Patient Abandonment by Care Providers, Essay Example

In the State of Virginia, a regulation known as “Patient Abandonment by Care Providers,” Guidance Document 90-41, is violated when a nurse establishes a care and treatment relationship with a patient and then leaves the patient unattended without obtaining care for the patient in the nurse’s absence (2012). Ultimately, the employer is responsible for making sure that a patient receives the appropriate care and treatment at all times, and when a nurse has left the shift for any reason, another nurse must take over this process in order to maintain an acceptable standard of care for the patient in question (Virginia Board of Nursing, 2012). In this context, the nurse manager must maintain the responsibility for addressing the needs of the patient and in recognizing which employees are capable of managing a given patient at any point in time (Virginia Board of Nursing, 2012). Nurse managers are held accountable for the decisions that they make in regards to patients on the unit; therefore, they must be able to exercise sound and reasonable judgment in determining which nurses are qualified and capable of taking care of patients on a given shift (Virginia Board of Nursing, 2012). This process is instrumental in shaping the surrounding environment and in supporting high quality patient care at all times under all possible circumstances (Virginia Board of Nursing, 2012). In the OR, the Registered Nurse must possess effective knowledge and skills in a critical care environment in order to provide patients with the best possible opportunity to improve their chances of recovery (Virginia Board of Nursing, 2012). As a result, it is essential for nurse managers to know their staff members well and to be able to identify when a staff member is unable to treat patients at the highest possible level (Virginia Board of Nursing, 2012).

Codes of ethics for professional nursing must be established with a greater focus on communicating effectively with a variety of stakeholders within and beyond the profession. This demonstrates the importance of developing a strategic ethical framework that will improve outcomes and support an ethically responsible approach to patient care and treatment at all times. It is important to adopt all ethical standards as part of the routine practice environment; however, this also reflects the importance of developing an environment that will have a positive impact on patient care and treatment. One ethical standard that must be considered more closely is Respect for Personal Beliefs, which reflects the need to understand the dynamics of patient care and how each patient must be treated with the utmost respect, regardless of his or her cultural, personal, or religious beliefs (Hood, 2013). Although in theory this appears to be a practical concept, it is difficult to understand some beliefs when they are different from one’s own; therefore, this requires a level of acceptance and support that must come from within in order to demonstrate a level of sound and reasonable judgment that impacts their decision-making abilities in a positive manner. Refraining from making judgments that could impact the treatment process is of critical importance because it demonstrates that nurses are able to overcome the different treatment obstacles that may be evident from time to time. Nurses must promote actions that are selfless and that provide opportunities for all patients to have an equal opportunity for care and treatment that will have a positive and lasting impact on their recovery at all times.

References

Hood, L. (2013). Leddy & Pepper’s Conceptual Bases of Professional Nursing, 8^th Edition. LWW.

Virginia Board of Nursing (2012). Patient abandonment by care providers. Pp. 1-2/