Educating Patient Care Assistants: A Case Study

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This is a very realistic scenario in a number of settings whether acute care or skilled nursing facility. This highlights the importance of educating patient care assistants of patient’s rights. Many ethical and legal issues arise in this case. The patient was subjected to false imprisonment as you mentioned in your primary post. The patient was contained to one area against their will. No matter the mental capacity, a person “has the right to move freely without hindrance” (Pozgar, 2016, p. 84). This was negated when the CNA placed the patient in their bed, and moving the bed to a position which would cause “hindrance” to the patient exiting the room, an “unreasonable way of escape” (Pozgar, 2016, p. 84). This could pose many threats …show more content…

It should have not taken the bad decision by a CNA to address the situation. If the patient would have suffered harm from this incident the charge nurse could have vicariously been liable. The charge nurse had duty to provide the standard of care that was considered reasonable in this situation. The lack of intervention by the charge nurse allowing the CNA to handle the situation on their own, improperly, could have led to negative consequence for the patient. This scenario could have been approached by first with identifying the patient was presumptuously a fall and flight risk. In the facility I work at these patients are identified with a yellow wrist band and yellow non-slip socks. A fall risk code is also hung on the outside of the patient’s room door. Splat mats, or cushion mats could be placed on the floor of the patient’s room. Two sides rails up on the bed at all times with the bed in the lowest position. Some of our beds have built in bed alarms or one can be applied externally to a patient’s bed. The patient’s room should be closest to the nurse’s station. I generally make every attempt for them to not be near any exit doors for the unit, or where they could wander into another unit. We have safety sitters within our hospital which can be taxing when a unit is are short staffed and have financial implications. Perhaps family would have been available and more than happy to sit with their family member for period of time. We even will place the patient in a wheelchair out at the nurse’s station for all staff to keep a close watch

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