Identify 1 public health issue that you think it is important for nurses to advocate for. Why do you think it is important, what change woudl you like to see take place, and who would you direct your advocacy efforts to in order to make that change?

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Question

Identify 1 public health issue that you think it is important for nurses to advocate for. Why do you think it is important, what change woudl you like to see take place, and who would you direct your advocacy efforts to in order to make that change?

A crucial matter of public health that nurses ought to champion is the promotion of mental health awareness and provision of support. Mental health disorders exert a profound impact on a vast multitude of individuals across the globe, invariably causing considerable personal distress and imposing substantial burdens upon society at large (Wakefield et al., 2021). It is of utmost importance for nurses to ardently advocate for this cause owing to their distinctive role as primary healthcare providers, and frequently assuming the initial link for individuals grappling with mental health afflictions.

The significance of championing for mental health resides in the endeavour to eradicate the social stigma surrounding these afflictions and guaranteeing equitable consideration and treatment akin to physical diseases (Hassen et al., 2022). This encompasses the integration of mental health education into the academic offerings of nursing programs, the promotion of timely identification and intervention, and the active support for all-encompassing mental health policies within the medical industry.

            The transformation I yearn for entails a paradigm shift towards a comprehensive healthcare framework, wherein mental well-being is accorded commensurate significance alongside physical well-being. This would necessitate the allocation of resources towards the dissemination of knowledge pertaining to mental health, the evaluation of individuals for potential mental health issues, and the provision of appropriate interventions (Budd et al., 2021). Additionally, it would entail the establishment of policies that accord primacy to the psychological well-being of individuals across all healthcare domains.

            In order to bring about this transformation, it is imperative that nurses channel their advocacy endeavours towards a diverse array of stakeholders. This encompasses appealing to policymakers to allocate adequate funding for mental health initiatives and amenities (Budd et al., 2021). Moreover, fostering collaboration with esteemed professional associations and community groups can effectively engender heightened consciousness and ardently champion the imperative need for policy alterations (Budd et al., 2021). Furthermore, it is imperative to acknowledge that nurses possess the capacity to assume the role of advocates within the realm of healthcare institutions, thereby advocating for the seamless amalgamation of mental health services into conventional care protocols.

                                                                References

Budd, M., Iqbal, A., Harding, C., Rees, E., & Bhutani, G. (2021). Mental health promotion and prevention in primary care: What should we be doing vs. what are we actually doing?.  Mental Health & Prevention,  21, 200195.

Hassen, A., Abozied, A. M., Mahmoud, E. M., & El-Guindy, H. A. (2022). Mental Health Nurses’ Knowledge Regarding Patients’ Rights And Patients’ advocacy.  NILES journal for Geriatric and Gerontology,  5(2), 307-324.

Wakefield, M., Williams, D. R., & Le Menestrel, S. (2021).  The future of nursing 2020-2030: Charting a path to achieve health equity. National Academy of Sciences.

Purple group – (DT)

Question

Read the required articles on health care workers’ legal liability for medical mistakes:  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2155825615303653;

AND

Analyze current events in legal liability for medical mistakes, either in nursing or another healthcare profession.

OPTIONAL:

Compare an example of legal liability with the IOM recommendations (optional)

NSE TO DD

Medical mistakes by health care professionals is increasingly growing as the years go by. It tends to be more scary for nurses because they provide most of the care and administer the medications. Most of the medical mistakes stem from medication errors. Medications can be lethal if the dosage is too much, for the wrong purpose, interacts badly with another medication, etc. The case of RaDonda Vaught was highly mainstream, and her case seemed to put fear in the hearts of medical professionals ( especially nurses). According to NPR, “RaDonda Vaught a former nurse criminally prosecuted for a fatal drug error in 2017, was convicted of gross neglect of an impaired adult and negligent homicide…Vaught was tasked to retrieve Versed from a computerized medication cabinet but instead grabbed a powerful paralyzer, vecuronium. According to an investigation report filed in her court case, the nurse overlooked several warning signs as she withdrew the wrong drug — including that Versed is a liquid but vecuronium is a powder — and then injected Murphey and left her to be scanned. By the time the error was discovered, Murphey was brain-dead” (Kelman, 2022). That situation was very unfortunate, but she did avoid the warning signs, which seems to be common. Many professionals fail to double check their work or consider patient safety before perfoming task maybe because some tasks are recurrent and habitual. Because of this, they might try to skip over essential protocols. Also, according to the Patient Safety Network, there was a case where the wrong dosage of a drug was administered to a little 2-year-old girl. “He discovered the patient had received oxycodone 3 times in less than 8 hours (1 dose prior to the dressing change and 2 doses after). The nurse checked the automated dispensing machine in which the oxycodone was stored and was surprised to find a higher concentration of oxycodone solution stored in place of the typical, lower concentration pediatric solution…higher concentration of oxycodone solution was incorrectly placed in the automated dispensing machine by a pharmacist who was working per diem. The RCA also found that the nurse did not check the concentration of the medication to be administered against the order written by the physician” (Jelincic et. al, 2018). In this case, there was another medication error, which almost cost the life of the patient. The difficulty surronds medications. Even the article titled, “Medication Errors and Criminal Negligence Lessons from Two Cases” all the issues stemmed from people being negligent and performing risky behaviors with medications. According to John Hopkins medicine, “Analyzing medical death rate data over an eight-year period, Johns Hopkins patient safety experts have calculated that more than 250,000 deaths per year are due to medical error in the U.S…The Johns Hopkins team says the CDC’s way of collecting national health statistics fails to classify medical errors separately on the death certificate…most errors represent systemic problems, including poorly coordinated care, fragmented insurance networks, the absence or underuse of safety nets, and other protocols, in addition to unwarranted variation in physician practice patterns that lack accountability” (2016). Medical or medications errors needs more funding and investigation because of the prevalence of this topic. It’s upsetting some people die or lose their license or job because of something that could have been prevented. What can the U.S. healthcare system do about this to keep professionals from being jailed or patients from dying. Maybe, as the years go by we will have more answers. 

References

Hurley, S. P., & Berghahn, M. J. (2015, July 22).  Medication errors and criminal negligence: lessons from two cases. Journal of Nursing Regulation. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2155825615303653

Jelincic, V., & Greenall, J. (2018, February 1).  Right place, right drug, wrong strength. Patient Safety Network. https://psnet.ahrq.gov/web-mm/right-place-right-drug-wrong-strength

John Hopkins Medicine . (2016, May 3).  Study suggests medical errors now third leading cause of death in the U.S. . Johns Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/study_suggests_medical_errors_now_third_leading_cause_of_death_in_the_us

Kelman, B. (2022, March 25).  Former nurse found guilty in accidental injection death of 75-year-old patient. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/03/25/1088902487/former-nurse-found-guilty-in-accidental-injection-death-of-75-year-old-patient

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