NURS 521 Discussion: Malpractice, Negligence, and Patient Safety

This discussion post addresses the concepts of malpractice and negligence within the context of nursing practice, differentiating between the two with practical examples such as medication administration errors and failures in documentation. The post then analyzes a case study, highlighting how medical errors and unsafe hospital environments can compromise patient safety, specifically focusing on a situation where an eight-year-old girl died due to misdiagnosis and improper care. It emphasizes the importance of maintaining patient safety and providing effective care. The post also identifies barriers nurses face when acting on their moral obligations, including lack of concern from other staff, lack of moral courage, and issues with confronting unethical situations and consent. References to relevant literature are also included to support the arguments presented.

Running head: MALPRACTICE AND NEGLIGENCE IN NURSING
MALPRACTICE AND NEGLIGENCE IN NURSING
Name of Student:
Name of University:
Author’s Note:

1MALPRACTICE AND NEGLIGENCE IN NURSING
1. Malpractice and negligence in nursing is the most common area which result in poor
health of the people. Negligence is the wrong activity which is done by the nursing staff
without knowing the cause of it. It is often regarded as the break of duty of care, when a
nurse is capable to give effective care to the patient in the standard manner as been
guided (Ngo et al., 2016). For example, for medical administration is to be given three
hour of time interval as per the guideline, but nurse is negligent in their activity, if they
give medication in four hours interval. Other example can be related to when nurse fails
to document the vital information of the patient in fix time and does not make a regular
record for that.
Malpractice in nursing is referred to such activity performed by the nurses which is done
purposely and leads to injury to patient (Sweeney, LeMahieu & Fryer, 2017). It occurs
when nurses does give their 100% in their duties in such a way that a nurse should
practice to a particular situation. For example, if there is a situation where a patient needs
a medication intervention, and nurse fails to inform doctor regarding this.
2. By reviewing the paper and the video, it was observed that due to medical error,
malpractice and negligence by the health care professional in providing care arise a
question to the patient safety. It was seen in the case that due to such error 8 year old girls
died as doctor fails to notice the other important signs which needed consideration. The
example can be exemplify to maintain patient safety, as if doctor would have given
effective care to young girl she would have not died. The girl got infected in the hospital
and became septic which was due to unsafe hospital environment. The disease in the girl
was misdiagnosed by the professional and wrong treatment was given. Thus, it can be

2MALPRACTICE AND NEGLIGENCE IN NURSING
said that it is of prime importance to maintain safety to the patients and provide safe and
efficient care for their survival.
Nurses faces many of the barriers while giving care to the patient which they think is
morally correct. The patient safety is also comprised when nurse does not act morally
toward care of the patient (Alm‐Pfrunder et al., 2018). In the situation depicted in article
and video following barrier was noticed:
 There was lack of concern by the other staff member for the patient when they
became septic. The nurse were lacking moral courage to take action for it.
 It was reviewed that, nurse wanted to give care but due to loss of independent
thinking for the right action by the professionals was the other barrier faced by the
nurse.
 Nurse also face the issue of confronting the unethical situation. It is seen in the
case that health care professional did not given proper knowledge of the medical
case of the patient and not consent was asked.

3MALPRACTICE AND NEGLIGENCE IN NURSING
Reference
Alm‐Pfrunder, A. B., Falk, A. C., Vicente, V., & Lindström, V. (2018). Prehospital emergency
care nurses’ strategies while caring for patients with limited Swedish–English
proficiency. Journal of clinical nursing, 27(19-20), 3699-3705.
Ngo, E., Patel, N., Paterick, T. E., Chandrasekaran, K., & Tajik, A. J. (2016). Why Patients Sue
Physicians: Risk Management Strategies. The Journal of medical practice management:
MPM, 32(2), 134.
Sweeney, C. F., LeMahieu, A., & Fryer, G. E. (2017). Nurse practitioner malpractice data:
Informing nursing education. Journal of Professional Nursing, 33(4), 271-275.