answered: The Missing Needle Protector: E. L. Straight is director of

  

The Missing Needle Protector:
E. L. Straight is director of clinical services at Hopewell Hospital. As in many hospitals, a few physicians provide care that is acceptable, but not of very high quality; they tend to make more mistakes than the others and have a higher incidence of patients going “sour.” Since Straight took the position 2 years ago, new programs have been developed and things seem to be getting better in terms of quality.
Dr. Cutrite has practiced at Hopewell for longer than anyone can remember. Although once a brilliant general surgeon, he has slipped physically and mentally over the years, and Straight is contemplating taking steps to recommend a reduction in his privileges. However, the process is not complete, and Cutrite continues to perform a full range of procedures.
The operating room supervisor appeared at Straight’s office one Monday afternoon. “We’ve got a problem,” she said, somewhat nonchalantly, but with a hint of disgust. “ I’m almost sure we left a plastic needle protector from a disposable syringe in a patient’s belly, a Mrs. Jameson. You know, the protectors with the red–pink color. They’d be almost impossible to see if they were in a wound.”
“Where did it come from?” asked Straight.
“I’m not absolutely sure,” answered the supervisor. “All I know is that the syringe was among items in a used surgical pack when we did the count.” She went on to describe the safeguards of counts and records. The discrepancy was noted when records were reconciled at the end of the week. A surgical pack was shown as having a syringe, that was not supposed to be there. When the scrub nurse working with Cutrite was questioned, she remembered that he had used a syringe, but, when it was included in the count at the conclusion of surgery, she didn’t think about the protective sheath, which must have been on it.
“Let’s get Mrs. Jameson back into surgery.” said Straight. “We’ll tell her it’s necessary to check her incision and deep sutures. She’ll never know we’re really looking for the needle cover.”
“Too late,” responded the supervisor, “she went home day before yesterday.”
Oh, oh, thought Straight. Now what to do? “Have you talked to Dr. Cutrite?”
The supervisor nodded affirmatively. “He won’t consider telling Mrs. Jameson there might be a problem and calling her back to the hospital,” she said. “And he warned us not to do anything either,” she added. “Dr. Cutrite claims it cannot possibly hurt her. Except for a little discomfort, she’ll never know it’s there.”
Straight called the chief of surgery and asked s hypothetical question about the consequences of leaving a small plastic cap in a patient’s belly. The chief knew something was amiss but didn’t pursue it. He simply replied there would likely be occasional discomfort, but probably no life–threatening consequences from leaving it in. “Although,” he added, “one never knows.”
Straight liked working at Hopewell Hospital and didn’t relish crossing swords with Cutrite, who, although declining clinically, was politically very powerful. Straight had refrained from fingernail biting for years, but that old habit was suddenly overwhelming.
_____________________________________________________________________
For this assessment, develop a solution to a specific ethical dilemma faced by a health care professional. Note: The case study may not supply all of the information you need. In such cases, you should consider a variety of possibilities and infer potential conclusions. However, please be sure to identify any assumptions or speculations you make.
Include the selected case study in your reference list, using proper APA style and format. Refer to the Evidence and APA section of the Writing Center for guidance.
Summarize the facts in a case study and use the three components of an ethical decision-making model to analyze an ethical problem or issue and the factors that contributed to it.
Identify which case study you selected and briefly summarize the facts surrounding it. Identify the problem or issue that presents an ethical dilemma or challenge and describe that dilemma or challenge.
Identify who is involved or affected by the ethical problem or issue.
Access the Ethical Decision-Making Model media piece and use the three components of the ethical decision-making model (moral awareness, moral judgment, and ethical behavior) to analyze the ethical issues.
Apply the three components outlined in the Ethical Decision-Making Model media.
Analyze the factors that contributed to the ethical problem or issue identified in the case study.
Describe the factors that contributed to the problem or issue and explain how they contributed.
Apply academic peer-reviewed journal articles relevant to an ethical problem or issue as evidence to support an analysis of the case.
In addition to the readings provided, use the Capella library to locate at least one academic peer-reviewed journal article relevant to the problem or issue that you can use to support your analysis of the situation. The NHS-FPX4000: Developing a Health Care Perspective Library Guide will help you locate appropriate references.
Cite and apply key principles from the journal article as evidence to support your critical thinking and analysis of the ethical problem or issue.
Review the Think Critically About Source Quality resource.
Assess the credibility of the information source.
Assess the relevance of the information source.
Discuss the effectiveness of the communication approaches present in a case study.
Describe how the health care professional in the case study communicated with others.
Assess instances where the professional communicated effectively or ineffectively.
Explain which communication approaches should be used and which ones should be avoided.
Describe the consequences of using effective and non-effective communication approaches.
Discuss the effectiveness of the approach used by a professional to deal with problems or issues involving ethical practice in a case study.
