MN506M2: Legal Issues in Health Care

This competency assessment assesses the following Outcome(s):

MN506M2-2: Analyze ethical-legal principles and dilemmas related to health care.

Using the information from the case study (below), discuss the following issues from the perspective of an APN role:

• Administrator
• Practitioner
• Educator 

Standards of care — Which standards of care were violated and who was responsible?

In your role as an educator, administrator, or practitioner, what risk management steps should be taken before or after the incident to alleviate the issue?

Case Study: Malpractice Action Brought by Yolanda Pinellas

Yolanda Pinellas is a 21-year-old female student studying to be a music conductor. She was admitted for chemotherapy. The medication Mitomycin was administered by intravenous infusion through an infusion pump.

During the evening shift, the infusion pump began to beep. The RN found that the IV was dislodged, discontinued the infusion, notified the physician, and provided care to the infusion site. The patient testified that a nurse came in and pressed some buttons, and the pump stopped beeping. She was groggy and not sure who the nurse was or what was done. The documentation in the medical record indicates that there was an IV infiltration.

Two weeks after the event, the patient developed necrosis of the hand, required multiple surgical procedures, skin grafting, and reconstruction. She had permanent loss of function and deformity in her third, fourth, and fifth fingers. The patient alleges that she is no longer able to perform as a musical conductor because of this.

While reviewing charts, the risk manager noted that there were short-staffing issues during the 3 months prior to this incident, and many nurses were working double shifts (evenings and nights) then coming back to work the evening shift again. The risk manager also noted a pattern of using float nurses among several units.

Assessment Requirements:

Before finalizing your work, you should:

• be sure to read the assessment description carefully (as displayed above);
• consult the Grading Rubric (under the Course Resources) to make sure you have included everything necessary;
• utilize spelling and grammar check to minimize errors; and
• review APA formatting and citation information found in the Academic Success Center, online, or elsewhere in the course.

Your writing assessment should:

• follow the conventions of Standard English (correct grammar, punctuation, etc.)
• be well ordered, logical, and unified, as well as original and insightful;
• display superior content, organization, style, and mechanics; and
• use APA 7th edition formatting and citation style.

How to Submit:

Submit your assessment to the Dropbox.

Minimum Submission Requirements

• Proper notification of any resubmission, repurposing, or reworking of prior work per the Purdue Global Student Coursework Resubmission, Repurposing, and Reworking Policy Resource.
• This assessment should be a 3- to 4-page Microsoft Word document, in addition to the title and reference pages.
• Support your paper with a minimum of three scholarly references.
• Respond to the questions in a thorough manner, providing specific examples of concepts, topics, definitions, and other elements asked for in the questions. Your submission should be highly organized, logical, and focused.
• Your submission should provide a clearly established and sustained viewpoint and purpose.
• Your writing should be well ordered, logical, and unified, as well as original and insightful.
• Your submission must be written in Standard English and demonstrate exceptional content, organization, style, and grammar, and mechanics.
• A separate page at the end of your submission should contain a list of references in APA format. Use your textbook, the Library, and the internet for research.
• Be sure to include references for all sources and to cite them using in-text citations where appropriate. Your sources and content should follow current APA citation style. Review the writing resources for APA formatting and citation found in Academic Tools. Additional writing resources can be found within the Academic Success Center.

If the work submitted for this competency assessment does not meet the minimum submission requirements, it will be returned for revision. If the work submitted does not meet the minimum submission requirements by the end of the term, you will receive a failing score.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is an act of academic dishonesty. It violates the University’s Code of Student Conduct, and the offense is subject to disciplinary action. You are expected to be the sole author of your work. Use of another person's work or ideas must be accompanied by specific citations and references. Whether the action is intentional or not, it still constitutes plagiarism.

For more information on plagiarism and the University’s Code of Student Conduct, refer to the current University Catalog.