Assignment Instructions
You are a member of an interdisciplinary team participating in patient rounds at the start of your shift. You notice the physician charting that the patient is alert and oriented x3, but the patient was clearly confused, which the physician acknowledged during rounds.
Discussion Question
How would you approach this scenario? Apply one of the ethical principles discussed in Dynamics of Nursing: Art and Science of Professional Practice to this scenario. Discuss how organizational culture can help manage errors.
Sample Answer
I would approach the scenario using the principle of veracity. Veracity refers to the obligation of the healthcare providers, to tell the truth and not deceive the patients and other healthcare providers. The principle is related to the principle of autonomy and it is formed on the trusting relationship between the physicians and patients. It ensures the creation of meaningful goals where the clinicians must always tell the truth about the patient's diagnosis and the advantages and disadvantages of the treatment options. In healthcare, veracity promotes integrity, respect, and trust between the healthcare providers and the patients (Graf et al., 2020). On witnessing the false documentation, the first thing that I will do is to discuss the issue with the physician as this could have been an error. In the case where the physicians insist on the documentation, I will advocate for the patients by seeking the attention of the supervisor. Another thing that I would do is to document the incident accurately to avoid mistakes in the administration of medication.
Discuss how organizational culture can help manage errors.
Organizational culture plays an important role in managing errors in healthcare. There is a need for an organizational culture that fosters open communication, continuous improvement, and learning from the mistakes that have occurred. The organization's culture can manage errors through the promotion of open communication that provides the team members with an opportunity to discuss discrepancies and errors (van Baarle et al., 2022). Instead of blaming the individuals who have caused errors, the best organizational culture is the one that fosters an understanding of the root causes of errors and introduces the changes that prevent the occurrence of errors. Additionally, there is a need for a culture that fosters continuous improvement strives to achieve the best patient outcomes, and seeks ways to improve the already existing systems and processes.
References
Graf, W. D., Epstein, L. G., & Pearl, P. L. (2020). Practical bioethics during the exceptional circumstances of a pandemic. Pediatric neurology, 108, 3-4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7175873/
van Baarle, E., Hartman, L., Rooijakkers, S., Wallenburg, I., Weenink, J. W., Bal, R., & Widdershoven, G. (2022). Fostering a just culture in healthcare organizations: experiences in practice. BMC Health Services Research, 22(1), 1-7. https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-022-08418-z