Class 6 Unit 3 Topic 1 Comment 2

Thing to Remember:

Answer this discussion with opinions/ideas creatively and clearly. Supports post using several outside, peer-reviewed sources.

1 References, find resources that are 5 years or less

No errors with APA format 6 Edition

To Comment:

Case 1

 The first case study is a malpractice action lawsuit brought to court by Yolanda Pinnelas. Ms. Pinnelas is a 21-year-old female who was admitted to Caring Memorial Hospital for chemotherapy treatment regarding her diagnosis of anal cancer. Ms. Pinnelas is an aspiring music conductor in school studying this craft.  While admitted to the hospital for treatment Ms. Pinnelas was receiving intravenous (IV) medication in which it became dislodged sometime through the night. Due to this she has sustained injuries to her hand and required multiples surgeries in an attempt to correct the damage that occurred from her IV line falling out. Her claims are that due to the malpractice of the hospital and staff she can no longer be a music conductor due to loss of function and deformity in her hand and fingers.

     With this scenario, there are multiple instances of malpractice related to multiple nursing staff members who failed to investigate the pump alarming. According to Westrick (2014), a nurse is negligent when the nursing care failed to meet the appropriate standard of care. In this instance, there are multiple signs of negligence including staff hearing the beeping pump and not assessing it or reporting it. When one nurse made it inside she just stopped the beeping without inspecting the IV site.  The occurrence of either infiltration or extravasations does not in and of itself amount to negligence. That determinations hinges on how much solution has entered the tissue, how quickly you detect the problems, and what you did to correct the problem (Masoorli, 2015).

      The equipment, in this case, could also share some liability. As a new pump system being used it is possible it could have malfunctioned; however, because it was not isolated and properly recorded it may be hard to prove.  Reising (2007) states that most malpractice claims against nurses center on one of the six causes: failure to follow standards of care, failure to communicate, failure to document, failure to assess and monitor, and improper delegation. Standards of care for nursing practice derive from facility policies and procedures, job descriptions, professional standards and scopes of practice, state nurse practice acts, and expert nurses who provide information on what is reasonable, careful, and prudent care (Reising, 2007), all of which will be used to measure the action of the nurses in this case if they are sued.

Reference:

Masoorli, S. (1995). Legally speaking: When IV practice spells malpractice. RN, 53-55.