Sample Answer for NRS 415 Topic 2 DQ 2 Included After Question
Read the scenario and address the discussion question:
Scenario
Nurse Lope is starting a busy shift in which she was finishing report on Mr. Johnson. During report, Nurse Jim who was finishing his shift also gave Nurse Lope a medicine cup containing three of Mr. Johnson’s unopened medications that he reported were recently retrieved from the medication dispenser. Nurse Lope was told that these were supposed to have been given 30 minutes ago and asked if she could give them during bedside hand-off. As Nurse Lope planned to stay in Mr. Johnson’s room to complete his vital signs and assessment, she agreed with this plan.
When she opened Mr. Johnson’s electronic medical record to administer these medications, she noticed that these medications were scheduled to be given 3 hours ago. Additionally, one of the medications had a barcode that was not scanning to Mr. Johnson’s chart. Nurse Lope proceeded to administer these medications so that she would not be late on the next round of medications, which included some of the same ones. It was later discovered that the medication that was not scanning was for another patient and should not have been given to Mr. Johnson.
Discussion Question
Outline the concept of professional accountability as it pertains to nursing. Examine the actions of Nurse Jim and Nurse Lope. Discuss how you would approach this scenario if you were in Jim’s and Lope’s position. Based on your analysis of how nurses demonstrate accountability in clinical practice, the nursing process, and evidence-based practice, explain how you would handle this situation if you were the nurse manager overseeing Jim and Lope.
Initial discussion question posts should be a minimum of 200 words and include at least two references cited using APA format. Responses to peers or faculty should be 100-150 words and include one reference. Refer to “RN-BSN Discussion Question Rubric” and “RN-BSN Participation Rubric,” located in Class Resources, to understand the expectations for initial discussion question posts and participation posts, respectively.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education
This assignment aligns to AACN Core Competencies 2.2, 2.5, 2.6, 9.4.
A Sample Answer For the Assignment: NRS 415 Topic 2 DQ 2
Title: NRS 415 Topic 2 DQ 2
As Nurses, we are the most trusted profession and it is very important to keep this level of trust in our profession (Davis, 2017). Professional accountability in nursing implies that nurses need to take responsibility for their work, practice, safety, and environment as it relates to patient care. Meaning that nurses should take responsibility of any deviation of care standards that occur (Davis, 2017).
The actions of Jim were unprofessional in my opinion, he did not do his due diligence in the case of caring for this patient. He did not give medications on time or within a reasonable time frame. Nurse Jim was 3 hours late in giving the medication which is a medication error in itself according to the 6 rights of medication administration (Right Time). He also lied to his fellow coworkers and told them that the mediation was due 30 minutes ago when it was due 3 hours ago. He failed to take professional accountability As a nurse, the role entails taking responsibility for nursing care and providing optimal care for their patients (American Nurses Association, 2015). Nurse Jim did not provide optimal care to his patient and handed off the medication pass to another nurse 3 hours late which included the wrong medication.
Nurse Lope should have said no or at least been more aware of the situation. In her case she did not ask more questions to Nurse Jim which shows a lack of professional accountability. Professional accountability is holding “high clinical practice and ethical standards for ourselves” (Davis, 2017). Nurse Lope should have double-checked all the medications before even scanning the medications to ensure they were the correct medication with the correct dosage for the correct patient. Even if she did not do that prior to scanning, when the medication would not scan she should have been a bit more aware and double-checked to make sure it was the correct medication. She seemed to be in a rush since she did not want to miss the next medication pass, so instead of double-checking the med she gave it anyway. As nurses, we get busy and overwhelmed, but we also have to “avoid workarounds, instead utilizing protocols and processes that are linked to positive clinical outcomes” (Davis, 2017).
As a Nurse manager, I would pull both of them aside and ask them their side of how they viewed the situation and what led to the error. I would also ask both of them what they could’ve done to prevent the error from occurring since they both made mistakes that led to the error. I would also check to see how the patient is doing and keep close monitoring of the patient. Since that is not the patients normal medication, we do not know how they are going to react to it or if their other medications will react to it either. I would also help to come up with solutions to prevent this from occurring again.
References:
American Nurses Association. (2015). Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursing-excellence/ethics/code-of-ethics-for-nurses/
Davis, C. (2017). The importance of professional accountability. Nursing Made Incredibly Easy!, 15(6):p 4, November/December 2017. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NME.0000525557.44656.04
A Sample Answer 2 For the Assignment: NRS 415 Topic 2 DQ 2
Title: NRS 415 Topic 2 DQ 2
Professional accountability is viewed as “willing to accept professional responsibility when or if deviations from care standards occur” and holding “high clinical practice and ethical standards for ourselves” (Davis, 2017). In nursing, professional accountability includes being responsible for our “practice, work, environment and patient safety” (Davis, 2017). It means that as a nurse, you take responsibility for your mistakes and are being honest.
In the case of Nurse Jim, I think he failed to take professional accountability. Either he was not keeping track of time or lied to his co-worker regarding the due time for medication. The role of a nurse includes taking responsibility for nursing care and providing optimal care for their patients (American Nurses Association, 2015). Nurse Jim failed to provide adequate care for his patient and should have distributed the medications the minute he obtained the medication so he is not late and so he does not accidently distribute the wrong medication for the wrong patient.
In the case of Nurse Lope, I think she should also have been more aware of the patient’s medication and should have known something was wrong when the one medication was not scanning in. Instead, she was more concerned on being late for the next round of medication. Nurse Lope should have been more attentive and if I were in her shoes, I would have only given the medications that scanned and would have held the medication that was not scanning. I would also have asked Nurse Jim if he was sure that the medication that did not scan was for the right patient. Part of accountability includes exercising judgement in accepting responsibilities, so Nurse Lope and Nurse Jim are equally responsible for the mistake that had taken place (American Nurses Association, 2015).
As a nurse manager, I would have pulled both Nurse Lope and Nurse Jim over to ask and go over what had happened and why this error had occurred. I think after checking the patient to make sure there had not been any major damage or side effects that had taken place, I would walk through with both nurses what had happened and how it could have been avoided. As a nurse manager and someone in a higher position, you want to help promote communication and allow the nurses to discuss the events without fear (American Nurses Association, 2015). Overall, I think this error should not occur, however, it does happen and it is important to discuss how to prevent this from happening in the future and promoting patient-care.
Resources
American Nurses Association. (2015). Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive
Statements. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursing-excellence/ethics/code-of-ethics-for-nurses/
Davis, C. (2017). The importance of professional accountability. Nursing Made Incredibly Easy!,
15(6), 4–4. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.nme.0000525557.44656.04