As a nurse, how would you approach a situation where you knew a patient wasn't being given the best possible care?
Nursing care should be done with a lot of attention and cautiousness. The patient should have confidence on the people giving the service. This means that nurses should be professional in the way that they administer their responsibilities. However, humans are sometimes erroneous and may knowingly or unknowingly give the wrong treatment to treat a given ailment or health issue. In a situation where a nurse realizes that a patient was not given the best possible care, it is important that the nurse approaches and handles the situation with a lot of professionalism. The first important step that is worth taking is information the supervisors about the situation at hand. This is in line with the recommendations of professional standards continuing competence (2006), which states that “all nurses are responsible for sharing their knowledge with others. This transfer of knowledge can be provided formally in preceptor-learner relationship or in an ongoing informal process.” In this way, the nurse will not take the situation in their own hands because they might make the situation worse. Passing information to the people at the top of the administration hierarchy allows the situation to be handled collectively and using the best possible way (Moyet, 2008, p.19). Involving supervisors allows them to give recommendations on the best possible action to take in such a particular situation.
It is important to also realize that any nursing facility also aims at maximizing profit. This means that a mishandling a case that involves inadequate care might tarnish the reputation of the institutions thereby negatively affecting the profit margins and the marketability of the institution (Butts, 2005, p.34). In the light of this a situation that involves insufficient care should be dealt internally so as to protect the welfare of the institution. In conclusion, in the case of a suboptimal care for a patient, the problem should be solved using the administrative hierarchy, and internally so as to protect the reputation of the nursing facility.
References
Butts, B., & Karen R. (2005) Nursing ethics: across the curriculum and into practice. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett.
Moyet, L.J. (2008). Nursing diagnosis: application to clinical practice. 12th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
