Criminal Prosecution for Nursing Practice 2

Criminal Prosecution for Nursing Practice 2

In response to the questions, read the following case study and write a 1- to 2-page essay in Microsoft Word using APA 6th edition.

Study of a Case:

Until recently, the risk of criminal prosecution for nursing practice was non-existent unless nursing action amounted to criminal intent, as in the case of euthanasia leading to murder charges. However, in April 1997, a Colorado grand jury indicted three nurses at Centura St. Anthony Hospital outside of Denver for criminally negligent homicide in the death of a newborn. According to public records, one nurse was assigned to care for the baby. A second nurse offered to help her colleague with the baby’s care. In the hospital nursery, a third nurse worked as a nurse practitioner. Because the baby was at risk for congenital syphilis, the doctor directed that the nurses administer 150,000 units of intramuscular penicillin in five separate injections.

In connection with other issues that day, the baby underwent a lumbar puncture, which required six painful attempts. To avoid causing more pain, nurse two asked the nurse practitioner if there was another route for administering the penicillin. After consulting with recognized pharmacology references, nurse two and the nurse practitioner determined that intravenous administration would be acceptable. The nurse practitioner had the authority to alter the route and instructed nurse number two to administer the medication intravenously rather than intramuscularly. Unnoticed by the nurses, the pharmacy delivered the medication, prepared and ready to administer, in a tenfold higher dose than was ordered—1.5 million units. The baby died while nurse two was administering the medication intravenously. Nurse two and the nurse practitioner were disciplined by the Colorado Board of Nursing, but nurse one was not. The grand jury charged all three nurses with criminally negligent homicide but did not charge the pharmacist (Calfee & Plum, 1997).

Respond to the following questions:

What emotions do you feel when you think about the Colorado Board of Nursing case mentioned above?

Should the courts take into account the nurses’ error because they wanted to avoid causing the baby unnecessary pain? Discuss your ideas.

Can you think of any other occupations where unintentional errors have more serious legal consequences? Discuss your response.

What should the nursing profession do in response to this terrifying new legal threat?

Which provisions of the State Nurse Practice Act were the nurses in violation of?

Reference:

B. E. Calfee and S. D. Plum (1997). Three Denver nurses have been indicted and face prison time.

This is a bad sign for the profession. obtained from http://business.

highbeam.com/4397/article-1G1-19588498/nurses-indicted-three-denver-

nurses-face-prison-case

Give examples to back up your answers.

Cite any sources using the APA style.

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

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Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

• Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
• There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
• Include in-text citations in your response
• Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
• Follow APA-7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

• A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
• Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
• Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
• Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
• Follow APA 7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

• Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
• Here are some helpful links
• The is a great resource