Response to Incompetent, Non-Compassionate, Unsafe, or Unethical Care

Response to Incompetent, Non-Compassionate, Unsafe, or Unethical Care

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Response to Incompetent, Non-Compassionate, Unsafe, or Unethical Care

Nurses play a vital role in clinical processes like disease diagnosis, treatment, and patient management. Additionally, they take the Hippocratic Oath with one of their main commitment being not to harm. Nurses also tend to face a set of ethical dilemmas that would hamper their ability to offer quality clinical care to the patients. That is why the Canadian Nurses Association has a set of standards which should be followed by nurses in responding to issues concerning incompetent, non-compassionate, unsafe, or unethical care (Muscedere et al., 2016). The standards are premised on the prevention of harm or malpractice to patients. 

Working in a hospital environment has exposed me to a situation of incompetence of a medical professional when discharging his duties. For ethical reasons, the name of the affected colleague cannot be revealed. The nurse was chemically impaired owing his practice of taking drugs without prescription resulting in regular medical errors. In this situation, I would recommend the plan of providing referral processes for both evaluation and treatment for such a colleague. Another significant plan that I would endorse is establishing a policy at the workplace that outlines a cause for testing to detect the condition. Additionally, health professionals should not provide any patient care until he or she is fully examined. Failure to take appropriate precautionary measures greatly impedes the dignity and safety of the patient. The nurses should speak up to avert severe calamities in the workplace. The main error which has been made in this case is the issuance of the wrong medication. The key solution is to ensure that reprimand is issued to the perpetrator of the professional error and corrective actions are undertaken.

The code of ethics for registered nurses issued by the Canadian Nurses Association is the principal guide for the corrective measures that need to be undertaken. For example, Reserved Act 20 provides the ideal framework that a nurse needs to take up in addressing the situation of chemical impairment. College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba (2019) contends that “a registered nurse may perform a psycho-social intervention with an expectation of modifying a substantial disorder of thought, mood, perception, orientation or memory that grossly impairs judgment, behavior, the capacity to recognize reality, or the ability to meet the ordinary demands.” Therefore, the first action is to confront the medic and inform him or her of the aggravated harm that they pose to the patients and offer corrective measures. Further, it is necessary to report the issue to nursing managers for disciplinary actions to be taken against the perpetrators. Also, there is a need to intervene in the process of treatment to minimize the patient’s exposure to harm.

Response to incompetent, non-compassionate, unsafe, or unethical care calls for the entrenchment of teamwork within the work setting. Consultation with medical professionals, including managers and supervisors, is an ideal action to find solutions to the issues. However, the situation has to be kept in confidentiality as corrective actions are being undertaken to address the situation. The recommended action should take into account the breach of trust results when seeking a mediated situation on the ethical case.

In conclusion, there are situations that may not be related to the moral beliefs of a nurse. According to the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba (2019) the scope of the nursing work entails to “coordinate, supervise, monitor, deliver and evaluate the provision of health care.” In any disputable situation, the nurse would need to report the issue to the management team for the deployment of another nurse whose moral beliefs are similar to that of the patient. Notification of the patient about the conflict is an additional professional approach. However, a nurse should deny patient care based on moral conflict until the issue is solved.