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Professional standards in nursing ethics
Professional standards in nursing ethics
Professional standards in nursing ethics
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Medical Legal Case Working in the healthcare industry is exciting and rewarding but as with any job there are risks and liability issues. In the field of radiology, it goes beyond just taking images of whats going on in the inside of the body. Radiology Technicians have to be prepared for anything. The day can range from text book non life threatening injuries to thinking outside of the box for trauma injuries and all the while being careful to make sure the decisions you make are the best solutions for the patient. Radiology Technicians live by the ARRT Code of Ethics and Standard of Care. In the following case an older man was referred to a hospital for an air contrast lower gastrointestinal examination both the radiology technician and …show more content…
The technologist asked the patient if he was able to stand for the upright abdomen exam and the patient affirmed that he could. The radiology technician positioned the patient against the wall bucky, and as the technologist walked to the control panel, the patient collapsed and hit his head on the floor. The patient was taken to the operating room, where a neurosurgeon evacuated the hematoma. A malpractice lawsuit against the radiologist, the radiology technologist, and the hospital. The lawsuit alleged that the patient had sustained a “serious head injury with permanent sequelae” (Berlin, par3) because the defendants had failed to provide a standard of care in allowing the patient to stand alone without support of personnel during a radiologic examination that consisted of distending the colon with air and barium to such degree that sudden loss of consciousness should have been anticipated. The radiologist and radiology technician violated Section A, Code of ethics number 4, 5 and 6 which states, “4. the radiologic technologist practices technology founded upon theoretical knowledge and concepts, uses equipment and accessories consistent with the purposes for which they were designed and employs procedures and techniques …show more content…
Instead that it was the duty of the radiology technician to assess the patient and get additional assistance when necessary. A radiology expert witness retained by the plaintiff criticized each of the defendants. “The expert testified in a deposition that the hospital should have provided at least one other person to assist the technologist so that the patient would not have to stand unassisted. The expert also charged that the technologist acted improperly by permitting the patient to stand alone and that the technologist should have requested additional help. The expert criticized the defendant radiologist for not remaining in the room to supervise the technologist until the entire examination had been completed. The expert stated that the radiologist had a duty to appropriately supervise the actions of the technologist and that his failure to do so constituted a breach of the standard of care” (Berlin, par. 4). However, an expert radiologist retained by the defense supported the actions of the defendant radiologist, testifying that the hospital should be the one to determine how many technologists and how much assistance was needed for conducting lower gastrointestinal examinations. The expert for the defense agreed that it was the responsibility of the radiologist to
In the case of Riser v. American Medical Int’l, Inc., Riser, a 69-year-old mother of four children, was suffering from circulation complications in her lower arms and hands. She had a history of several conditions such as diabetes mellitus, end-stage renal failure, and arteriosclerosis. The physician at Hospital A, Dr. Sottiurai, requested bilateral arteriograms to find the etiology of Riser’s circulation problems. However, Hospital A could not fulfill Dr. Sottiurai’s request, so Riser was transferred to Hospital B under the care of Dr. Lang, who was a radiologist. At this instance, Dr. Lang mistakenly performed a femoral arteriogram instead of the bilateral arteriogram that Dr. Sottiurai had originally ordered, and after the procedure when Riser was on her way to be
While working at the OB-GYN department in the hospital, Dr. Vandall, as a Vice Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, learned that another employee of the hospital, Dr. Margaret Nordell was engaged in a level of treatment that was unethical and violated accepted standards of care. It was his duty to the hospital and to the patients, to monitor the competence of his staff members. Although he tried to take the proper steps to deal with it within the hospital, he ended up reporting this to the North Dakota Board of Medical Examiners. It was concluded by the Board that the treatment of Dr. Nordell was gross negligence and they suspended her license to practice medicine.
In the plaintiff’s suit, he alleged the surgery did not go well because the hospital had hired a surgeon, who was not competent or qualified enough to perform the surgery therefore; the hospital was just as negligent as the doctor was. Before the trial date, Dr. Salinsky and his insurance company, Employers Mutual Liability Insurance Company of Wisconsin, settled with plantiff out of court on the basis they will be released from the suit upon payment of $140,000 (Johnson v. Misericordia Community Hospital). Although, Salinsky settled with plaintiff prior to trial, there was still “question of whether he was negligent in the manner in which he performed the operation on July 11, 1975, remained an issue at trial, as it was incumbent upon the plaintiff to prove that Salinsky was negligent in this respect to establish a
Ohio Dep’t of Rehabilitation & Correction are the poor-quality patient care that Tomcik received and Tomcik’s health being at risk. Once engaged in a doctor-patient relationship, physicians are obligated to provide the best possible care for the patient by utilizing their skills and knowledge as expected from a competent physician under the same or similar conditions (“What Is a Doctor’s Duty of Care?” n.d.). However, in Tomcik’s situation, Dr. Evans did not deliver high-quality care, for he administered a perfunctory breast examination and thus did not follow standard protocols. There is evidence of indifference conveyed by Dr. Evans, and the lack of proper care towards Tomcik is an issue that can be scrutinized and judged appropriately. Additionally, Tomcik’s health was at risk due to the failure of a proper physical evaluation and the incredibly long delay in diagnosis and treatment. The negligence from Dr. Evans, along with the lack of medical attention sought out by Tomcik after she had first discovered the lump in her breast, may contribute to Tomcik’s life being in danger as well as the emotional anguish she may have felt during that time period. Overall, the incident of Tomcik’s expectations from the original physician and other employees at the institution not being met is an ethical issue that should be dealt with
Medical error occurs more than most people realize and when a doctor is found negligent the patient has the right to sue for compensation of their losses. Debates and issues arise when malpractice lawsuits are claimed. If a patient is filing for a medical malpractice case, the l...