Describe the actions taken in response to the ethical dilemma or issue presented in the case study.
Summarize how well the professional managed professional responsibilities and priorities to resolve the problem or issue in the case.
Discuss the key lessons this case provides for health care professionals.
Apply ethical principles to a possible solution to an ethical problem or issue described in a case study.
Describe the proposed solution.
Discuss how the approach makes this professional more effective or less effective in building relationships across disciplines within his or her organization.
Discuss how likely it is the proposed solution will foster professional collaboration.
Write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
Apply the principles of effective composition.
Determine the proper application of the rules of grammar and mechanics.
Write using APA style for in-text citations, quotes, and references.
Determine the proper application of APA formatting requirements and scholarly writing standards.
Integrate information from outside sources into academic writing by appropriately quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing, following APA style.
Example Assessment: You may use the following to give you an idea of what a Proficient or higher rating on the scoring guide would look like:
Assessment 3 Example [PDF].
Additional Requirements
Your assessment should also meet the following requirements:
Length: 3–5 typed, double-spaced pages, not including the title page and reference page.
Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
APA tutorial: Use the APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] for guidance.
Written communication: Use correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
References: Integrate information from outside sources to include at least two references (the case study and an academic peer-reviewed journal article) and three in-text citations within the paper.
APA format: Follow current APA guidelines for in-text citation of outside sources in the body of your paper and also on the reference page.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
Competency 1: Apply information literacy and library research skills to obtain scholarly information in the field of health care.
Apply academic peer-reviewed journal articles relevant to an ethical problem or issue as evidence to support an analysis of the case.
Competency 3: Apply ethical principles and academic standards to the study of health care.
Summarize the facts in a case study and use the three components of an ethical decision-making model to analyze an ethical problem or issue and the factors that contributed to it.
Discuss the effectiveness of the approach used by a professional to deal with problems or issues involving ethical practice in a case study.
Apply ethical principles to a possible solution to an ethical problem or issue described in a case study.
Competency 4: Write for a specific audience, in appropriate tone and style, in accordance with Capella’s writing standards.
Discuss the effectiveness of the communication approaches present in a case study.
Write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
Write following APA style for in-text citations, quotes, and references.
Resources: Ethics for Health Care
PRINT
Perhaps the most basic and important subject in the health care field is ethics. Remember Hippocrates and the Hippocratic Oath about doing no harm. This simple proposition, written sometime in the fifth century BC, is one of the oldest binding ethical documents in human history. Almost 100 percent of graduating health care professionals take an ethically based oath before they begin practice.
The following links provide information about the codes of ethics of professional associations, government entities, and other organizations:
American College of Healthcare Executives. (2019). ACHE code of ethics. https://www.ache.org/about-ache/our-story/our-commitments/ethics/ache-code-of-ethics
American Nurses Association. (n.d.). Ethics topics and articles. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursing-excellence/ethics/ethics-topics-and-articles/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Public health ethics resources. https://www.cdc.gov/od/science/integrity/phethics/resources.htm
Ennis-O-Connor, M., & Mannion, R. (2020). Social media networks and leadership ethics in healthcare. Healthcare Management Forum, 33(3), 145-148.
Levitt, D. (2014). Ethical decision-making in a caring environment: The four principles and LEADS. Healthcare Management Forum, 27(2), 105-107.
Moradi, K., Najarkolai, A. R., & Keshmiri, F. (2016). Interprofessional teamwork education: Moving toward the patient-centered approach. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 47(10), 449-460.
Raus, K., Mortier, E., & Eeckloo, K. (2018). The patient perspective in health care networks. BMC Medical Ethics, 19(1), 52.
Sanders, S., Wisse, B., Van Yperen, N. W., & Rus, D. (2018). On ethically solvent leaders: The roles of pride and moral identity in predicting leader ethical behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 150(3), 631-645.
Resources: Implicit Bias
PRINT
Implicit Bias
Adverse patient outcomes occur when members of the health care team have implicit bias. According to the Joint Commission (2016):
Implicit (subconscious) bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. These biases, which encompass both favorable and unfavorable assessments, are activated involuntarily and without an individual’s awareness or intentional control (p. 1).
Public Radio International (PRI) shares a story about how implicit bias can manifest itself in a health care screening, highlighting a specific situation for Asian Americans regarding Type 2 diabetes:
Quinn, C. (2017). “Implicit bias” may account for a glaring disparity in health care screening. The World. https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-02-09/implicit-bias-may-account-glaring-disparity-health-care-screening
The Joint Commission provides these further insights:
The Joint Commission. (2017). Health equity. https://www.jointcommission.org/topics/health_equity.aspx
The Joint Commission. (2016). Implicit bias in health care [PDF]. https://www.jointcommission.org/