Sample Answer for NRS 430 Topic 4 DQ 2 Outline the concept of professional accountability as it pertains to nursing Included After Question
Outline the concept of professional accountability as it pertains to nursing. Provide examples of how a nurse demonstrates professional accountability in clinical expertise, the nursing process, and evidence-based practice.
A Sample Answer For the Assignment: NRS 430 Topic 4 DQ 2 Outline the concept of professional accountability as it pertains to nursing
Title: NRS 430 Topic 4 DQ 2 Outline the concept of professional accountability as it pertains to nursing
CAT: A time when….
Please share a situation (no names or identifying information) when a nurse did not follow standards of professional accountability? What impact did that have on the patient (if any).
I recently learned about nurse that didn’t follow the standards of professional accountability when it came to medication administration and the out come resulted in death of the patient and much pain and suffering for that family after the loss of their family member. The nurse should have followed her 5 rights to medication administration. Right patient, right medication, right dose, right route, right time. In this instance this nurse overrode the pyxis and pulled vecuronium when she was supposed to pull versed. This mistake could have been prevented if the nurse followed the standards of professional accountability when it comes to patient safety and medication administration safety checks. Nurses are given great responsibility when it comes to caring for the lives of others, the accountability that the general public places in nurses is so great that nurses must always follow the standard of professional accountability in their day to day work in order to create a safe practice that becomes their second nature. Yes, the system that is in place could often times fail a nurse resulting in a sentinel event although, as a licensed nurse it is imperative to fall back on always using safe patient standards no matter where you work in order to protect patient safety and the RN license.
IV fluid was given to children in a pediatric ward. The nurse failed to check the concentration of IV fluid. Five children received IV fluid and unfortunately one child died. The assigned staff and team leader was immediately terminated from service. This sentinel event could have been prevented by checking the concentration of IV fluid before starting the IV therapy, especially in pediatrics. There was no scanning system in use at the time.
Billie, I knew of a nurse in surgery who did not meet the standards of professional accountability when she did not verify that implants needed for the surgery were actually in the surgery suite! She was in such a hurry to get on with her day that she did not follow policy by verifying necessary equipment/implants prior to bringing the patient back to surgery. Fortunately, we had backup implants that were able to be processed and no harm was inflicted on the patient. That would have been a totally different outcome if we didn’t have backups! The patient could have been under anesthesia for a much longer time than necessary or the surgery could have even been cancelled.
A Sample Answer 2 For the Assignment: NRS 430 Topic 4 DQ 2 Outline the concept of professional accountability as it pertains to nursing
Title: NRS 430 Topic 4 DQ 2 Outline the concept of professional accountability as it pertains to nursing
A very critically ill baby arrived from an outside hospital. Intubated with limited access. The MDs could not get an arterial line on the patient. A nurse was placing a PIV in the hand and after further inspection the nurse realized she placed the PIV in the artery. The MD at bedside said to not take it out that we need to use it. It was later that someone in the facility reported her to management for not removing the line even though the MD told her to keep it. Management when on to report her to the BON for practicing out side of her scope. She did not lose her license and was not charged by the BON, though she was disciplined through her employer. She said in hindsight she should of removed it based on principle and practice but she also knew the patient need it. The physician made the call but didn’t take responsibility in the end.
“Accountability is defined as the acceptance of responsibility for honest and ethical conduct” ( Darby Faubion, 2022). I think that professional accountability in nursing refers to being aware and accountable for our nursing practice, work environment, and patient safety. Taking the responsibility to commit to and work through the nursing process to better the safety and health of our patients. The nurse is held to high standards, and I think we should be proud to obtain and keep these standards by being honest, ethical and accountable in our everyday practice. From clocking in on time, to procedures such as donning sterile gloves correctly, to being honest if a medication error occurs. We should be willing to accept professional responsibility and be forthcoming when we do not work within standard of care, or when an error occurs. Feeling a sense of pride in the nursing profession while being fully engaged in the work will demonstrate a sense of ownership. When taking the oath to be a nurse, that nurse is accepting and dedicating themselves to being personally professionally accountable; thus, committing to their career to advance, grow, improve and adapt in the workplace (Sherman, Cohn, 2019). Nursing is an autonomous profession and maintaining accountability for oneself can not only allow the nurse to grow but the patient to grow through the nursing process and evidence-based practice. When setting up a sterile field for delivery, I need to be professionally accountable to perform sterile technique keeping the field sterile. I need to educate the patient and visitor, through evidence-based practice, not to touch or disturb the sterile field; keeping both myself and the patient accountable in continuing this standard of care. This is being responsible by following policy and procedures to work within scope of practice while meeting expectations in standards of care through evidence-based practice.
Durby Faubion. (2022). 10 Ways to Demonstrate Accountability in Nursing Practice. https://www.nursingprocess.org/accountability-in-nursing.html
Rose O. Sherman, Tanya M. Cohn. (2019, February, 20). Promoting Professional Accountability and Ownership.
A Sample Answer 3 For the Assignment: NRS 430 Topic 4 DQ 2 Outline the concept of professional accountability as it pertains to nursing
Title: NRS 430 Topic 4 DQ 2 Outline the concept of professional accountability as it pertains to nursing
It sounds good to know that accountability spans through every aspect of nursing practice; from using the time clock to basic nursing procedures.
Accountability is a key aspect of professional nursing practice and is frequently referred to as the “hallmark of professionalism” (Oyetunde & Brown, 2012).
