Capella NHS-FPX4000 Developing a Health Care Perspective Assessment 1
Introduction
In healthcare facilities, professional ethics and liabilities are greatly important. During the delivery of healthcare, Healthcare professionals usually experience various ethical issues. These ethical issues impact on care and health of patients and drive healthcare providers into several legal and professional consequences (Pozgar, 2019). To handle these issues, Healthcare professionals and involved stakeholders should use their skills and expertise and evidence-based practices to come up with an acceptable decision that will not impact negatively on any individual. Particularly nursing can describe the importance of professional ethics in detail because ethics is the vital element of the nursing profession (Pozgar, 2019).
For nurses, a code of ethics is designed to describe various ethical standards of the workplace, and nurses are obligated to follow these standards. Four ethical principles for nurses include autonomy, beneficence, non- maleficence, and justice which are the foundation of the code of ethics. In addition, the ethical decision model highlighting moral judgment, moral awareness, and ethical behavior is important along with ethical principles to address ethical dilemmas at the workplace (Stievano & Tschudin, 2019). This assessment will define the provided case study in light of ethical principles and ethical decision models.
Case Study Overview
In the selected case study, E. L. Straight was appointed at Hopewell Hospital as a director of clinical services two years ago. After the appointment of Straight, things start to get better in the facility in terms of quality. Before the appointment of E. L. Straight, Healthcare services in terms of quality was under average to below average and affecting negatively in patients.
Moreover, patients were also not satisfied with the provide services in the facility. At the same facility, a brilliant general surgeon Dr. Cutrite has been also working for a long period. Straight identified Dr. Cutrite as a hindrance in the way of his plans for the facility and is contemplating taking steps to recommend a reduction in his privileges as he has slipped mentally and physically over the years. As Straight is contemplating for Dr. Cutrite, a case was presented to him by the operating room supervisor.
The room supervisor reported that during surgery, a needle cap may have been mistakenly left in a patient’s body named Mrs. Jameson. Dr. Cutrite was handling this surgery and he was accountable for this incident. The patient had been discharged and this was an ethical dilemma because again calling the patient would mean that she will know that something is wrong and various issues can arise that can be detrimental for healthcare staff and facility.
Upon questioning, Dr. Cutrite stated that the Needle cap would not harm the patient except for a little discomfort. This situation arises a serious ethical dilemma for Straight as he liked his job and cannot take any action against Dr. Cutrite because he is working for many years for this facility and more powerful than him but keeping quiet is also unethical in terms of Healthcare ethics.
Ethical Issues in the Case Study
Various ethical issues arise for E. L. Straight in this case which includes; Should E. L. Straight call Mrs. Jameson for operation and remove the needle protector from her body however, this step will drive various legal and financial issues for the Healthcare facility and staff. Should he report the case to hospital management and supervisors who will decide what action should take against Dr. Cutrite? Should he fire Dr. Cutrite for his ineptitude and surgical error as he was also contemplating to remove him from the facility? Finally, should Straight also accept the statement of Dr. Cutrite that everything is alright and patient Wil, not get any harm from this incident?
All the problems in the situation need a proper understanding of the implications in the facility and I do not want to be at the position of Straight because it is very difficult to decide what step should he take by considering his healthcare journey in the future. For example, if Straight reports this issue to the supervisors or hospital management and they suggest him to find another way or accept the situation, would he accept their suggestion?
Moreover, it is also deceptive that Dr. Cutrite is working for a long time in the facility and well connected to everyone and familiar with the low and high of the facility, it is possible that the whole case will be swept under the carpet after the report of Straight. The director can also lose his job and he does not want it. Will his conscience permit him to accept the situation and keep working in the Healthcare facility?
Ethical Principles
The code of ethics designed for healthcare professionals describes that healthcare providers should adhere to every ethical principle to provide quality services to patients. The four ethical principles are autonomy, beneficence, justice, and non-maleficence (Levitt, 2014). In the described case study, all four principles should have come to play. Autonomy means patients are able to make independent decisions about their health. Healthcare staff should provide all the information to patients and provide them the freedom to think and make decisions about Healthcare processes.
In this case, Mrs. Jameson should also be informed about the issue that has taken place and allow her to decide what to do. Justice means impartiality, fairness, and equality in making healthcare decisions for patients. This is the highlighted principle in this case and Straight should make an impartial decision in this case involving all parties by following and ethical and legal policies (McDermott-Levy, Leffers & Mayaka, 2018 NHS-FPX4000 Developing a Health Care Perspective Assessment 1). Adding to these, beneficence defines any action that promotes good for patients by obligating healthcare providers to do all they can to benefit patients in every situation.
The surgery of Mrs. Jameson was done for her wellbeing but after the incident, this principle was not achieved and Mrs. Jameson did not receive her ethical right. Non-maleficence defines any action or step taken for the patient that will not harm the patient. In this regard, in the case of Mr. Jameson, the surgical process harm the patient and tied her to the maleficence principle (McDermott-Levy, Leffers & Mayaka, 2018).
After studying the ethical principles, it can be concluded in this case study that it failed to adhere to each ethical principle. Though, E. L. Straight can make changes by following ethical principles in this case.
Ethical Decision Model
As described initially in this paper that three vital elements are involved in ethical decision making. These three elements are moral awareness, moral judgment, and ethical behavior. Utilizing these three elements together assist the Healthcare provider to make ethical decisions in their workplace (Arnold Kerridge & Lipworth, 2020). Moral awareness can be defined as the identification of an ethical issue in any situation like one presented in the described case.
