hmgt 372 Raising Organizational Awareness

Running head: FALSE CREDENTIALS OF HEALTHCARE PERSONNEL

False Credentials of Healthcare Personnel

Name:

Institution:

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FALSE CREDENTIALS OF HEALTHCARE PERSONNEL

False Credentials of Healthcare Personnel

Purpose of Paper, topic chosen, applicable Federal and/or state laws

The purpose of this paper is to assess the ethical issues relating to the false credential of a

healthcare professional, particularly, the registered nurse and how it affects their practice.

Falsification of credentials is a felony in the United States, and it can lead to arrest and charges

for illegally carrying a practice. This relates to the deceptive or dishonest conduct of a person as

it is concerned with the provision of healthcare. The conducts of lying and falsification include

falsifying documents relating to patient care, licensure, and employment (Merry & Brookbanks,

2017). It is mandatory that every registered and licensed nurse to be licensed to practice nursing

in the state which they are carrying their practice. Licensure and right credentials help in

protecting the public and make sure that the registered nurse has completed a state-approved

nursing school and that their licensure examination met the requirements of their roles in nursing

practice (Merry & Brookbanks, 2017). Most of the states have a similar law regarding false

credentials in nursing practice, but they are all covered by the federal False Claim Act 1986 that

states one is liable for knowingly making, using and causing to make or create a false record or

statement material fraudulent for either payment or approval (Merry & Brookbanks, 2017;

(Collins, 2012). The Federal False Claim Act of 1986 aims at preventing and detecting fraud,

waste, and abuse of the government resources. Registered nurses, only by the virtues of a license

issued by the Board, are they allowed to perform their duties to the patients as a way of

providing safe and effective care while demonstrating good professional character.

The specifically targeted employee group and specific health services setting

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FALSE CREDENTIALS OF HEALTHCARE PERSONNEL

The employee selected in this case is a registered nurse in a nursing home. The reason for

choosing a registered nurse is because of the increasing demand for registered nurses in various

healthcare setting to solve the issue of inadequacy of nursing practitioners in the United States

today. A registered nurse is an individual who has successfully graduated from a nursing program

and has met the requirements of a licensing body within a given state to obtain a nursing license

(Smolowitz et al., 2015). In the United States, a registered nurse must have at least completed an

associate degree in nursing as well as the NCLEX-RN examination that will offer the initial

licensure (Smolowitz et al., 2015). Then registered nurses mainly help the physicians in

providing treatment for patients diagnosed with different medical conditions. Besides this, they

have the opportunity to administer medication, assess patient recovery and progress and offer

education to the patients and their families regarding how to manage their conditions post-

hospital treatment (Bauer & Bodenheimer, 2017). Nursing homes are healthcare settings

sometimes referred to as residential care that offers nursing care for the elderly. Nursing homes

sometimes provide short-term stays aimed at rehabilitating the patients after surgery, illness or

injury that may demand various forms of therapy. The importance of nursing homes in America

is continuously growing as the number of the elderly demand immediate care continues to

improve. Therefore, registered nurses are required consistently to help the residents and monitor

their health develop while implementing care plans. Based on the sensitive nature of dealing with

the elderly, it is critical that the employed registered nurse meets the requirements granting them

the ability to practice nursing.

Three Critical Aspects of Employee’s responsibilities

a) Medication Administration

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FALSE CREDENTIALS OF HEALTHCARE PERSONNEL

Registered nurses at home care are often licensed and certified to offer and administer

right medication to the patients in their practice setting. However, there are often cases of

overdosing or underprescribing of medicine which threatens the safety of the patients. Failing at

proper medication administration not only is against the law but it also violates the principles and

ethics of the hospital's policies. Therefore, the consequences of this misconduct include denial,

revocation or suspension of the nurses’ license. Besides, the hospital may be forced to impose

disciplinary actions like suspending the registered nurse from his duties. The Physician Labeling

Rule under the FDA Act 2006 as described at 21 CFR 201.56 and 201.57 ensures that there is the

safe and effective use of prescription drugs by offering the medical practitioners with clear and

concise prescribing information which is easy to access, read and use (Fda.gov, 2017). It means

that in a circumstance whereby a medical practitioner wrongly prescribes medication to a patient,

he or she is liable for this misconduct and shall face the necessary discipline measures from the

hospital, state and federal government. A legal case that highlights the consequences of improper

medication was when a 42-year-old patient was wrongly given barbiturate anesthetic instead of

diazepam for treating warts. The medical practitioner pleaded guilty and was charged with

manslaughter and a six months imprisonment while his license was suspended for 18 months

(Ferner, 2000). This hence shows the severity of medication administration safety.

b) Promoting Health Equity

Registered nurses in promoting care have an obligation of ensuring that every patient is

attended to and treated equally regardless of their background or condition. Despite this, there

are always circumstances whereby registered manage the patients with bias and thus neglect to

offer care to others because of favoritism. The consequences of carrying this malpractice include

fine or civil penalty, censure for minor violation of the Nursing Practice Acts, and suspension for

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FALSE CREDENTIALS OF HEALTHCARE PERSONNEL

a dictated period. However, if the damage is severe, there is always a chance that the nursing

practitioner will lose his license of practice. This practice is governed by the Americans with

Disability Act of 1990 in the context of healthcare (Hirose, 2010). According to this statutory

law, inequality or discrimination in a healthcare setting happens when a practitioner fails to offer

health services to specific individuals in an accessible manner. A legal case that shows the

consequence of promoting health inequality by a practitioner is the 1998 case of Bragdon v

Abbot where the respondent was denied care because he was found to be infected with HIV

which was a threat to other patients in the care setting. The court ruled that the doctor had acted

against Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as well Nursing Practice Act thus resulted in the

revocation of his license and referral to an alternative discipline program (Findlaw.com).

