Nursing: Ethical and Legal Implication

You are a family nurse practitioner working in an outpatient primary care office of a large hospital system. The practice has been operating for over 15 years, and many of the administrative and clinical staff were hired when the practice opened. You have been in the practice for less than 3 months. In that short amount of time, you have witnessed several of the clinical staff engaging in heated arguments with each other, sometimes in patient areas. You overhear an argument occurring today between two staff. You pick up a patient’s chart and notice a very low blood pressure that the medical assistant failed to notify you about. When you confront the MA, she states that she was going to report the vital signs to you when she became engaged in the heated argument you overheard and forgot to notify you.

Unfortunately, this pattern of behavior is not unusual in this practice. Working with staff who cannot cooperate effectively can negatively influence your ability to spend time with patients, can impede the flow of patients through the office, and could impact patient safety.

Case Study Responses:

1. Analyze the case study for potential issues for members of the healthcare team from office conflict. Contrast the potential effects for each member of the healthcare team based on the required readings from the week. Discuss the potential ethical and legal implications for each of the following practice members:
   oMedical assistant
   oNurse Practitioner
   oMedical Director
   oPractice
2. What strategies would you implement to prevent further episodes of potentially dangerous patient outcomes?
3. What leadership qualities would you apply to effect positive change in the practice? Focus on the culture of the practice.
4. A scholarly resource must be used for EACH discussion question each week.

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Let’s dissect your Nursing assignment into manageable steps, providing instructions and advice along the way.

Question 1:
a) Begin by identifying potential issues arising from office conflict for each member of the healthcare team. Utilize your week’s readings to understand the potential effects of these conflicts on each team member.
b) Discuss the potential ethical and legal implications for the medical assistant, the nurse practitioner, the medical director, and the practice as a whole. Here, you can discuss issues like negligence, malpractice, patient safety and confidentiality, professional conduct, etc.

Question 2:
For this question, you are required to propose strategies that could prevent further episodes of potentially dangerous patient outcomes. Here are some steps you could consider:
a) Propose ways to improve communication and teamwork among staff members.
b) Suggest conflict resolution strategies that can be employed in the office to prevent heated arguments.
c) Discuss ways to improve patient safety, such as double-checking vital signs or employing technology to notify healthcare providers of critical patient information.
d) Explore strategies for workload management to ensure tasks are not forgotten due to staff conflicts.

Question 3:
Reflect on the leadership qualities you would apply to effect positive change in the practice, focusing on the culture of the practice. You might want to touch on qualities like:
a) Empathy and understanding – acknowledging the challenges that the team faces and addressing them in a respectful and compassionate manner.
b) Communication and transparency – ensuring that everyone is on the same page, which can help to prevent misunderstandings and conflicts.
c) Problem-solving and decision-making skills – addressing issues proactively rather than allowing them to escalate.
d) Promotion of a respectful and positive workplace culture – encouraging teamwork and mutual respect among all team members, which could help to reduce conflicts and improve patient care.

Question 4:
For each discussion question, you need to use at least one scholarly resource. This could be a relevant research article, textbook, or credible online source. Ensure that each source is properly cited according to your school’s citation guidelines. You should integrate these sources into your responses to support your arguments.

General Tips:

• Stay focused on the topic and try to avoid going off on tangents.
• Use diverse vocabulary and sentence structures to keep your text engaging.
• Proofread your work for grammar and punctuation errors before submitting.
• Ensure your text flows smoothly from one point to the next, maintaining coherence throughout.

Good luck with your assignment! I hope these steps will guide you in the right direction.