Provide a Description of at least Two Examples of Nursing Negligence and Two Examples of Nursing Malpractice
Provide a Description of at least Two Examples of Nursing Negligence and Two Examples of Nursing Malpractice
Based on what you have learned so far in this module, write a paper that demonstrates your understanding of negligence and malpractice. Devote one page of the paper to negligence and one page of the paper to malpractice.
Include the following:
2. Provide a description of at least two examples of nursing negligence and two examples of nursing malpractice.
2. Describe how each could have been prevented.
The writing assignment should be no more than 2 pages and APA Editorial Format must be used for citations and references used.
Negligence is said to occur where a person fails to take steps or care that are deemed reasonable in the prevention of either loss or injury of another person. In the nursing profession, negligence is said to have occurred if a competent nurse whose expertise is vast, fails to provide care like a reasonable prudent nurse would, hence causing the patient unwarranted suffering. For the accusation of negligence to pass, three elements of negligence must be confirmed. First, that the nurse indeed owed the patient the duty of care in line with the requirements of the profession. Secondly, that there was an actual breach of that particular duty, and lastly, that there actually occurred some sort of injury, harm, or damage as a result of the violation of that particular duty (Huang, Sun, & Lien, 2015).
There are three levels of nursing negligence where the magnitude of the negligence determines the liability. Slight negligence occurs were very high levels of care required and fail to be administered even slightly. Gross negligence involves more elevated levels of breach than ordinary negligence. In contrast, reckless negligence occurs where there is intentional disregard for the safety and welfare of the patient, thus resulting in unnecessary suffering (Huang, Sun, & Lien, 2015).
Negligence can occur in several forms in the nursing profession. For instance, leaving foreign objects in the patient’s body after surgery and leaving harmful material in the vicinity of a mentally unstable patient with suicidal ideations are among how nursing negligence occurs. In the first example, the negligence would have been avoided by the proper counting of objects in line with the standard surgical checklist requirement (Pugel et al., 2015). In the second example, a prudent nurse would have known that the patient with suicidal ideations was most likely to take advantage of the harmful material to end their lives hence keeping them out of reach.
Malpractice
Malpractice, concerning the nursing profession, can loosely be defined as reckless negligence. Malpractice is said to have occurred in the event that a competent nurse with recognized expertise in their particular field wilfully or intentionally breaches the duty of care imposed on them by the requirements of the nursing profession. The intent to infringe the safety and welfare of the patient by nurse results in medical malpractice. Just as with a case for negligence, the burden of proof for medical malpractice lies squarely with the plaintiff, thus leaving the caregiver with no burden of proof (Butler & Lostritto, 2015).
Most cases of malpractice can be avoided through patient engagement practices and patient-centered care, which ensures the patient’s active participation in their treatment and recovery process in line with the latest and current trends in healthcare practices. There are several ways in which nursing malpractice occurs in the nursing profession. One of the most common forms of nursing malpractice is where the nurse chooses to withhold crucial information regarding the patient to their physicians, for instance, failure by the nurse to report to the patient’s physician regarding a fall before the physician consultation. Another way in which nursing malpractice occurs is where the nurse administers medication to the wrong patient or taking part in the surgical operation on the wrong patient.
In the first scenario, nursing malpractice can be avoided through competent communication skills coupled with collaboration and interdisciplinary teamwork (Riley, 2015). In the second scenario, nursing malpractice can be avoided through the initiation of patient-centered care and patient engagement, which focuses on the nurse-patient relationship and patient participation. Also, the keenness of the nurse’s part ensures that medication is issued to the required patient in the correct dosages.