Question

M5 Discussion Question:

Scenario #1: You have observed an employee, who you work closely with, attempting to erase an entry she has made in a patient's medical record. She asks you not to tell that you saw her attempting to erase the entry. What would you do?

1. What is the ethical issue in this situation? How would you handle this situation?
2. Visit UNMCs website: http://wiki.unmc.edu/Compliance_Hotline. Would contacting the compliance hotline at your place of employment be an alternative in handling the situation? Why or Why not?

Scenario #2: Over coffee the staff is complaining about the increased time to document in the EHR. One employee brags that she has shortened her documentation time by copying notes from one patient to another…..after all the patients are very similar.

1. Is the copy and past practice acceptable? Under what conditions?
2. Are there any ethical or legal considerations? If so, give an example.
3. What should be said to the employee that is copying and pasting her notes?

Answer 1

In the first scenario,the ethical principle violated is,fidelity.That is,being loyal and faithful to individuals who place trust in the nurse.And in the second scenario the ethical principle violated is integrity,that is acting consistent ly with honesty and basic actions of moral standards.There are ethical decision making in nursing,which consist of 4 steps,clarify the problem,describe the ethical considerations,choose a solution and implementation and evaluation of the problem.