Accountability is evident in numerous facets of nursing practice, including:
Providing/ensuring safe, high-quality care
Delegation
Policy and procedures are being followed (and questioned).
Following the Nurse Practice Act’s rules when practicing.
Confidentiality protection
Questioning the provider’s orders and the standard of care
Care is aligned with the organization’s methods and ideology.
Clinical skills proficiency
Learning continues throughout one’s life.
Patient advocacy(Battié & Steelman, 2014)
Accountability is a broad notion that is intertwined with many others such as responsibility, answerability, autonomy and authority.
Battié, R., & Steelman, V. M. (2016). Accountability in nursing practice: Why it is important for patient safety. ACORN: The Journal of
Perioperative Nursing in Australia, 29(4), 11–14. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.aorn.2014.08.008
National library of medicine(2012).Professional accountability: implications for primary healthcare nursing practice written by Oyetunde and Brown. Retrieved fromhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23169184/
Lumencandela(n.d). Transition to professional nursing practice. Retrieved from
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-delhi-professionalnursing/chapter/accountability/
A Sample Answer 4 For the Assignment: NRS 430 Topic 4 DQ 2 Outline the concept of professional accountability as it pertains to nursing
Title: NRS 430 Topic 4 DQ 2 Outline the concept of professional accountability as it pertains to nursing
Professional accountability is not only holding oneself accountable in the nursing profession, but also holding others accountable professionally. Maintaining professional accountability is staying honest, trustworthy, operating within the nurse’s scope of practice, maintaining patient confidentiality, and upholding the code of “doing no harm” (Green, 2018). I have been practicing at bedside for the past two years and I have encountered a few situations where I had to hold myself professionally accountable, as well as other fellow nurses.
An instance that comes to my mind most recently is, after receiving report from a less experienced nurse who is notorious for cutting corners and leaving work left behind for the second nurse to do, had given me spotty report and neglected to inform me that the patient was on a continuous Heparin drip. As this patient’s labs were scheduled to be drawn at 6am, the patient was a difficult stick and the labs were attempted but not collected. Heparin drips require Q6 blood draws and careful monitoring to ensure the patient stays within the therapeutic range, and the Heparin levels do not become critically high. The nurse giving me report quickly raced through giving me report and grabbed his bag and ran out of the building, without going to bedside with me to evaluate a patient with an oncoming nurse.
I entered the patient’s room directly after the report and found that the Heparin bag was indeed completely empty, and the patient’s labs had not been collected in over 8 hours. I attempted to collect the lab myself to avoid any longer a delay in adjusting Heparin drip and I was unsuccessful myself. I currently work on an organ transplant floor, and I have between 5-6 transplant patients with 20-30 medications per patient, that are all due by 9am and passing these medications is very time sensitive and consuming.
I brought this situation to the attention of my charge nurse, who accelerated it to my nurse manager. At this time the Heparin draw was 10 hours past due and had to be drawn by the nurse manager to avoid any further delay in the process. The doctors had to be contacted regarding the situation as well as the pharmacist who stressed the importance of these critical labs being drawn on time. I had to document the situation in depth to protect my license and I also had to write a patient safety report about the nurse who had given me report and failed to complete his list of tasks to keep the patient safe.
I wouldn’t ever want to get my coworkers in trouble, but this situation could have become dangerous if I didn’t catch the error made by the other nurse, so I had to protect myself and the patient by doing a thorough documentation.
Situations such as these often arise in the nursing profession where a nurse has to hold their fellow nurses professionally accountable when it pertains to patient safety. I was told in nursing school over and over to protect your license because it was so hard to obtain that degree in the first place. Some situations occur in the nursing field that can become uncomfortable for a nurse to hold another nurse or interdisciplinary team member accountable but looking back on the oath taken to “do no harm,” we as the patient primary care giver and advocate, must make those difficult decisions to keep our patients safe.
References
Green, S. (2018). Advancing professional standards. (2nd ed.) Dynamics in Nursing: Art and Science of Professional Practice. Grand Canyon University.
Grading Rubric Guidelines
| Performance Category | 10 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| Scholarliness
Demonstrates achievement of scholarly inquiry for professional and academic decisions. |
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| Performance Category | 10 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| Application of Course Knowledge –
Demonstrate the ability to analyze, synthesize, and/or apply principles and concepts learned in the course lesson and outside readings and relate them to real-life professional situations |
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| Performance Category | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Interactive Dialogue
Replies to each graded thread topic posted by the course instructor, by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT, of each week, and posts a minimum of two times in each graded thread, on separate days. (5 points possible per graded thread) |
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Summarizes what was learned from the lesson, readings, and other student posts for the week. |
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| Minus 1 Point | Minus 2 Point | Minus 3 Point | Minus 4 Point | Minus 5 Point | |
| Grammar, Syntax, APA
Note: if there are only a few errors in these criteria, please note this for the student in as an area for improvement. If the student does not make the needed corrections in upcoming weeks, then points should be deducted. Points deducted for improper grammar, syntax and APA style of writing. The source of information is the APA Manual 6th Edition |
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| 0 points lost | -5 points lost | ||||
| Total Participation Requirements
per discussion thread |
The student answers the threaded discussion question or topic on one day and posts a second response on another day. | The student does not meet the minimum requirement of two postings on two different days | |||
| Early Participation Requirement
per discussion thread |
The student must provide a substantive answer to the graded discussion question(s) or topic(s), posted by the course instructor (not a response to a peer), by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT of each week. | The student does not meet the requirement of a substantive response to the stated question or topic by Wednesday at 11:59 pm MT. |
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