Nurse Violating Professional Conduct: A Case Study

Breaches of Professional Conduct

Question:

Discuss about the Competence and Professionalism in Nursing.

Nurses in a clinic or hospital are expected to work according to the stipulated rules and regulation relevant to their profession. Additionally, it is important that they conform to codes of professional conduct, ethics, and standards in their activities. Therefore, failing to work within these principles may attract a punishment, or a charge leveled against them. The case study below is a similar situation that examines the conduct of a nurse towards a patient in a clinic. In so doing, the work of this paper is to come up with some of the breaches of conduct that the nurse addresses in this situation. The patient under the case study is an 81-year-old nurse who dies of septicemia, but the professional activities of the nurse before her death calls upon launching of an investigation.

A thorough analysis of a case study in a situation where a nurse fails to follow professional code of conduct is essential in establishing various ways that a nurse should have conducted himself or herself and the lesson that one can draw from such the case study.

There are various ways that a nurse must behave given the case study at hand. To start with the first one, an ideal way that any nurse should act is first to consider the patient's treatment history. The data can help in deciding the best way of assessing the patient. Besides, appraisal of the patient is essential. The evaluation must be appropriately reported which will then shape the reason for detailing the correct purpose of activity (Chadwick, and Gallagher, 2016). It is worth noting that, the nurse gets data of the patient history; be that as it may, she evaluates the patient and neglects to record her assessment. Notwithstanding that, in spite of the nurse assessing the patient, there is no arrangement of activity that the nurse concocts (Dark, 2016).

Then again, it is vital for nurses to report health status or conditions that call upon help. Be that as it may, the nurse neglects to report or ask for help. It is unacceptable for any nurse to behave as such (Schneider, and Whitehead, 2013). As indicated by the contextual analysis, the patient respiratory rate is at 89/53. In addition to that, documents uncover that her respiratory rate is 40-44 breaths for every minute. On further analysis, it turns out to be certain that the patient is experiencing diarrhea and abdominal pain. A competent ought to recognize that these are red flags that call upon for an emergency treatment. (Caricati et al., 2014). The surprising thing is that the nurse does not do anything, either calling for any intervention or acting in a manner that tries to help the patient.

Lesson Learned from the Case Study

On the other hand, it is common for nurses to accept obligations that they are not capable. In such circumstance, it is vital to caution the doctors in charge of allocating as opposed to putting in danger the lives of patients (Choi et al., 2014). The nurse argues that she was being exhausted. The council concedes that rustic clinics risk facing such difficulties yet additionally prescribes the nurse to find a mentor who will manage her on abilities concerning emergency situations (Krautscheid, 2014).

The contextual analysis brings into the consideration some of these professional standards and set of accepted rules that are abused. To begin with competency, for enrolled nurses, the attendant does not fit in with various them. Right off the bat is competency standard practice 1, which is to think critically and analyses nursing practice. This involves reflection on experience, information and keeping up an exact and opportune documentation of evaluation. For the situation think about, the advisory group discovers that the nurse does not archive her evaluation, or apply her vast experience to provide food for the patient. Besides, there is professional competency practice 7, which is evaluating outcome to inform nursing practice. In this practice, the nurse is expected to monitor or rather evaluate progress which is aimed at the expected outcome or objectives. Nonetheless, the committee builds up that the nurse does not treat the patient in a way that designed for recuperation. For example, she neglects to archive or convey the breaking down the state of the state of health of the patient. Lastly, there is professional competency statement 6, which is integrating nursing and health care knowledge, skills and attitude to provide safe and effective care. The attendant does not counsel or look for help for the patient notwithstanding her evaluation that the circumstance of the patient is compounding. In this manner, these are a portion of the professional competency or standard practice that the nurse abuses.

Then again, there is professional code of conduct that the nurse violates. In the case study, the most relevant is, Code of professional conduct statement 2, stating that, nurses must practice by the standards of the profession and broader health system. As indicated by the contextual investigation, the nurse neglects to either record her evaluation or reports on the intensifying state of the patient despite the fact that the episode needs an emergency (Nurses and Midwifery Board of Australia, 2016). This is infringing upon proficient lead expressed by NMBA and which must not go on without serious consequences for a nurse of her abilities and experience.

Professional Competency Standards

Various professional conducts can be used to either solve or make a positive impact on the situation under the case study. Above all else, the nurse must report her finding instantly after the evaluation. Likewise, in the wake of taking note of the intensifying health status of the patient, she should make a legitimate arrangement of getting help. Also, the nurse responsible for designating obligations must not allocate the medical attendant obligations in the wake of having worked in the morning as she asserts. It structures some portion of the claim that the medical attendant set forward to the committee investigating her conduct. Also, records uncover that the patient was encountering hypertension. It is a condition that the specialist may have managed, for example, by guiding or empowering her which as a result could turn out to be useful to the patient (Stone, Cooper, and Cant, 2013). Lastly, it was important for the nurse to inform the Unit Nurse Manager when calling her to make plans of medications for another patient. Given that the patient knew that the patient needed antibodies, she should have passed the same to the Unit Manager as opposed to staying silent (McCann et al., 2013).

