Being A Professional Nurse: Conduct, Code, And Lessons

Best Conduct in the Case Study

Discuss about the Being a Professional Nurse.

In nursing, like in any other profession, nurses have to adhere to a certain code of professional conduct. Thus, going contrary to the laid down regulations and code of conduct may attract disciplinary action (Sand?Jecklin, & Sherman, 2014). This paper entails a case study of a registered nurse who attends old patients but conducts herself in a manner that raises concerns. Thus, it is important to elaborate various questions that arise from the case study. In particular, it is important to stipulate the activities that she is expected to conduct as a matter of urgency. Secondly, the paper will elaborate on the professional conducts that are breached. In addition to that, the paper highlights the professional behaviors that if practiced, were sufficient to make a difference, and lastly, the lesson that a novice nurse or undergraduate student can draw from the case study.

The first thing is to evaluate the patient history; this is important as the nurse in charge has to know what patient she or he is dealing with in regards to her health status. Additionally, there must be the assessment of the patient and documentation of the same. Even though the nurse did receive information on the patient’s history, and assesses her, she fails to make documentation of her assessment (Holloway, & Galvin, 2016).  Moreover, the nurse after realizing the deteriorating condition of the patient, that is, abdominal pain and diarrhea, respiratory rate of 40-44 breathes per minute and a blood pressure of 98/53. She ought to have called her regular physician, Dr. Haron, for further treatment.

It is important for nurses to seek assistance in situations like the one presented in the case study.  Furthermore, it is important to make a call for drugs or any other assistance as may deem necessary in a situation like in the case study. As far as the case study is concerned, the nurse calls the clinical nurse manager by the name Ms, Catherine Jones to arrange drugs of another patient but not the old lady. Lastly, the nurse needs to recognize any symptoms that pose a threat to a patient or any significant change in the patient condition and respond appropriately after documenting (Black, 2016). Even though the nurse seems to have noticed the changes in the patient, she fails to either document or responds appropriately.

The case study presents the nurse as liable to certain professional responsibilities under her professional code of conduct. To start with the first one, the nurse fails to appreciate the value that nurses ought to conduct themselves by the relevant laws of the practice of the profession (Johnstone, 2015). According to the case study, the nurse breaches the National law, specifically, 13B regarding health professional which stipulates that all health care professionals who conduct themselves in “unsatisfactory professional conduct” have committed an offense (Forbes, & Watt, 2015). Locating evidence of this in the case study, one cannot fail to realize that the nurse does not document her assessment, she also fails to call for an emergency despite the fact that the issue at hand calls for an emergency.

Professional Code of Conduct breached

In addition to that, it is a professional code of conduct among nurses that they have to conduct themselves in accordance with the standards of their profession and also in regards to the broader health system (Caricati et al.,2014). This entails the basic skills and knowledge that a registered nurse is expected to demonstrate. In the case study given, again, failing to report or calling for an emergency, document her findings or even mentions to the Clinical Nurse Manager is something that is against the profession and falls below what is expected of a registered nurse. Especially, not the nurse with vast experience like in the one in the case study.

Lastly, all healthcare professionals need to work in a manner that is reflective and ethically (Moghadam et al., 2016). In the case study, it is questionable whether the nurse has empathy when she calls MS. Catherine Jones to arrange drugs but fails to mention the 81-year-old patient who demonstrates red flags conditions. This is not the manner in which a nurse ought to conduct her herself or himself (Choi et al.,2014). These are the codes of conduct among nurses and midwives that the nurse bleaches as far as the case study is concerned.

The 81 years old patient’s health is deteriorating. However, there are various behaviors that if put in place may have changed the situation. Firstly, since the patient is in a bad state, she ought to have been referred to a bigger hospital earlier (Chadwick, & Gallagher, 2016). It is surprising that, despite the doctor noticing various severe conditions, the patient continues to be taken care of in a hospital that is relatively small. In addition to that, documents reveal that the patient was undergoing depression. Thus, it is important that the nurse ought to have developed a fond relationship with the patient to ensure that this does not increase her blood pressure or respiratory rate. The nurse ought to have called or found the Doctor as he was present to treat the patient, as the events unfold; the patient was unable to be transferred due to her failing condition (Nursing, & Council, 2013). Thus, reporting to Dr. Haron, in advance may have helped have the energy to push her until she arrives referral hospital.

There are numerous lessons that a novice nurse or undergraduate nurse preparing to join the work force must note. First and foremost, is that one has to demonstrate competency in his undertakings. Once a nurse is registered, negligence or avoiding the taking of his her responsibility is never an excuse. In addition to that, there are laws that curb to punish those performing below what is expected of them (Scanlon et al., 2016). It is a lesson that I find coming out clearly in this case study. For instance, the complaints produce the work experience of the nurse. It is worth noting that the fact that she is a registered nurse and performs her work below her skills and knowledge is a vice.

Professional behaviors that can make a difference

Another thing that I learn from the case study is that small and minor mistakes put a patient in a state that can cause death. The patient in the case study dies, but there are indications that if the nurse had acted swiftly, perhaps things could have been different. The nurse fails to alert the Doctor despite the fact that the patient condition is deteriorating and is in a red flag zone. It is also evident that one can be held accountable for not documenting or assessing patients, as in the case study, some of the complain and allegations leveled against the nurse is that she fails to assess or document the patient health condition. Thus, I learned that every step must be followed while working as a nurse.

On the other hand, it is clear that the board does not take strict or stringent actions against the nurse. One must think that because the nurse fails to perform her duty as required which contributes to causing the life a person, the nurse must either belong to jail or be revoked of her practicing license. However, the committee recommends that she undergoes proper mentorship. In addition to that, the committee applauds her for accepting her mistakes, and thus, they appear to conclude that she might not repeat the same mistakes. This is encouraging to other novice nurses and me that it does not mean that once a person makes a mistake. The committee comes in to punish a person, in fact, it appears that the body comes in to help one improves his or her skills as they have a responsibility to maintain the reputation of their members, and the profession as a whole.

Conclusion

In the case study, it is thus evident that the nurse violates several codes of conduct about nursing as a profession. Firstly, she does not document the finding that she gets from assessing the patient. Also, the nurse fails to recognize the symptoms that the patient is portraying and make a proper plan of action. In addition to that, the nurse does not report the matter as urgent to the doctor despite the patient demonstrating red flags. In so doing, the case study demonstrates that the nurse violates some of the basic codes of professional conduct. The code of conduct that she violates includes but is not limited to showing competency and mastery of knowledge and working with reflection and demonstrating empathy.  On the other hand, the case study tries to demonstrate that in the absence of the nurse’s faults, the situation could have been different. Lastly, as a novice nurse, there are various lessons that I can draw from the case study, least of which is the ability to work with competency.

References

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