The most important job of a nurse manager is to ensure that the care of the patients comes first. As a nurse manager in an inpatient unit, the first activity that I would assign priority is the primary care of all the inpatients. I would ensure that the nurses and the staff have the required resources and motivation to take care of the patients well. The second activity that I would prioritize is the state of both the nurses and staff. As a nurse manager in a community setting, I would still prioritize the state of the community because that is the primary duty of all nurses. Caring for patients is the calling of all nurses.
If there are staff on the unit that are young, eager and willing to go the extra mile yet lack bedside experience, the nurse manager should develop a program. It would enable the nurse to learn from more experienced ones and get mentorship. There are also retired nurses who would gladly help in the mentorship of the young, inexperienced nurses. The nurse manager can use the information to motivate the young nurses. At the completion of the program, the nurse manager can put what he or she learnt during the mentorship into practice.
While the Nurse Practice Act provides the legal basis for nurses, the published rules and regulations provide the ethical basis. In my future role as a professional nurse and a nurse manager, the nurse Practice Act will give me the required legal awareness whilst the published rules and regulations will give me the ethical ground. The nurse manager must ensure that his or her practice is both legal and ethical (ANA, 2014).
The potential liability of the incident occurs from the probable legal conflict that may arise if the patient decides to sue the hospital. He nurse’s note does not admit liability. It gives a different account that is a lie. The nurse’s note should read “patient ambulating to the bathroom using IV pole for support. IV controller fell, pinning hand and resulting in injury. Nurses did not hear patient’s call bell”. I will tell the nurse to be vigilant and to ensure that all call bells work.
I will ask the one who wants to go for a vacation to let the one with the surgery go first then he or she will go for her vacation when the other comes back. The legal issues involved are the rights of both the Registered Nurses to take leave. If I use the moral model in this case, my next step will be to allow the one who needs the surgery to go. The reason being, if he or she does not go, then the wok will be affected. The ethical principle that I relied upon was the second principle that gives the primary commitment of the nurse to a patient.
Reference
American Nurses Association. (2014). Ethical Issues. Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/EthicsStandards/Resources
