Nursing Case Study

Case Study #2 (10 marks)

You have serious concerns that a colleague is delivering poor patient care because of problems with chemical dependency.

1. Describe your responsibility and course of action. (4= 1page) The core responsibility of nurses is to protect our client from harm, and to provide safe and ethical care to the clients, their families, and the public (CNA, 2008, 2009; CNO, 2009, 2014a). And because nursing is a self-regulated profession, it is also nurses’ responsibility to monitor, evaluate, and intervene our professional activity, to improve knowledge and skills by planning by themselves or by supporting each other, to report an incident and/or the individual to the authorities if required to protect the public, and to adhere

The overall course of action explained in previous question is geared toward nonmaleficence because it is intended to prevent the colleague who is suspected to be under the chemical influence to be punished for her possible professional misconduct (CNO, 2014a; Laurentian University, n.d; McDonald & McIntyre, 2014). Also, because this course of action prevents the patients from receiving poor nursing care, it is the act of nonmaleficence from the patients’ perspective (Laurentian University, n.d; McDonald & McIntyre, 2014). Taking over the patient care on behalf of the colleague is, in other words, assisting the colleague’s duties. Therefore, it is considered as beneficence (Laurentian University, n.d; McDonald & McIntyre, 2014). Autonomy in ethical principle is to respect a capable person’s self-determination (Laurentian University, n.d; McDonald & McIntyre, 2014). Therefore, evaluation of the colleague 's capability to reflect on her own behavior and its effect on her patient care is a key step in respecting the colleague 's autonomy. Honoring the colleague’s freedom of choice of action after sharing of information about the possible consequences of the colleague’s behavior and the next possible actions without forcing is a way to respect patient’s autonomy as well (Laurentian University, n.d; McDonald & McIntyre, 2014). Justice is to respect for people’s rights (Gillion, 1994) and to adhere the law and regulations (Gillion, 1994; Laurentian University, n.d; McDonald & McIntyre, 2014). Therefore, the actions taking to protect the colleague’s autonomy is, at the same time, respecting the colleague’s right. To adhere laws, a nurse who found her/himself failing to meet the standards of practices while being incapacitated by chemical abuse is required to self-report (CNA, 2008, 2009; CNO, 2012, 2014a). As stated in the Code of ethics for