Aim
This assessment aims to develop the knowledge of ethical and legal issues pertaining to nursing practice in Australia.
Literature
In this assessment, where references are required, you must use contemporary reference to support your discussion as noted below. You may also use seminal scholarly literature where relevant. Suitable references include peer-reviewed journal articles as well as textbooks, and credible websites. When sourcing information, consider the 5 elements of a quality reference: currency, authority, relevance, objectivity, and coverage. Grey literature sourced from the internet must be from reputable websites such as from government, university, or peak national bodies: for example, the Australian College of Nursing or the Australian Association of Social Workers.
Activity
1: Define medical negligence and outline the four elements.
2: Define the term tort and explain the importance of understanding torts as a healthcare professional.
3: Application Activity
Maitland Hospital is a major tertiary hospital located 32 kilometres from the city with 498 beds and provides specialist healthcare to the surrounding township of Maitland and Northfield. The evening shift has just commenced, with registered nurse (RN) Galop accepting the role of the triage nurse, as she has worked in the hospital for the past 11 years. Although it is a Thursday evening, it is hectic as two nurses and a registrar have called in sick. The after-hours nurse unit manager stated that he could not replace the three absent staff members and requested the shift coordinator to allocate additional beds to the current staff. The Emergency Department (ED) waiting room is filling quickly, and RN Galop feels overwhelmed as she usually works in the orthopaedic ward and is unsure who to contact for additional support.
At 2137 hours, Mrs Sharp presents with her 4-month-old infant, Daniel, who has a 3-day
history of gastroenteritis. Using the Children’s Early Warning Tool (CEWT), RN Galop examines Daniel and assesses that he is alert, slightly tachycardic (172 b/min), respiration rate is 42 breaths per minute, oxygen saturation is at 98% on room air, temperature of 38.1 degrees Celsius and scoring a total of four on the CEWT. Registered nurse Galop triages the infant as a ‘mildly urgent’ case and directs Mrs Sharp back to the waiting room to await further consultation as the intern is busy. During the consult, Mrs Sharp outlined that Daniel is still breastfeeding regularly and has had multiple nappy changes throughout the day.
At 2155 hours, RN Fantle, a recent graduate RN with no ED experience, is sent from the Cardiac Ward to relieve RN Galop so she can assist in the airway management of a patient brought in by ambulance. A brief handover was provided in the resuscitation area. Registered nurse Fantle sees Daniel asleep in his mother arms and does not want to disturb the infant. Mrs Sharp indicates to RN Fantle that she believes Daniel is getting worse. Registered nurse Fantle tells Mrs Sharp that it ” should not be too long now before a doctor can review your baby” and proceeds back to the triage office.
At 2218 hours, as RN Galop returns to triage, Mrs Sharp rushes to the desk, saying she cannot wake Daniel up. A MET call is initiated, and Daniel is transferred to the resuscitation bay. Daniel was successfully resuscitated; however, required intubation and spent three weeks in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. Unfortunately, Daniel experienced a brain injury due to hypoxia and was subsequently diagnosed with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. The paediatrician advised Mrs Sharp that Daniel will experience developmental delays and the brain injury may cause cerebral palsy, which will require additional support for the remainder of his life.
The Nursing Profession: Care, Interventions & Consent
Questions
1. When is it NOT advisable to have written consent from a patient?
a. Where doubt exists about the patient capacity to consent to medical treatment.
b. When the health care professional is uncertain of the patient age.
c. Any health care that carries a significant risk to the patient.
d. When the health care that is to be provided is controversial.
2. Explain what an Advance Health Directive is and what the health practitioner must consider when deciding whether an advance decision applies to a proposed treatment.
3. How would you apply the elements of informed consent to this scenario? Was the consent obtained valid?
4. How would you apply the Guardianship and Administration Act 2000 (Qld) to this scenario?
5. There are two levels of supervision: direct and indirect. What is the purpose of direct supervision?
6. What is the difference between scope of practice and personal competency?
7. Discuss possible implications for this situation?
Application Activity
Michael, Craig, and Tracey recently graduated as registered nurses (RNs) and have accepted a position at South Maitland Nursing Home. Although they have less than six months of nursing experience, they were all placed on an evening shift together. The South Maitland Nursing Home has 60 beds, with 40 residents in the medium care unit and 20 in the dementia unit. The afternoon shifts are always busy, and the facility only employs two aged care workers per shift to assist the nursing staff. On this shift, Tracey was allocated the team leader position and must carry the facility after- hours phone, allocate meal breaks for the staff and liaise with the on-call doctor when required. The North Maitland Nursing Home is approximately 30 kilometres away. It is a 20-bed low-care facility with two RNs, each with over 12 years of nursing experience, with Fiona having completed a master’s in nursing (Leadership and Management) two years ago. The policy for Maitland Nursing Home is that staff at the South Maitland Nursing Home is to contact the team leader at the North Maitland Nursing Home if any issues should arise.
Social Media Review
Activity: List two types of social media you use frequently. Estimate how much time you spend on a weekly basis on these two platforms and discuss why you use those two social media platforms. Critically analyse what you, as a healthcare professional, would consider to be the benefits of social media when used for health purposes. As a healthcare professional, do you foresee any issues with using social media platforms for health purposes? Why/why not? This should be a deep and thoughtful reflection of the benefits and problems arising from using social media as a healthcare profession. You need to support your arguments/discussion with credible references. Please remember to abide by the rules of academic writing.