Sign In
Not register? Register Now!
Essay Available:
Pages:
4 pages/β‰ˆ1100 words
Sources:
Check Instructions
Style:
APA
Subject:
Health, Medicine, Nursing
Type:
Essay
Language:
English (U.S.)
Document:
MS Word
Date:
Total cost:
$ 17.28
Topic:

Case Study 7 Assignment. Health, Medicine, Nursing Essay.

Essay Instructions:

Assignment:
For this assignment, read the case study and answer the questions. Each section should have at least 400 words. Thanks.
Read the case studies and answer the following questions:
(1) YOU BE THE JUDGE

The patient had an apparent cardiac event at home involving chest pain radiating into his left arm and accompanied by diaphoresis and shortness of breath. He phoned the clinic asking for a next-day appointment, telling the nurse he was having pain and numbness in both his arms and wrists, which he believed was caused by computer use at work. The next day he came to the clinic and told the admitting nurse that he had had chest pain, but none recently. He re-peated this denial of recent chest pain to the nurse practitioner. The nurse practitioner ordered an electrocardiogram and chest x-ray, both of which were within normal findings. He returned to work the following day, collapsed, and was taken by ambulance to the nearest emergency center. Cardiac catheterization was not successful, and the patient subsequently died. His family filed a wrongful death action, blaming the clinic nurses for his demise.
QUESTIONS
• What evidence would you collect from the clinic to determine what standard of care was delivered to this patient both before he was seen and at the time he was seen in the clinic?
• What might the family’s attorney allege in a supplemental report?
• How would one decide the standard of care for this patient?
• How would you decide the outcome of this case?
(2) YOU BE THE JUDGE
The day after surgery a nurse removed a drainage tube from a patient’s surgical wound. Four months later a computerized tomography (CT) scan revealed that a 4.25-inch piece of plastic tubing had been left at the surgical site. The patient underwent a second surgery to have this piece of tubing removed. The patient sued the hospital and the nurse for negligence. When questioned during the trial, the nurse testified that she had used no excessive force or speed in pulling the tubing. The patient’s attorney disputed this fact, but introduced no expert witness testimony, relying on the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur to explain the retained tubing. The nurse’s expert witness testified that there was no departure from the standard of care in the nurse’s actions.
Questions
• Do the facts of the case support the plaintiff’s reliance on res ipsa loquitur?
• Does the fact that the defense did produce expert witness testimony negate a successful res ipsa loquitur outcome?
• What other facts would you need to determine if the nurse’s actions were negligent?
• If applicable, should damages be assessed?
• How would you decide the case?
(3) YOU BE JUDGE
The patient was in surgery to remove moles from her back and left eyebrow. She was lightly sedated and was receiving oxygen. When the surgeon activated the Bovie instrument to remove the mole near her eyebrow, the spark caused a flash fire that was augmented by the supplemental oxygen that the patient was receiving. The surgical team respond-ed immediately and the fire was quickly extinguished. The patient, however, incurred second degree burns to the left side of her face, leaving permanent scars and reducing vision in her left eye. She filed a lawsuit for negligence and fraudulent concealment against the surgeon, nurse anesthetist, and hospital. The initial trial court found in favor of the plain-tiff, awarding damages for malpractice and an additional $425,000 in damages for fraudulently concealing facts about the incident from the patient. At the appellate level, the defendants argued that there was no concealment of the incident in that they did what was required of them, namely that they informed the patient that there had been a fire, detailed the injuries that were caused by the fire, and recommended appropriate treatment options to her.
Questions
• Were there damages that should be paid to this patient for negligence?
• Who should be the individuals responsible for these damages? For example, is the surgeon the individual most liable for the damages owed to the patient?
• Are there any defenses that the defendants could cite that would mitigate their liability to this patient?
• How should the court decide the damage awards in this instance?

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Case study 7
Name:
Instructor:
Institution:
Date:
(1) YOU BE THE JUDGE
a) What evidence would you collect from the clinic to determine what standard of care was delivered to this patient both before he was seen and at the time he was seen in the clinic?
Before the patient was seen in the clinic, records of his phone conversation with the nurse should be assessed. Emphasis should be placed on why the patient only said he was having pain in his arms and wrists but avoided mentioning the chest pain. After being seen by the nurse, the diagnosis and treatment report will be used as evidence. This involves whether the treatment offered was consistent with the results of the electrocardiogram and chest x-ray.
b) What might the family attorney allege in a supplemental report?
Supplemental report improves upon what is already known in an investigation. In this case, the attorney may cite differences between how the clinic handled the patient’s case with other previous cases that are similar. Furthermore, the attorney may add information related to the nurse that attended to the patient; questioning the nurse’ experience and competence by presenting his/her working history.
c) How would one decide the standard of care for this patient?
Chest pain does not always result in death. However, in situations where the patients has chest pains, nurses must assess the chest because it is potentially the most immediate threat to one’s life. In this case, despite the patient lying that he had not experienced chest pain recently, the nurse conducted an electrocardiogram and chest x-ray. As a result, the standard of care was fulfilled.
d) How would you decide the outcome of this case?
Delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis is not sufficient evidence of negligence in itself. According to Rowland and Mohan (2020), to determine whether a doctor acted competently, the investigation team must evaluate what the doctor did and did not do in arriving at a diagnosis. It is very important to access if the nurse performed all the necessary procedures when examining the patient. In this case, the nurse asked for symptoms from the patient and despite lying, conducted an electrocardiogram and chest x-ray. As a result, I will judge in favor of the nurse and the clinic.
(2) YOU BE THE JUDGE
a) Do the facts of the case support the plaintiff’s reliance on res ipsa loquitur?
Res ipsa loquitur is applicable in cases where the injury caused is sufficient to prove negligence as a matter of law. Res ipsa loquitar states in a tort trail, the court has the option of inferring negligence from the nature of the injury depending on the behavior of the defendant. In this case, the nurse left a 4.25-inch piece of plastic in the patient’s body that made him undergo a second surgery. Therefore, the evidence is obvious, which supports the patient’s reliance on res ipsa loquitur.
b) Does the fact the defense did produce expert witness testimony negate a successful res ipsa loquitar outcome?
Introducing an expert witness cannot negate the application of res ipsa loquitar. In healthcare, retained surgical instrument is considered a never event; medical errors that are very serious, but preventable (Austin and...
Updated on
Get the Whole Paper!
Not exactly what you need?
Do you need a custom essay? Order right now:
Order

πŸ‘€ Other Visitors are Viewing These APA Essay Samples:

HIRE A WRITER FROM $11.95 / PAGE
ORDER WITH 15% DISCOUNT!
Order Now