The Legal Responsibility of the Nurse
Laws and regulations obligate nurses to act professionally and responsibly when providing care. Potter et al. have asserted that nurses can face a malpractice lawsuit or termination of duties if they contravene the codes of ethical conduct. The nurse in the depicted scenario had legal responsibility for administering the appropriate medication. In addition, the nurse had the obligation of monitoring the patient to identify adverse drug reactions timely. Lisby et al. have discussed six rights of medication that nurses should follow to avert the incidences of adverse drug events.
The Legal Responsibility of the Employer
The doctrine of corporate law holds hospitals legally responsible for the safety of patients. According to the rule of Corporate Liability, employers have the legal responsibility for monitoring the actions of their employees to identify potential risks. Consequently, the hospital administrators were directly responsible for the safety of the patient and could not abdicate this mandate to the nurse. Potter et al. have addressed this subject matter by contending that the doctrine of vicarious liability compels employers to be accountable for the mistakes of the employees.
Ethical Issues
Errors have increasingly become common occurrences in all health care settings. Nonetheless, the plethora of medication errors points to several ethical matters. First, adverse drug events affect the quality of care negatively. Although medication errors are inevitable because of the fallible nature of humans, they should not become a norm. By contrast, medication incidents constitute a safety concern that requires corrective measures. Lisby et al. have stated that the deleterious health effects of medication errors erode the professionalism and credibility of health care providers.
The disclosure of medication errors is another ethical concern because it influences the formulation of counteractive measures. Efficient reporting systems are essential learning tools that support hospitals to manage medication errors adequately. The principal concern is that nurses and administrators prefer not to disclose adverse incidents to avoid victimization and litigation. On the other hand, Potter et al. have underscored deception as unethical conduct that harms the credibility and professionalism of the medical practice.
Personal Ruling
If I were on the disciplinary board, I would have assessed the entire situation objectively prior to making a decision. The presented scenario has identified understaffing in the step-down unit as the most probable cause of the medication error. The hospital administration had failed to take action even after managers reported and documented this issue on several occasions. As such, I would have absolved the nurse from blame and instead required the hospital to take full responsibility. The rationale underpinning this decision is that factors external to the nurse (physical and emotional fatigue, work overload, and long working hours) contributed to the adverse clinical incident. Finally, I would have advised the hospital administrators to develop novel nursing models to address staff shortages in the unit.