Therefore, discrimination in care practice is illegal, and the statutory law condemns it.

c) Respecting Patient Autonomy

It is the responsibility of a registered nurse always to respect the autonomy of patients

because sometimes the patients are uncomfortable with certain methods of practice and

therefore, carrying on a method of medication against their will is against both the states and

federal law. Additionally, hospitals often adhere to the principles of respecting the patients’

demands, and thus this is considered a cornerstone of nursing and medical ethics. It is a serious

offense to neglect patient’s autonomy when offering care, and this can result in revocation of

license, censure for violation of the Nursing Practice Act, civil penalty or even suspension

(Ringstad, 2016). According to the Patient Self-Determination (PSDA) Act of 1990, the federal

law demands that the medical practitioners must always inform their patients of the right to

either accept or decline medical treatment (US Legal, 2017). An example of a court case that

revealed the effects of not respecting patient autonomy is the case of Al Hamwi v. Johnston and

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FALSE CREDENTIALS OF HEALTHCARE PERSONNEL

Another (Coggon & Miola, 2011). The respondent wanted to undergo an amniocentesis when she

was pregnant, but the doctor who was attending to her gave her warning of proceeding with this

practice and neglected the respondent’s demands. The court found the doctor guilty of violating

the PDSA Act of 1990, and she was fined while at the same time limited of her aspect of

practice.

Conclusion

The registered nurse in this case at a homecare has a responsibility of promoting quality

care while adhering to the requirements of practice. However, because the registered nurse might

have skipped critical points in his education as revealed by the false credentials, he was unable to

understand that his key roles in the home care involved medication administration, promoting

health equity among the patients and respecting his patients’ autonomy. As a result, he has put

the patients in danger by fostering poor quality care which would aggravate the already

conditions, worsen the relationship between the patients and the institutions. Therefore, the

registered nurse faces a civil penalty, referral to a discipline program and revocation of his

license of practice. For more information concerning this issue kindly review the references

listed below for more details on false credentials of healthcare professionals and the various roles

of a registered nurse.

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FALSE CREDENTIALS OF HEALTHCARE PERSONNEL

References

Bauer, L., & Bodenheimer, T. (2017). Expanded roles of registered nurses in primary care

delivery of the future. Nursing Outlook, 65(5), 624-632.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2017.03.011

Coggon, J., & Miola, J. (2011). AUTONOMY, LIBERTY, AND MEDICAL DECISION-

MAKING. The Cambridge Law Journal, 70(3), 523–547.

http://doi.org/10.1017/S0008197311000845

Collins, K. (2012). Review of: Healthcare Crime: Investigating Abuse, Fraud, and Homicide by

Caregivers. Journal Of Forensic Sciences, 57(4), 1146-1147.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1556-4029.2012.02125.x

Fda.gov. (2017). PLR Requirements for Prescribing Information. Fda.gov. Retrieved 30

November 2017, from

https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/LawsActsandRules

/ucm084159.htm

Ferner, R. (2000). Medication errors that have led to manslaughter charges. BMJ, 321(7270),

1212-1216. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.321.7270.1212

Findlaw.com. Disability Discrimination: U.S. Supreme Court Cases - FindLaw. Findlaw.

Retrieved 30 November 2017, from http://civilrights.findlaw.com/discrimination/disability-

discrimination-u-s-supreme-court-cases.html

Hirose, I. (2010). The Americans with Disabilities Act and Health Care Allocation. Problema.

Anuario De Filosofía Y Teoría Del Derecho, 1(4).

http://dx.doi.org/10.22201/iij.24487937e.2010.4.8090

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FALSE CREDENTIALS OF HEALTHCARE PERSONNEL

Merry, A., & Brookbanks, W. (2017). Merry and Mccall Smith's errors, medicine and the law.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Ringstad, Ø. (2016). Patient autonomy in a digitalized world: supporting patients’ autonomous

choice. Croatian Medical Journal, 57(1), 80-82. http://dx.doi.org/10.3325/cmj.2016.57.80

Smolowitz, J., Speakman, E., Wojnar, D., Whelan, E., Ulrich, S., Hayes, C., & Wood, L. (2015).

Role of the registered nurse in primary health care: Meeting health care needs in the 21st

century. Nursing Outlook, 63(2), 130-136. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2014.08.004

US Legal, I. (2017). The Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) of 1990 –

Healthcare. Healthcare.uslegal.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017, from

https://healthcare.uslegal.com/patient-rights/right-to-autonomy-and-self-determination/the-

patient-self-determination-act-psda-of-1990/

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