The profession of nursing requires an individual to adhere to a set of ethics to guide deliberation and action while caring for patients. As stated by Burkhardt and Nathaniel, “codes of nursing ethics explicitly state that respect for persons is a cornerstone of professional ethics” (pg. 59). Along with respect for persons, there must also be principles such as autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, veracity, confidentiality, justice and fidelity followed when practicing as a professional nurse. Adherence to these principles allows the nurse to provide the best quality of care to the patients receiving care and maintains the safety of the patient, as well as the nurse. By reviewing and analyzing legal case studies, nurses can begin to understand
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The patient was a 23 year old female that presented to the emergency department with flu-like symptoms. There were no reports of the patient having any underlying health issues or disease processes in addition to the symptoms that she was experiencing. While in the emergency department, a CT of the chest reveals multiple abnormalities within the left and right lung fields. Lab reveals elevated white blood cell count and abnormal liver function and coagulation profile. The patient was admitted to the intensive care unit and started on oxygen therapy and antibiotic therapy. Blood cultures were obtained and the patient’s antibiotic therapy was adjusted with the identification of the organism that resulted in the …show more content…
Beneficence and non-maleficence principles were not followed due to the fact that beneficence means to do good for the patient and non-maleficence means to not cause actual harm to the patient. The nurse made a poor decision when she did not give the medication as ordered, and when she failed to report a continual increase in the patient’s heart rate, and when she failed to ensure documentation of the items such as the cardiac monitor when the patient was transferred to the telemetry unit. All of the negligence resulted in the demise of the patient. The intensive care unit nurse also stated in the case that she was not experienced enough to be working in the unit, therefore she should have followed the principle of justice. Justice means that the nurse should be able to provide appropriate treatment to the patient. In reading the legal case study, the nurse did not once attempt to notify a supervisor of her inadequacy. This goes against fidelity due to the fact that assuming care of the patient when not adequately trained to do so violates the responsibility she has to ensure the safety of the patient. Veracity was violated when the nurse failed to report her inadequacy to care for the patient and when she failed to reconcile to medication order with the physician order prior to administration of the
The patient was a 23 year old female that presented to the emergency department with flu-like symptoms. There were no reports of the patient having any underlying health issues or disease processes in addition to the symptoms that she was experiencing. While in the emergency department, a CT of the chest reveals multiple abnormalities within the left and right lung fields. Lab reveals elevated white blood cell count and abnormal liver function and coagulation profile. The patient was admitted to the intensive care unit and started on oxygen therapy and antibiotic therapy. Blood cultures were obtained and the patient’s antibiotic therapy was adjusted with the identification of the organism that resulted in the …show more content…
Beneficence and non-maleficence principles were not followed due to the fact that beneficence means to do good for the patient and non-maleficence means to not cause actual harm to the patient. The nurse made a poor decision when she did not give the medication as ordered, and when she failed to report a continual increase in the patient’s heart rate, and when she failed to ensure documentation of the items such as the cardiac monitor when the patient was transferred to the telemetry unit. All of the negligence resulted in the demise of the patient. The intensive care unit nurse also stated in the case that she was not experienced enough to be working in the unit, therefore she should have followed the principle of justice. Justice means that the nurse should be able to provide appropriate treatment to the patient. In reading the legal case study, the nurse did not once attempt to notify a supervisor of her inadequacy. This goes against fidelity due to the fact that assuming care of the patient when not adequately trained to do so violates the responsibility she has to ensure the safety of the patient. Veracity was violated when the nurse failed to report her inadequacy to care for the patient and when she failed to reconcile to medication order with the physician order prior to administration of the