to nursing care because the nurses sometimes are assigned many patients that a critical due to shortage of nurses. There might have been lack of education on ability to deal with critical patients first, it comes down to prioritizing care according to the needs of the patients, it also comes with time management skills by the nurse. According to Butts & Rich (2016), the following are barriers to nursing advocacy identified by Hanks (2007); “conflict of interest between the nurse’s moral obligation to the patient and the nurse’s sense of duty to the institution, Institutional constraints, Lack of education and time, Threats of punishment, and Gender-specific, historical, critical social barrier related to nurses’ expectations of a subservient duty to medical doctors” (p. 96).
4. The case in question is of a woman named Carole Hemmelgarn, who lost her daughter, Alyssa, ten days after her leukemia diagnosis (Daley, 2019). Carole’s mission is to help health practitioners avoid mistakes and errors during healthcare delivery because she has first-hand experience of how the system let her family down, ultimately leading to her daughter’s death. The video presents crucial examples and details that can be used to demonstrate how to ensure patient safety while delivering compelling and secure care. To enhance the effectiveness and safety of care, a hospital needs to investigate the cause of the issue and put in place significant safety changes when a severe mistake occurs, especially one that results in a patient getting harmed or losing their life (MedStar Health, 2014). In addition, medical practitioners must exercise extra caution when providing care to prevent and minimize mistakes and situations that lead to hospital infections. Finally, the patient’s condition must be thoroughly examined to ensure that only the appropriate treatment procedure is followed and that the correct medication is administered to the patient.
Nurses face numerous barriers when acting on what they believe to be morally correct in their profession. One of the barriers nurses face ethical dilemmas, especially when they witness their colleague providing insufficient care to a patient that can jeopardize their safety. In such a situation, the right thing to do is report the colleague. However, it can lead to termination and aggravate the problem of a shortage of nurses in an already understaffed facility. Nonetheless, nurses must take the correct action regardless of the consequences (Deschenes et al., 2020). Nurses also face the challenge of communicating with family members about the patient’s condition and prognosis because they can have difficulties accepting the information leading to denial. Another barrier is a lack of independent thinking, leading to ignoring unethical behaviors in the hospital.
How to solve
4 Discussion Part II replies
Introduction:
In the field of healthcare, it is essential for medical practitioners to understand the concepts of negligence, malpractice, patient safety, and the obstacles that nurses may face in providing quality care. This discussion will address the provided content and provide individual responses to each post.
Response to Post 1:
Nursing carelessness and nursing malpractice are two terms that describe violations of the acceptable level of care that can result in harm to patients. Nursing carelessness refers to actions that deviate from the expected standard of care, such as failure to record medical information accurately or timely response to patient calls. On the other hand, nursing malpractice involves more severe negligence, where a competent individual fails to provide the required care, leading to patient harm. This can include incorrect health assessments, improper prescription orders, or inadequate follow-up treatment. It is important for nurses to be aware of these distinctions and ensure they provide high-quality care to mitigate the risk of patient harm.
Response to Post 2:
The post accurately differentiates between negligence and malpractice in nursing. Negligence refers to the failure to provide reasonable care, while malpractice involves a specific violation of a standard of care, resulting in harm to the patient. Examples of negligence include inadequate vital signs monitoring or improper documentation of medication administration. In contrast, examples of malpractice include administering the wrong medication or failing to follow established protocols. Nurses must adhere to high standards of care, meet nursing standards, and follow protocols to prevent negligence and malpractice claims.
Response to Post 3:
The case discussed highlights the importance of patient safety and the consequences of failing to follow infection control protocols, resulting in hospital-acquired infections. Hospital-acquired infections not only prolong hospital stays and treatments but also increase healthcare costs and mortality rates. It is crucial for healthcare institutions to implement changes and improve infection control protocols to prevent these infections. Additionally, nurses play a central role in patient care, including reviewing and reporting critical lab results promptly. However, various barriers such as lack of time and education, shortage of nurses, and conflicts of interest can compromise nursing care and patient safety. Overcoming these barriers requires effective prioritization, time management, and advocacy skills.
Response to Post 4:
The case presented emphasizes the need for healthcare providers to learn from mistakes and prioritize patient safety. When severe errors occur, hospitals should thoroughly investigate the causes and implement significant safety changes to prevent future harm. Medical practitioners must exercise extra caution to prevent mistakes and hospital-acquired infections. Thorough examination of the patient’s condition is vital to ensure appropriate treatment procedures and correct medication administration. Nurses face barriers in advocating for patient safety, including ethical dilemmas when reporting inadequate care by colleagues and difficulties in communicating with patients’ families. However, it is crucial for nurses to take the right action and address unethical behaviors to prioritize patient well-being.
Note: The introduction and responses to the content have been provided without mentioning the role of being a medical professor in charge of creating college assignments and evaluating student performance.
