NR 506 Week 5 Ethical and Legal
Implications
Decision Making in Nursing Practice: A Concept Analysis
Week 5: Ethical and Legal Implications
You are a family nurse practitioner working in an outpatient primary care office of a large
hospital system. The practice has been operating for over 15 years, and many of the
administrative and clinical staff were hired when the practice opened. You have been in the
practice for less than 3 months. In that short amount of time, you have witnessed several of the
clinical staff engaging in heated arguments with each other, sometimes in the patient areas. You
overhear an argument occurring today between two staff. You pick up a patient's chart and notice
a very low blood pressure that the medical assistant failed to notify you about. When you
confront the MA, she states that she was going to report the vital signs to you when she became
engaged in the heated argument you overheard and forgot to notify you.
Unfortunately, this pattern of behavior is not unusual in this practice. Working with staff who
cannot cooperate effectively can negatively influence your ability to spend time with patients,
can impede the flow of patients through the office, and could impact patient safety.
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, Week 5: Ethical and Legal Implications
Case Study Responses:
1. Analyze the case study for potential issues for members of the healthcare team from
office conflict. Contrast the potential effects for each member of the healthcare team
based upon the required readings from the week. Discuss the potential ethical and legal
implications for each of the following practice members:
Conflict will always be part of the workplace environment. Nobody likes addressing conflict, but
it’s sometime that needs to be done in a timely matter to void legal and ethical dilemma If the conflict
is not address in a timely matter and allowed to continue it will negatively affect workplace
environment, patients and patient outcome. Every members of the healthcare team is responsible for
their own action and must act in professional manner regardless of the conflict. The highest priority in
the clinical setting is patient safety and its everyone is responsible.
m
er as
Medical assistant (MA):
co
eH w
The (MA) failed the ethical principles of beneficence, the duty to do good to others and maintain
o.
a balance between benefits and harms. The (MA) failed to notify the (NP) of the patient’s low
rs e
blood pressure because a conflict that arose; therefore, potentially impacting patient safety. The
ou urc
(MA) allowed the conflict to interfere with their responsible and only placing the patient in
potential harm but also placing the practice into potential law sue in the form of negligent or
malpractice depending on the patient outcome.
o
aC s
Nurse Practitioner (NP):
vi y re
Even though the (NP) was not the person who failed to report the low blood pressure, he/she is
ultimately responsibility for the patient care. This situation placed the (NP) in an ethical and
legal dilemma. The (NP) failed the ethical principles of beneficence, because he/she has now
ed d
been working at this practice for about 3 moths and in this short time he/she has witnessed
ar stu
several of the clinical staff engaging in heated arguments with each other, sometimes in the
patient areas. The case study does not state if the (NP) has addressed the issues before or not, but
allowing it to continue places the (NP) at risk for a lawsuit due to negligent or malpractice
is
depending on the patient outcome
Th
Medical Director:
The Medical Director is ultimately responsibility ethical and legally for everyone in the practice
sh
including patients. The medical director has failed the ethical principles of nonmaleficence,
beneficence and justice. She/he has an obligation to do or cause no harm to others, by allowing
the conflict among staff to continue has negatively influence the ability of the (NP) to spend time
with patients, impede the flow of patients through the office, and impact patient safety. The
practice itself is at risk for potential lawsuit due to negligent or malpractice.
This study source was downloaded by 100000830034489 from CourseHero.com on 08-29-2021 23:56:08 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/62436525/Week-5-Ethical-and-Legal-Implicationsdocx/
Implications
Decision Making in Nursing Practice: A Concept Analysis
Week 5: Ethical and Legal Implications
You are a family nurse practitioner working in an outpatient primary care office of a large
hospital system. The practice has been operating for over 15 years, and many of the
administrative and clinical staff were hired when the practice opened. You have been in the
practice for less than 3 months. In that short amount of time, you have witnessed several of the
clinical staff engaging in heated arguments with each other, sometimes in the patient areas. You
overhear an argument occurring today between two staff. You pick up a patient's chart and notice
a very low blood pressure that the medical assistant failed to notify you about. When you
confront the MA, she states that she was going to report the vital signs to you when she became
engaged in the heated argument you overheard and forgot to notify you.
Unfortunately, this pattern of behavior is not unusual in this practice. Working with staff who
cannot cooperate effectively can negatively influence your ability to spend time with patients,
can impede the flow of patients through the office, and could impact patient safety.
m
er as
co
eH w
o.
rs e
ou urc
o
aC s
vi y re
ed d
ar stu
is
Th
sh
This study source was downloaded by 100000830034489 from CourseHero.com on 08-29-2021 23:56:08 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/62436525/Week-5-Ethical-and-Legal-Implicationsdocx/
, Week 5: Ethical and Legal Implications
Case Study Responses:
1. Analyze the case study for potential issues for members of the healthcare team from
office conflict. Contrast the potential effects for each member of the healthcare team
based upon the required readings from the week. Discuss the potential ethical and legal
implications for each of the following practice members:
Conflict will always be part of the workplace environment. Nobody likes addressing conflict, but
it’s sometime that needs to be done in a timely matter to void legal and ethical dilemma If the conflict
is not address in a timely matter and allowed to continue it will negatively affect workplace
environment, patients and patient outcome. Every members of the healthcare team is responsible for
their own action and must act in professional manner regardless of the conflict. The highest priority in
the clinical setting is patient safety and its everyone is responsible.
m
er as
Medical assistant (MA):
co
eH w
The (MA) failed the ethical principles of beneficence, the duty to do good to others and maintain
o.
a balance between benefits and harms. The (MA) failed to notify the (NP) of the patient’s low
rs e
blood pressure because a conflict that arose; therefore, potentially impacting patient safety. The
ou urc
(MA) allowed the conflict to interfere with their responsible and only placing the patient in
potential harm but also placing the practice into potential law sue in the form of negligent or
malpractice depending on the patient outcome.
o
aC s
Nurse Practitioner (NP):
vi y re
Even though the (NP) was not the person who failed to report the low blood pressure, he/she is
ultimately responsibility for the patient care. This situation placed the (NP) in an ethical and
legal dilemma. The (NP) failed the ethical principles of beneficence, because he/she has now
ed d
been working at this practice for about 3 moths and in this short time he/she has witnessed
ar stu
several of the clinical staff engaging in heated arguments with each other, sometimes in the
patient areas. The case study does not state if the (NP) has addressed the issues before or not, but
allowing it to continue places the (NP) at risk for a lawsuit due to negligent or malpractice
is
depending on the patient outcome
Th
Medical Director:
The Medical Director is ultimately responsibility ethical and legally for everyone in the practice
sh
including patients. The medical director has failed the ethical principles of nonmaleficence,
beneficence and justice. She/he has an obligation to do or cause no harm to others, by allowing
the conflict among staff to continue has negatively influence the ability of the (NP) to spend time
with patients, impede the flow of patients through the office, and impact patient safety. The
practice itself is at risk for potential lawsuit due to negligent or malpractice.
This study source was downloaded by 100000830034489 from CourseHero.com on 08-29-2021 23:56:08 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/62436525/Week-5-Ethical-and-Legal-Implicationsdocx/
