Nursing - Case Study Sample

Introduction

Connecticut State’s department of health has a well elaborate program that explains the process one can use to report a case. The wronged patient should report under the claims and complaints section. The states have the Practitioner Investigation Unit of the health department that details all the reports and claims. The voice mail is frequently checked, and the staff responds (“Reporting a Complaint,” 2020). The state has laid down the information right the reporter needs to indicate, for example, the alleged violation, witnesses, and name of the health professional involved. The above is the procedure to follow when reporting this case of posting a patient’s picture without the patient’s consent.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Code of Ethics for Nurses

The ANA develops the code of ethics that guides the behaviors of nurses. The many provision helps the nurse work and provide the very best services to patients. Provision three requires the nurse to promote, advocate, and protect the patient’s rights, health, and safety (ANA, 2016). The case study explains that the registered nurse and the nursing unit assistant exposed the patient’s photos without their consent. Provision four talks about the responsibility the health care officials have and how they are supposed to discharge their duties. There is a breach of the ethical code of ethics. The professionals infringed the patient; they published the pictures of the patients without consent.

Potential Ramifications

Connecticut has a good department of health care. All the claims and complaints are investigated by the Practitioner Investigation Unit of the Department of Public health (“Reporting a Complaint,” 2020). The freedom of the information laws breakdown what the professionals should do and what they should avoid. The workers, in this case, will face the disciplinary committee for these actions. The hospital as well can get a warning because they are liable for the action of their workers. It is a serious offense breaching the code of ethics.

To this point, the patients and their families are unaware of the incidents. A decision needs to be made as to whether or not to inform the patients and their families. Please analyze and apply the ethical constructs appropriate to this case and give your recommendation for actions as to how the hospital should proceed using the parameters below. Please type in the boxes, and they will expand as you type.

Ethical Frameworks

The ethical framework that should be used to solve the problem is the right based and duty-based. The duty-based framework explains that the individual profession has the duty of care. For example, in our case, the nurse was supposed to protect the patient and not expose the patient’s pictures. It is wrong that the patient did not know that all this was happening. The right-based argument can help the case. The patients have the right to good care. The right to privacy is another right the patient enjoys. The information should not be shared without prior knowledge.

Ethical Principles

The six ethical principles that the nurses must adhere to are fundamental. The justice of fairness is crucial. The nurses should act reasonably, and they should distribute care to all the patients equally. It was not the case here. The nurses decided to share the patient’s pictures. The principle of beneficence explains doing good and the right things for the patient. The nurse in this situation did not do the right thing to the patient. They did badly. They posted pictures that can hurt the client. Again the nurses did not keep their promise that they would provide the right care to the patient. It is the other principle that was violated by the two health care professionals.

Conclusion

The hospital should report the case and tell the client the truth. It can help avoid many problems as a result. Telling the truth will help solve the problem and prevent the patient from suing the hospital. As a nurse and reporting this case, I could face sanctions from the hospital. It is a wrong thing to do, and therefore, by all means, it should be punished.

References

American Nurses Association. Anacalif.memberclicks.net. (, 2016). Retrieved 2 October 2020, from https://anacalif.memberclicks.net/assets/Events/RNDay/2016%20code%20of%20ethics%20for%20nurses%20-%209%20provisions.pdf.

Reporting a Complaint. CT.gov - Connecticut’s Official State Website. (, 2020). Retrieved 2 October 2020, from https://portal.ct.gov/DPH/Practitioner-Licensing--Investigations/PLIS/Reporting-a-Complaint.