Wendy, RN, has worked in the pediatric unit at Hope Hospital for over three years. She has accepted the day shift assignment consisting of five pediatric patients under the age of 10, three RSV patients, and two sickle cell anemia patients. Two of the patients have mothers in attendance, and the remainder have no family member or caretaker.
Wendy is working with Lisa, RN, who has less than one year of experience working at Hope Hospital and has recently cross-trained to the pediatric unit.
Wendy has a half hour to go on her shift. She has just completed all duties addressing patient care when she receives a text message from her husband alerting her that her son was injured during a football game and is on his way to the community hospital in that town.
Wendy informs Lisa that she has to leave and why and that she can get all the information regarding her patients from each patient chart. Wendy informs Lisa to report to the oncoming shift, Susan, RN and quickly grabs her coat and leaves.
Susan working the p.m. shift, arrives on time and looks for Wendy for report. Lisa, who sees Susan, quickly comes down the hall to notify Susan that Wendy left in a hurry and that she is the only nurse on the floor for the last half hour. Susan asks Lisa for a report, and Lisa states she did not get a report by Wendy regarding each of her patients, but that Wendy told her that all documentation on each patient was completed.
Susan, RN, has been a nurse for over five years in the pediatric unit. She quickly notifies the nurse manager of what occurred and proceeds to provide her nursing responsibilities and duties to each of the five patients. Upon entering the room of the 4-year-old RSV patient, Susan notices that the oxygen is no longer in use and that the child is exhibiting signs of respiratory distress. Susan also notices an IV infiltrate in the patient’s right hand which is puffy and sore when palpated. Susan is notified of the demise of the child a day later.
A year later, Wendy is notified to meet with the risk management and legal departments concerning an incident related to a 4-year-old RVS patient she provided care to.
Directions:
Write an introduction on abandonment and the role of the nurse.
Explain the ethical implications of abandonment.
Determine the legal implications of abandonment related to either civil or criminal law.
In your future role as a nurse educator, an executive leader, or nurse practitioner, select methods to support accountability in the prevention of malpractice.
Write a conclusion presenting key takeaways.
This paper should be 3–4 pages long, not including the title and reference pages.
Be sure to include scholarly resources to support your written work.
Assignment Requirements:
Before finalizing your work, you should:
Be sure to read the assignment description carefully (as displayed above).
Consult the grading rubric (located in Course Resources, Grading Rubrics submodule) to make sure you have included everything necessary.
Utilize spelling and grammar check to minimize errors.
Your writing assignment should:
Follow the conventions of Standard English (correct grammar, punctuation, etc.).
Be well-ordered, logical, unified, original, and insightful.
Display superior content, organization, style, and mechanics.
Use APA 7th edition format.