Question

A cardiac patient complained to the nurse that he had chest pain and shortness of breath. The nurse , who was on her way to lunch , decided to wait until she got back before calling the patient's physician. She gave the patient the medications that were ordered for him in the event he should get chest pains. She did not tell the nurse who was covering her patients during lunch. Half an hour later, when the nurse returned from lunch the nurse had forgotten about the patient's complaints. Later that day , the patient was found to have suffered a massive heart attack. 1.Discuss any possible deviations from the standard of nursing care and ethical issues in this scenario

Answer 1

EXPLANATION

• Ethics simply refers to certain rules that must be followed by a nurse which helps to lead a healthy profession.
• In the above scenario the nurse has neglected the patient's concern for her personal matter.She also failed to inform the physician at right time.
• In this scenario the nurse is deviated from from the nursing standard of BENEFICIENCE.
• BENIFICIENCE-It generally refers to doing good for others,for example showing kindness to others.
• This nursing standard beneficience refers to taking timely actions to prevent patients from harm.
• The nurse had also not followed the standards of Accountability and Responsibility
• The nurse is primarily responsible for the patient,she is answerable to the patient's family,physician and other supportive healthcare providers.
• In the above scenario it is clear that the ethical issue is NEGLIGENCE.
• NEGLIGENCE basically means failure of a nurse to provide care and meet the needs of the patient which may lead to unnecessary sufferings to the client.
• Negligence WITH REGARD TO DUTY ,that is the nurse has a duty to administer right medications,monitor the patient regularly,and timely informing the physician without delay,but herethe nurse has failed to provide continuos care and also failed to inform the doctor at the right time.