Dependency or addiction for nurses
PK is a 43 year old RN who has been in the nursing profession for 18 years now. PK was recognized as one of the best RNs within the facility due to his dedication to work and his ability to work for long shifts. This was also compounded by the fact that his wife a former nurse had quit the career due to paralysis after a sever accident and he was the primary caregiver and a father to her two sons. PK’s father had died a few months ago after the accident that rendered PK’s wife paralyzed. Apparently, these issues have not affected the professional value of PK and he has been nothing short of tremendous. However, a few months ago, a colleague reported out of good will that he has identified that PK could be using narcotics meant for patients. PK on being confronted he acted emotional and did not deny the use of the narcotics indicating that he has been using them to solve his sleeping problems due to the nature of life he has particularly his personal life. the management decided to recognize the hard work that PK is known for within the facility and having had no single disciplinary case as well as the positive feedback that his patient’s have always presented, the decisions was taken to have PK in a rehab for three months within which he would be reassessed and have his job back in any capacity as possible within his qualifications and certifications, After three months, PK succeeded in managing his problem and today he leads the facility’s committee for the welfare of nurses as well as being a guidance and counseling for colleague nurses.
PK’s issue is one among the many that dominate the nursing profession. The work of the nurse is demanding and at many times, they have to sacrifice a personal part of them to help solve the issues of the patients and those of the close family members. The decision to place PK in rehabilitation rather than terminating his contract as well as the results thereafter are an indication of the importance of a caring approach and a need to understand the holistic nature of issues that may lead nurses to such addiction (Monroe & Kenaga, 2011). Nurses are human beings who like any other patient can be stressed to a point where they may need to seek temporary solutions to their problems. Care facilities and the management have to initiate approaches that can monitor the personal welfare of the nurses and probably that can be done through setting up a culture of peer-groups where these professionals can share their personal issues and try to resolve them from within (Monroe & Kenaga, 2011).
Interdisciplinary communication
Nurse A and Nurse B had been working in the non-intensive care unit when a patient was presented for endoscopy due to abdominal pains. The 78 year old patient had presented with volume depletion and was supposed to receive volume repression as protocol indicates before the endoscopy could be initiated. Nurse A did not think that the patient needs repression at the point and was of the view that the endoscopy be initiated right away. Nurse B objected and said that she would not take part in a process that ignores protocol. Nurse B left the room and did not report to the supervisor. The med/surgical unit conducted the endoscopy without the information that the patient had volume depression. The patient died less than thirty minutes after the administration of anesthesia. The two nurses were held accountable for the outcome. In this case, there was a disagreement in protocol between the nurses which is a normal part of the profession.
Most disagreements lead to conflict and it is always advisable that the involved parties seek a collective position through intervention of a colleague or the nurse manager or supervisor. In this case, Nurse B on objection decided to leave and failed to report the issue to the supervisor. Nurse A on the other hand failed to call for help or assistance and did not allow room for consultation. The two nurses were driven by sentiments rather than reason. The inability to reason along the consequences to the patient may have significantly plated a role in the outcome (Russ, Rout, Sevdalis, Moorthy, Darzi & Vincent, 2013).
References
Monroe, T., & Kenaga, H. (2011). Don’t ask don’t tell: Substance abuse and addiction among nurses. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 20(3‐4), 504-509.
Russ, S., Rout, S., Sevdalis, N., Moorthy, K., Darzi, A., & Vincent, C. (2013). Do safety checklists improve teamwork and communication in the operating room? A systematic review. Annals of surgery, 258(6), 856-871.
