Nursing: Issues, Trends & Management, Essay Example

Introduction

Ethical issues pertain to perceptions of right and wrong actions regarding how professional practices are executed. Many disciplines have developed ethical principles guiding interventions within their specific scope of duty. For example, nursing theory has produced five steps within the nursing process guiding how care ought to be rendered. They are assessment, analysis/diagnosis, planning, implementing and evaluation. From an ethical administrative level Cherry & Jacob (2014) have advanced that delegation is a legal management concept that involve these five important steps (Cherry & Jacob, 2014).

Ethical Scenario

In my medical clinical setting a shortage of registered nurses was being experienced to administer a level of care for, which only registered nurses ought to render. Due to the acute shortage during my delegation of duties, I was forced to assign an experienced Licensed Practical nurse to perform the task of administering intravenous medications to two pateints on the clinical area. During the time when these medications had to be administered the single registered nurse on my floor was called to assist with an emergency in the intensive care unit.

The Licensed practical nurse refused to give the intravenous medications declaring that it was not within her jurisdiction of duty to give such treatment, which was her ethical position based on the authorized practice scope (Worel, Wirtes, D., & Young, 2014).  If these medications were not administered on time adverse reactions were highly likely.

Resolution

In applying Cherry & Jacob’s (2014) delegation theory to this scenario as the delegating nurse I realized that this was transfer of duty. The ethical principle here is that while this is being done if the licensed practical nurse decided to administer the intravenous medication it was still my responsibility to ensure efficient care is rendered to the pateints on my clinical area. Should any irregularities occur, I was accountable for them and not the licensed practical nurse who actually administered the intravenous medications (Cherry & Jacob, 2014).

As such, after assessing my role as the head nurse and a registered nurse covering the shift, an analysis of the situation was done. It was explained to the licensed practical nurse that I would take responsibility for her administering the drug. Planning entailed getting the LPN’s consent to administer the medication since preserving the nursing process integrity was my goal. The treatment had to be administered.  The implementation resolution consisted of the LPN administering the drug under my supervision, while I witness the intervention. During the evaluation phase the patient was monitored for reactions during the rest of the shift.

Conclusion

There are distinct ethical principles pertaining to delegation of duties and registered nurses’ responsibilities. The foregoing scenario while appearing complicated occurs daily in real life settings. The ethical dilemma here is whether a patient should be denied a lifesaving medication because a registered nurse is not available to administer that particular drug. It is similar to refusing to conduct an artificial resuscitation to someone through fear of breaking his/her rib and be sued.

In the above scenario the institution either way could become liable. One if the patient was not given the drug as well as if it was administered by an LPN. What decision was the delegating nurse make? Take the responsibility and make the patient’s care priority. ‘Patient safety should be a value associated with every healthcare priority; linked to every activity, an enduring constant that is never compromised’ (Worel, Wirtes & Young, 2014, p. 33).

References

Cherry, B. & Jacob, S. (2014). Contemporary nursing: Issues, trends & management (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.

Geller, E.(2001). The Psychology of Safety Handbook. New York, NY: Lewis Publishers

Worel, M. Wirtes, D., & Young, M. (2014). The Scope of a Nurse’s Duty of Care in Utah. Utah Trial Journal. Retrieved May, 2^nd, 2014 from http://www.cunninghambounds.com/resources/wirtes/ScopeofNurseDuty.pdf