Nurses' Termination: Code of Ethics & Nurse Practice Act

In the medical field, all healthcare practitioners serve the public. However, all the employees and especially the nurses must be of high moral and ethical standards. They must be enlightened and have knowledge of good principles to serve the public efficiently and in their best interests. The nurses must be conversant with the Nurses Association Code of Ethics, as well as the State's nurse practice act. Unfortunately, according to Buchan & Seccombe (2018), nurses can be terminated due to falsifying documentation, causing harm to patients, diverting drugs, and social media misuse and mistakes, among others.

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A nurse can be discharged for charting something which did not occur or care, which was not provided to the patient. For instance, a nurse who gives false statements in the medical records claiming that a particular bedridden dementia patient has taken the medication, and has as well been turned to prevent bedsores, while in reality, none of these things happened. In this case, an employer can fire such an employee because of exposing the helpless patient in great danger instead of serving accordingly.

In the healthcare field, an employer can be terminated for causing harm to patients. Malpractice is a very serious offense, is termed as total negligence, breach of duty, or misconduct by a professional that, in the end, leads to injury to the patient.

An employer can discharge any employee who is involved in cases of diverting drugs either for personal use or for the purpose of making money, as seen in many cases of medical employees diverting drugs to their clinics and pharmacies as well as to their friends and relatives. Diversion of drugs is illegal and is always taken as a very serious offense that can automatically lead to the end of a nurse professionally.

Social media misuse and mistakes can lead to an employee's dismissal. For instance, sharing any specific, general as well as photographic information concerning patients, posting any demeaning remarks, posting anything involving firearms or illegal drugs, posting any stories about the job and social issues out of frustrations and using profanity among others (Page, 2004).

Nursing careers are considered to be the largest workforce among healthcare workers in the medical field. However, the nurses should adhere to all the guidelines in their practices, no matter how strict they might be. They should also be patient, have self-control, and observe high levels of maturity, responsibility, and accountability despite any stressful situation encountered in the field. Adhering to all these can assist any healthcare employer in securing their job for a long duration of time.

References

Page, A. (Ed.). (2004). Keeping Patients Safe: Transforming the Work Environment Of Nurses. National Academies Press.

Buchan, J., & Seccombe, I. (2018). Nurses Work: An Analysis of The UK Nursing Labour Market. Routledge.