Nursing Case Study Reflection: Unprofessional Conduct and Impact

This report provides a detailed reflection on a nursing case study involving unprofessional conduct. The student identifies several instances of misconduct, including failures in documentation, medication administration, and wound care, all of which violated the scope of practice. The analysis explores the negative impact of these actions on the patient, other healthcare professionals (nurses, surgeons, physicians, and wound care specialists), and various departments within the healthcare setting. The report emphasizes the importance of adherence to professional standards, proper documentation, and patient safety. It also discusses how the actions of the nursing professional affected the unit clerk's responsibilities. The student utilizes clinical knowledge to connect the events to real-world implications within a hospital environment, highlighting the importance of teamwork and communication in healthcare.

Running head: REFLECTION
Case Study
Student name
Student ID
Course and assignment title
Instructor’s name
Author Note

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Introduction- The scope of practice refers to a concept that is used in different
professions in the context of their regulations. This scope of practice helps in formulating
and enforcing the actions, procedures, and processes that all licenced and registered
nursing professionals must perform. The scope of practice of an individual practitioner is
governed by a variety of factors that provides the authority to achieve a particular task
(Hamric et al., 2013). The primary purpose of the scope of practice associated framework
provides guidance to the healthcare professionals and supports them on essential matters
that are related to clinical practice. This assignment will reflect on a case scenario and
discuss on the various individuals and departments that have been affected by an
unprofessional healthcare conduct.
Reflection- I hold the opinion that unprofessional conduct in nursing is defined as all
kinds of conduct that poses danger and/or harm to the health and safety of a patient and
the public. An analysis of the case scenario made me realise that there were several
instances of unprofessional conduct, in relation to the patient. In other words, the
professional who had been recognised responsible for unprofessional conduct in the
hearing tribunal resorted to certain activities where there was a failure in maintenance of
the minimum set of acceptable standards that prevail in healthcare and nursing practice
(Levati, 2014). Five such instances that demonstrated unprofessional conduct on the part of
the healthcare professional were namely, (1) failure in documenting timely post-operative
investigation and care of the patient; (2) failure in advising the professional of the next shift
during handover, on absence of prior Septra administration; (3) failure to document the vital
signs of the patient as per the orders; (4) no documentation of patient history and
admission; and (5) incorrectly application of VAC dressing. Prior knowledge have helped to
form the idea that documentation of patient care, in electronic and narrative format refers
to an indispensable constituent of patient upkeep and an priceless risk management
instrument from a self-justifying perspective (Carayon et al., 2014). Thus, I realised that the
professional who had been found demonstrating an unprofessional conduct violated the
scope of practice. Documentation of all kinds of patient data is imperative for the effective
delivery of healthcare owing to the fact that it helps in ensuring continuity of care by acting
as a major communication tool among the healthcare providers (Mickan et al., 2013).
Furthermore, it also assists in the treatment and evaluation of a patient. Thus, failure of the
professional to document essential information related to the patient breached the
standards of practice. Proper wound dressing averts infection and other impediments, and
also aids speeding up the healing procedure, with less scarring (Fernandez & Bernhardsen,
2018). Thus, incorrect application of VAC dressing had the potential of deteriorating the
health status of the patient, and violating patient safety.
This unprofessional code of conduct was responsible for creating a negative impact
on other healthcare professionals and departments in the health settings as well. I
comprehended that the nurse-in-charge during the handover process was most affected
due to failure of the concerned professional in mentioning about lack of Septra
administration. Hence, the transfer of accountability and responsibility regarding a
particular patient was not adequately followed by the concerned staff. This might have
made it difficult for the second nurse to understand about the current patient status and
administer medications that were not correct for the situation. Failure to give Colyte prior to
the surgery must have affected the surgeon during colonoscopy. This can be accredited to
the fact that Colyte is an important bowel emptying product used to wash the

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bowel preceding colonoscopy (Lee et al., 2016). Application of wrong VAC dressing created
an effect on the wound management professionals in the health unit. I have the knowledge
that wound care is critical for patient recovery and some wounds are profound, thus require
adequate medical attention to avert loss of function, and infection, due to injury to
underlying regions like muscle, bone, arteries, tendon, and nerves. Hence, the wrong
dressing made it difficult for the professional involved in wound care to prevent health
complications in the patient. Not checking the glucose levels and medication orders created
an impact on the physician in charge who would not be able to understand the physiological
status of the patient, thus impeding the delivery of effective healthcare services. The
workers of the emergency department were affected by failure of the staff to document the
vital signs, IV assessment, urostomy sites, pain assessments, Fragmin and saline flush
administration and improper NG tube insertion created an impact on the staff of the
Emergency Department. This is because NG tubes carry medicines and food through the
nose to the stomach and might result in skin irritation and other complications when not
inserted properly (Ghatak, Samanta & Baronia, 2013).
My clinical knowledge has helped me gain a sound understanding of the hospital unit
clerk. The unit clerks work under the supervision of physicians and nursing staff to organise
patient appointments and accomplish clerical duties. They also act as receivers and
interconnect with patients on the telephone and in person (Grzyb et al., 2014). The job
duties would encompass (1) usage of a computer for documenting all orders of the
physician; (2) preparation of the patient treatment charts; (3) giving updates on the patient
information; (4) scheduling appointments; and (5) maintaining patient confidentiality. Thus,
following an event where a nursing professional was charged for unprofessional conduct in
the hospital, the clerk will have the duty of managing paperwork such as, patient history,
admission forms, and discharge documents. Transcribing the orders of the physicians,
prescribed medications and the different laboratory tests will also form an essential aspect
of the job. I also have the understanding that unit clerks must have the aptitude to multitask
and arrange their workloads (Johnson et al., 2015). They must also validate strong spoken
and written interpersonal communiqué in order to converse effectively with the service
users, their family members, and other associates of the healthcare team.
Conclusion- To conclude, I can state that the entire incident involved unprofessional
health practice from the nursing staff who failed to show adherence to the standards of
scope of practice. Repeated attempts at such unprofessional conduct breached the
framework of professional practice and violated the concept of patient health and safety.
Hence, the nursing professional was wrong in her job role and also affected the
multidisciplinary members of a healthcare setting.

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References
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