When you work in a health care field it is very important to know the legal and ethics aspects of your work in order to protect the residents or patients and yourself.
You can get fired from your job if you violate the rules and regulations of the facility where you work.
Read the legal scenario below.
Nursing Assistant Skill Scenario and Follow-up Questions
Our nursing assistant online class instructor has a skill scenario for us to discuss — it’s about Legal and Ethical Issues. Find the scenario below. . .
A licensed practical nurse (LPN) who works with you in a long-term care facility stops in Mrs. Taylor’s room to give Mrs. Taylor her daily medications.
Mrs. Taylor is in the bathroom and you are changing the linens on her bed. The nurse hands you the medication cup, which contains three pills and asks you to have Mrs. Taylor take the pills as soon as she comes out of the bathroom.
You are aware that in your state, nursing assistants are not allowed to give medications without having gone through specific, special training.
When you mention your concern about giving Mrs. Taylor her medication to the nurse, she says, “It’s okay, the other nursing assistants do this for me all the time.”
1. What should you do?
2. List common legal violations that are related to the provision of health care.
3. Explain the difference between legal and ethical issues.
Response and Discussion
Here are my responses to the scenario. . .
1. What should I do?
I would tell the license practical nurse (LPN), that I haven’t gone through a special training and I am not trained to give medications to residents.
And I would tell the LPN that I will be going to call her once Mrs. Taylor comes out from the bathroom.
I would also talk to the Director of Nursing about the situation.2. List common legal violations that are related to the provision of health care.
a.) Failure to maintain privacy and confidentiality of the residents condition and medical records
b.) Failure to report an abuse on the resident (ex. A nursing assistant (NA) sees another caregiver or a resident is abusing a resident.)
c.) Malpractice – A medical doctor performs surgery when he is not a surgeon
d.) Overcharging in medical bills3. Explain the difference between legal and ethical issues.
1.) Legal issues relate to the laws, rules and regulations passed by the government.
2.) Ethical issues relate to human principles with a sense of what is right and wrong.