Wickens, Lee, Liu and Gordon-Becker (2014) defined human error as the “inappropriate human behavior that lowers levels of system effectiveness or safety”. Human error consists of mistake, which is the intended action that turned out to be inappropriate; slip, which is the unintended incorrect act; and lapse, the omission of nonintentional errors (Wickens, Lee, Liu & Gordon-Becker, 2014). There are various instances of human error demonstrated in the case description including, the nurse entering the MRI room with the oxygen tank (mistake), failure to check the level of oxygen in the tank (lapse) and the oxygen tank accidentally flying over to Michael’s head
In the radiology profession first you must write the patient’s file. This includes information about insurance, medical history, what the required x-ray is for and where it is going to be taken on the body. Writing in this way is similar to writing a small research paper. You must do research on the patients and there history and what insurance they have. Writing the report is important because the information must be accurate so the patient can be helped as much as possible. If the information about medical history is incorrect it can cause a huge problem for the patient. For example, if the patient is claustrophobic they would need to get an open room x-ray where the patient isn’t in an enclosed tube so they don’t have a panic attack and potentially injure themselves and others. It is very important to make sure the report has the correct area of where the x-ray needs to be taken. Having the wrong part of the body x-...
Medical malpractice cases are difficult for the families who have lost their loved one or have suffered from severe injuries. No one truly wins in complicated court hearings that consist of a team of litigation attorneys for both the defendant and plaintiff(s). During the trial, evidence supporting malpractice allegations have to be presented so that the court can make a decision if the physician was negligent resulting in malpractice, or if the injury was unavoidable due to the circumstances. In these types of tort cases, the physician is usually a defendant on trial trying to prove that he or she is innocent of the medical error, delay of treatment or procedure that caused the injury. The perfect example of being at fault for medical malpractice as a result of delaying a procedure is the case of Waverly family versus John Hopkins Health System Corporation. The victims were not compensated enough for the loss of their child’s normal life. Pozgar (2012) explained….
The Lewis Blackman Case: Ethics, Law, and Implications for the Future Medical errors in decision making that result in harm or death are tragic and costly to the families affected. There are also negative impacts to the medical providers and the associated institutions (Wu, 2000). Patient safety is a cornerstone of higher-quality health care and nurses serve as a communication link in all settings which is critical in surveillance and coordination to reduce adverse outcomes (Mitchell, 2008). The Lewis Blackman Case 1 of 1 point accrued
Radiologic Technologists use radiation to produce images of tissue, organs, and vessels that make up the body, as well as cancer, tumors, broken bones, and tumors (Cape Fear Community College). If a person is in the medical imaging field to become a Radiologic Technologist to help people, this part of the job is what grabs their attention, because as soon as they find these problems they omit the images to a doctor that helps take care of it. Radiologic Technologist is a branch of Health Science Cluster Diagnostic services pathway (OkCollegeStart). When a person’s knows where their career choice starts it helps get a better overview of where to start and helps get them where they want to be. Radiologic Technologists review and evaluate developed x-ray, videotape, or computer generated information to determine if images are “satisfactory for diagnostic purposes” (OkCollegeStart). Persons who are more technology driven are attracted to this career because of the technology a person gets to use and process. Radiologic
According to the report provided by the consultant, the employees at this facility were not taking precautions in safeguarding the patient’s health information. Therefore, the employees at this facility were in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA). It is important for employees to understand the form of technology being used and the precautions they must take to safeguard patient information.
My colleague and I received an emergency call to reports of a female on the ground. Once on scene an intoxicated male stated that his wife is under investigation for “passing out episodes”. She was lying supine on the kitchen floor and did not respond to A.V.P.U. I measured and inserted a nasopharyngeal airway which was initially accepted by my patient. She then regained consciousness and stated, “Oh it’s happened again has it?” I removed the airway and asked my colleague to complete base line observations and ECG which were all within the normal range. During history taking my patient stated that she did not wish to travel to hospital. However each time my patient stood up she collapsed and we would have to intervene to protect her safety and dignity, whilst also trying to ascertain what was going on. During the unresponsive episodes we returned the patient to the stretcher where she spontaneously recovered and refused hospital treatment. I completed my patient report form to reflect the patient's decision and highlighted my concerns. The patient’s intoxicated husband then carried his wife back into the house.
Marshall, G. W and S. Keene. “Radiation Safety in the Modern Radiology Department: A Growing Concern.” The Internet Journal of Radiology 5.2 2007: N. pag. 24 Apr. 2011 .
...gh there are no known harmful side-effects associated with exposure to medical imaging it’s never a bad idea to follow certain safety procedures depending on the medical imaging nuclear phenomena that is used to image. Also most of the staff who have been trained and educated to proceed and conduct medical imaging are not only prepared to provide the service of imaging but they are also familiar with being able to maintain the equipment that they are using. By the staff being able to conduct this it shows how serious the goal of providing the public with the best service and solutions is in the mind of the professionals. Without a doubt medical imaging purpose is to improve the life of all types of people by showing and providing the solution at an early stage to the public in general without having to undergo delicate and life risking procedures such as a surgery.
Within the field of radiology, there are: (1) radiologists who are physicians specializing in interpreting diagnostic images in connection with diagnosing illnesses and injuries and monitoring medical conditions in relation to many other areas of clinical medicine; (2) radiological nurses specialize in providing nursing services exclusively in connection with radiological medicine; (3) radiologist assistants are the first line of support for radiological physicians and perform many of the procedures and tests ordered by radiologists; and (4) radiological technologists operate and maintain some of the sophisticated medical imaging systems and tools and work side-by-side radiologist assistants and radiologists in conducting the diagnostic tests on patients.