The moral judgment includes focusing on particular options that are made concerning the issue presented at the stage of moral awareness and implications. Related to this element of the ethical division model, the questions presented in the previous section will assist to determine the needed choices. The described questions should also include implications to the patient, the concerned hea.th are staff, the hospital, and healthcare in general. At last, ethical behavior includes the selected ethical choices and their implications on the patient, Healthcare staff, and facility (Arnold Kerridge & Lipworth, 2020).
The best option, in this case, is that Straight should identify the ways that will reduce the privileges for Dr. Cutrite. In this regard, Straight should report the case to hospital management and see how management reacts to the situation. Moreover, Straight can present previous cases to the management and report that how Dr. Cutrite is negatively hindering the new systems and models that are impacting positively on patient’s health and patients are also satisfied with the novel approaches. Furthermore, Straight is not sure that either Needle cap will harm Mrs.
Jameson or not so he should call the patient and inform her about the incident and take steps to remove the foreign body. It can be risky because the patient can sue the hospital and surgeon and also hospital management will be against this action of Straight and could fire him from his job.
Communication Effectiveness and Communication Strategies
For hospitals and healthcare organizations, getting the proper care for patients requires more than just performing steps, and making a diagnosis. Communication is an important element in every step of the healthcare process. Whether it is a clinic that accurately shares patient information with another facility or a group of doctors, nurses, specialists, and other hospital staff discussing treatment methods for current and future patients, concise and effective communication is always important in the field of health (Foronda, MacWilliams & McArthur, 2016). Organizations with strong communication policies can enrich the health of patients, but organizations without effective procedures can adversely affect the health of patients.
Healthcare professionals and institutions need to recognize the importance of communication in healthcare and prosper. Proper communication is vital to reduce medical errors and improve patient safety and satisfaction (Foronda, MacWilliams & McArthur, 2016). Proper communication is not only required between healthcare staff but it should also be enhanced between patient and healthcare providers.
Nurses are at the Frontline to serve patients and spend a lot of their time with patients and strong and effective communication between nurse and patient make the nurses capable to identify patient’s level of satisfaction about Healthcare services and system and an indication of any problem can be addressed timely and affect positively on Healthcare delivery (Anderson et al., 2019).
In the case study, it is apparent that communication was not done effectively. Indeed, surgeries are sensitive medical processes that require attention and proper communication to save a patient’s life. In this case, the surgical error occurred by Dr. Cutrite is enhanced by poor communication between surgeon and director. Because Dr. Cutrite does not want to discuss this issue and wants that everyone accepts that the Needle protector will not harm the patient. But, the communication between the operating room supervisor and Straight with each other and with Dr. Cutrite is an example of proper communication through which the beneficial results can be achieved for patients and the facility.
Dr. Cutrite should not neglect the surgical error and calmly communicate with management and supervisor about the issue and ethically make informed decisions to benefit the patient. Healthcare professionals should adopt an effective and good communicative style in clear language to deal with any conflict between staff members or between patients and staff. In addition, patients should also freely communicate their opinions to hospital staff using clear language and jargon and have a positive attitude to enhance communication at the workplace.
Conclusion
Conclusively, Healthcare professionals frequently experience various ethical dilemmas in healthcare settings. Therefore, it is important that healthcare providers should have complete information about ethical models and principles to make ethical decisions in any conflicting situation. In the presented case, I believe the best option is that hospital management should call Mrs. Jameson again and informed clearly about the situation as the incident occurred mistakenly not intentionally. This step could impact negatively or positively which depends on the decision of Mrs. Jameson.
She can also accept this as a considerable effort from hospital management to save her from future health consequences. Otherwise, she can litigate the surgeon and hospital which impacts the reputation of hospitals, hospital finances, and other aspects as well. However, Healthcare ethics are all about benefiting the patient and do all that safe patient’s life and E. L. Straight is in the right position to take the wise decision which can be set as an example for the future of the facility.
NHS-FPX4000 Developing a Health Care Perspective Assessment 1 References:
- Anderson, R. J., Bloch, S., Armstrong, M., Stone, P. C., & Low, J. T. (2019). Communication between healthcare professionals and relatives of patients approaching the end-of-life: A systematic review of qualitative evidence. Palliative medicine, 33(8), 926-941. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31184529/
- Arnold, M. H., Kerridge, I., & Lipworth, W. (2020). An ethical critique of person-centred healthcare. European Journal for Person Centered Healthcare, 8(1), 34-44.
- Foronda, C., MacWilliams, B., & McArthur, E. (2016). Interprofessional communication in healthcare: An integrative review. Nurse education in practice, 19, 36-40.
- Levitt, D. (2014, July). Ethical decision-making in a caring environment: The four principles and LEADS. In Healthcare Management Forum (Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 105-107). Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.
- McDermott-Levy, R., Leffers, J., & Mayaka, J. (2018). Ethical principles and guidelines of global health nursing practice. Nursing Outlook, 66(5), 473-481.
- Pozgar, G. D. (2019). Legal and ethical issues for health professionals. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
- Stievano, A., & Tschudin, V. (2019). The ICN code of ethics for nurses: a time for revision. International nursing review, 66(2), 154-156.
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