As an  undergraduate nursing student who is anxious to act as a professional nurse, there are numerous lessons that this contextual investigation can teach me. To begin with competency, it is critical in nursing to apply knowledge and skills that one acquires in taking care of an issue. For example, the nurse, in spite of having tremendous experience, aptitude and learning procured in school, she neglects to do a portion of the essential errands like reporting after evaluation of the patient. By so doing, she neglects to mull over on the correct motivation of activity. It is a lesson that teaches me that documentation is a critical angle in defining a legitimate reason for the cause of action in nursing. Besides, I discover that it is vital to perceive the current issue and react properly. For example, the nurse requests for antibodies from a Unit Nurse Manager to offer it to a patient.

Moreover, I gain from the nurse that it is important for one to acknowledge his or her errors since it can bring down the heaviness of the case, and as a result, the discipline that the Board may choose to pass on you. One reason that the nurse gets a somewhat indulgent discipline is that she concedes to being blameworthy of the greater part of the charges delivered. Then again, the contextual analysis teaches me that learning is a nonstop process and however much a person can be experienced; there might be some lacking in competency or knowledge in various areas. The nurse, despite being a registered nurse, with tremendous experience, the committee prescribes that she finds a mentor that is well knowledgeable and qualified on emergency issues to guide her before she ends up noticeably prepared or sufficiently fit to work autonomously (Nettina, Msn, and Nettina, 2013). Finally, I have additionally discovered that nursing professional bodies are there to help not to rebuff individuals. For this situation, however genuine the charges, still, the body is satisfied by the nurse’s acknowledgment of her errors and urges her to search for a guide.

Professional Code of Conduct

Conclusion

In this way, ethics, competency and professional standards in nursing are pivotal and can make one be considered responsible for the infringement of the same. The nurses ought to report after evaluating patients, call for an emergency at whatever points the need emerges or utilize their involvement in thinking of the best possible reason for the activity. These incorporate yet are not constrained to not documenting, assessing and reporting the finding of the assessment. It is significant that the paper has adequately shown a portion of the sets of professional standards that the nurse abuses and practices that could have made the circumstance unique. In conclusion, the case study has profitable lessons which incorporate the need to rehearse inside the acceptable code of conduct and that little oversights can have a great impact on patients.

References

Black, B. (2016). Professional Nursing-E-Book: Concepts & Challenges. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Caricati, L., Sala, R. L., Marletta, G., Pelosi, G., Ampollini, M., Fabbri, A., ... & Mancini, T. (2014). Work climate, work values and professional commitment as predictors of job         satisfaction in     nurses. Journal of nursing management, 22(8), 984-994.

Chadwick, R., & Gallagher, A. (2016). Ethics and nursing practice. Palgrave Macmillan.

Cherry, B., & Jacob, S. R. (2016). Contemporary nursing: Issues, trends, & management. Elsevier Health     Sciences.

Choi, S., Jang, I., Park, S., & Lee, H. (2014). Effects of organizational culture, self-leadership  and     empowerment on job satisfaction and turnover intention in general hospital nurses.         Journal of     Korean Academy of Nursing Administration, 20(2), 206-214.

Krautscheid, L. C. (2014). Defining professional nursing accountability: a literature review. Journal of Professional Nursing, 30(1), 43-47.

McCann, C. M., Beddoe, E., McCormick, K., Huggard, P., Kedge, S., Adamson, C., & Huggard, J. (2013). Resilience in the health professions: A review of recent literature. International     Journal     of Wellbeing, 3(1).

Nettina, S. M., Msn, A. B., & Nettina, S. M. (2013). Lippincott manual of nursing practice. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Numminen, O., Meretoja, R., Isoaho, H., & Leino?Kilpi, H. (2013). Professional competence of practising nurses. Journal of clinical nursing, 22(9-10), 1411-1423.

Scanlon, A., Cashin, A., Bryce, J., Kelly, J. G., & Buckely, T. (2016). The complexities of defining nurse practitioner scope of practice in the Australian context. Collegian,

Schneider, Z., & Whitehead, D. (2013). Nursing and midwifery research: methods and appraisal for evidence-based practice. Elsevier Australia.

Nurses and Midwifery Board of Australia. (2016). Registered nurse standards for practice.

Stone, R., Cooper, S., & Cant, R. (2013). The value of peer learning in undergraduate nursing education: a systematic review. ISRN nursing, 2013.