Ethical-Legal Influences in Advanced Practice Nursing

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On the basis of the case study, it can be stated that Stephanie’s actions do not correspond to her duties and she puts patient’s safety at risk. The nurse practitioner should have examined Mrs. Smith’ condition to evaluate her cough complaint (Brain, Hackel, Stuart-Shor, & Dalton, 2017). It was critical to receive a general health history, conduct a physical exam, focusing on patient’s throat, and reveal the cause of her cough. Stephanie provided the client with antibiotics, but it was not clear if she required them. As a professional, Stephanie had to assess patient’s condition. Moreover, as a medical assistant, she had to work under supervision (Florida Legislature, 2016). According to the legislature, she had no right to prescribe medication, and these actions can be followed by legal ramifications. As a result, she may lose her job and certification. What is more, if because of patient’s complaint both Stephanie and involved professionals could be sued.

Even though Stephanie wanted to help Mrs. Smith, she made a wrong decision. To deal with this situation, I will take care of the patient and then contact Stephanie. I will urge her to reveal this situation in private. In addition to that, I will ask her about similar cases, wondering how many times she acted in the same way. I will tell Stephanie that her duties are strictly limited by the legislature and that she has no right to prescribe medicines. It will be beneficial to make her recollect her duties as a medical assistant. Further, I will have no other opportunity but to provide this information to the physician or the management (Ruiz, Martinez, Rodrigo, & Diaz, 2015). They will decide what consequences should be faced by Stephany.

The Medical Board of California emphasizes that medical assistants can call in refills to a pharmacy only if these actions are supported by healthcare providers (MBC, 2018). It means that Stephany had to contact at least one representative of the team that works at a primary care office. Providing an unapproved prescription, she put all stakeholders at risk of causing harm to a patient. Even though Stephany has an excellent history of previous practice, she has not received the education needed to become a provider (Elder et al., 2014). That is why she had no right to call in a prescription, and she may deal with a possible lawsuit.

Personally, I am also involved in this situation because the prescription used by Stephanie includes my name. If Mrs. Smith had faced some health issues associated with the received drugs, I could be the one to blame. Thus, it is critical for me to discuss this situation with Stephanie and let a senior professional acknowledge it. As a result, the practice should also respond to this case. As no adverse outcomes were observed, it may be enough to suspend Stephanie for some time to find out if it was the only violation. On the basis of this information, she may receive an opportunity to continue working under supervision or she may lose her job and certification.

To improve current practice, I may start using special protocols for medical assistants who work with non-urgent prescription requests or recalls (Asinas-Tan, Leonardo, Aldana, Reboton, & Libunao, 2016). In addition to that, I can offer the management to start using secure messaging. It will provide patients with an opportunity to e-mail their requests (prescription, appointment, consultation, etc.) and receive feedback within 24 hours.

References

Asinas-Tan, M., Leonardo, J., Aldana, E., Reboton, W.C., & Libunao, J.S. (2016). Implementation of quality improvement strategies for better patient care. International Journal of Integrated Care (IJIC), 16(6), 1-2.

Brain, M., Hackel, J., Stuart-Shor, E., & Dalton, J. (2017). Focusing on the role of a medical assistant in a team-based weight-counseling project in primary care. The Journal of Nurse Practitioners, 13(4), 185-190.

Elder, N., Jacobson, J., Bolon, S., Fixler, J., Pallerla, H., Busick, C.,… Pugnale, M. (2014). Patterns of relating between physicians and medical assistants in small family medicine offices. Annals of Family Medicine, 12(2), 150-157.

Florida Legislature (2016). The 2016 Florida statutes. Web.

MBC. (2018). Web.

Ruiz, P., Martinez, R., Rodrigo, J., & Diaz, C. (2015). Level of coherence among ethics program components and its impact on ethical intent. Journal of Business Ethics, 128(4), 725-742.

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