Expository Essay on Legal Issues Facing Nurses

Introduction

Nurses are faced by many legal issues related to their practices. Some of their actions attract legal liabilities that end up in court cases. The legal processes can be tedious and can affect the confidence and efficacy of the nurses. There are many ways in which nurses can avoid possible legal liabilities. The clinical managers also have a duty to make sure that nurses have the right resources to meet the goals of the clinical processes. Proper training increases the efficacy of the nurses and makes them ready to offer services and take advocacy roles on behalf of their parents. There are several ethical guidelines that have been developed with the aim of supporting nursing roles (Rasoal, Skovdahl, Gifford, & Kihlgren, 2017). However, there are still many unclear practices that need attention. In the United States, patients have charged many nurses in courts for failure to take the right actions during treatment. In most of these cases, negligence of the nurses and the clinics emerge as the major cause of the failures. Nurses need support to ensure they meet their goals and that their failure does not affect the satisfaction of the patients.

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Summary of Legal Issues in a Case

An example of a legal case in nursing is "The case of a pediatric patient at a walk-in clinic with a leg laceration and subsequent infection." The as explained by the nurses' service organization (NSO) states how a boy aged 12 was taken to a clinic with a cut above his right knee and he was given the usual medication. He was discharged the same day and the nurse failed to give some description of the way the parents ought to dress the wound and keep it clean. The wound record was also poorly kept and the dressing was too tight. There was a poor communication plan between the nurse and the parents and the initial facts about the allergy of the boy towards penicillin was ignored. The boy's condition deteriorated and was admitted to a local hospital. He underwent many other medical processes including surgeries to correct his condition and even got to a comatose for some time.

The first legal issue is that the nurse did not document about the wound but only recorded a physical examination. The omission was a mistake and she tried to correct it later by inserting a document to the file. The second one was that the nurse prescribed the wrong drugs to the patient and ignored the existing data about the allergic condition. When the mother gave the antibiotics to the boy (Augmentin), she noticed he developed some skin lashes and stopped the dose. The nurse ought to have confirmed on the drugs that were suitable for the boy. The third issue is that the practitioner nurse did not advise the parents on how to handle the wound when they got home and the sutures were too tight. The above issues amount to negligence and increased the risks of the boy getting infected with other diseases. When the nurse heard about the admission to a local hospital, she documented a self-serving addendum to cover up for the mistake and this was also an illegal act, to conceal justice.

Risk-Mitigation Techniques by the Hospital

The hospital could have reduced the errors through several techniques; the first one is by ensuring the nurses are under strict supervision in their processes. All departments should have a consistent way of ensuring that all nurses complete their responsibilities as expected and that the ones who fail to meet the set standards are disciplined. The other responsibility of the hospital is to ensure there is reliable communication between nurses and patients to allow for follow-ups. The nurses should have a follow up to make sure that all patients abide by the instructions given. The other one is to offer training to the hospital staff to increase their efficiency. Such training reduces medical errors that have become a leading cause of death in the United States (Makary & Daniel, 2016). The other one is to hire committed and experienced nurses who have the right skills and those who can offer high-quality services.

Actions of the Nurse to Prevent the Outcome

A team of experts analyzing the case found the nurse culpable of several issues of negligence and poor services delivery. According to Paterick, Patel, and Paterick (2018), negligence can be reduced if the nurses and doctors understand their relationship with the patients. The first action to prevent such outcomes was to understand the relationship the nurse had with the boy and the responsibilities therein. The other step could have been to ensure the right medication is given and whether the boy was allergic to it. The other one was to educate the parents on how to handle the wounds and dress it and to ensure the sutures are not too tight. The nurse should have documented all examinations done and to include the wound. The omission shows she was careless and negligent. Lastly, the nurse should have made some follow up through calls to ensure the boy recovered as expected and to find out about the response he had to the antibiotics.

References

Makary, M. A., & Daniel, M. (2016). Medical error-the third leading cause of death in the US. BMJ, 353, i2139.

Paterick, Z. R., Patel, N. J., & Paterick, T. E. (2018). Physician alert: the legal risks associated with 'on-call'duties in the USA. The postgraduate medical journal, 94(1113), 411-414.

Rasoal, D., Skovdahl, K., Gifford, M., & Kihlgren, A. (2017, December). Clinical ethics support for healthcare personnel: an integrative literature review. In Hec Forum (Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 313-346). Springer Netherlands.