Legal Aspect of Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Legal Aspect of Nursing - Essay Example A clear assessment of the evidence of the case study indicates that this is a clear case of negligence which rightfully warrants for suspension. According to the investigations, the only evidence on the nurse is her failure to tally the records between the computerized cabinet and the handwritten documentation. Considering the nurse’s reputation for the twenty-five years she was working at the hospital, she at least was supposed to be given some consideration. The claims of the nurse diverting narcotics from the cabinet do not hold ground because there is no evidence that directly points to her doing the act. The only available evidence is the records which suggest the possibility of such malpractice but still remain unproven. Chances are high that the testimonies by the other nurses will affect the case in a positive way for the defendant. This will aid in proving to the court that the defendant is not diverting narcotics for selfish gain from the hospital and the errors in t he reports can only be a case of negligence. The testimonies from the other nurses are enough to turn the case around implicating the hospital as the defendant. The court will be able to see that cases of negligence in the healthcare unit are common, which means that there is a high chance of the health care being subject to mismanagement. Following the turn of events in the case, the institution has to address some questions to clarify to the court why certain behaviors take place and the reason for certain decisions.... be able to see that cases of negligence in the health care unit are common, which means that there is a high chance of the health care being subject to mismanagement. Following the turn of events in the case, the institution has to address some questions to clarify to the court why certain behaviors take place and the reason for certain decisions. The institution will have to address the court on why there were more nurses admitting to have commit cases of negligence such as filing the records with wrong information. It will also have to address the qualifications of the nurses in the hospital and why is seems that there is a lack of proper supervision at the hospital to curb the cases of malpractice by the nurses. The institution will need to produce further evidence on the nurse to prove their claims concerning the theft of the narcotics as the nurse seems to have a clean record for her 25 years at the institution. The nurse deserves leniency at best a pardon for her negligence cha rges. This is because of her clean record and reputation for her 25 years at the hospital. It is also because there was enough evidence from the testimonies to prove that it was a normal error following the hefty work of the institution. On the matter of committing a malpractice by diverting narcotics for personal gain the right judgment is to dismiss the case due to lack of enough evidence. The institution needs to at least have evidence of the nurse either abusing the narcotics herself or prove that she is trading them for personal gain. There is violation of various principles that involve protecting patient safety that arise in this case. One key principle is the proper administration of medications to patients; an error in medication endangers the safety of the patient (Austin, 2008).