Organizational Change And Ethical-Legal Influences In Advanced Practice Nursing
You are a family nurse practitioner employed in a busy primary care office. The providers in the group include one physician and three nurse practitioners. The back-office staff includes eight medical assistants who assist with patient care as well as filing, answering calls from patients, processing laboratory results, and taking prescription renewal requests from patients and pharmacies. Stephanie, a medical assistant, has worked in the practice for 10 years and is very proficient at her job. She knows almost every patient in the practice and has an excellent rapport with all of the providers.
Mrs. Smith was seen today in the office for an annual physical. Her last appointment was a year ago for the same reason. During this visit, Mrs. Smith brought an empty bottle of amoxicillin with her and asked if she could have a refill. You noted the patient’s name on the label, and the date on the bottle was 1 week ago. You also noted your name printed on the label as the prescriber. The patient admitted that she called last week concerned about her cough and spoke to Stephanie. You do not recall having discussed this patient with Stephanie nor do the other providers in the practice.
Case Study Questions:
What are the potential ethical and legal implications for each of the following practice members?
Medical assistant
Nurse Practitioner
Medical Director
Practice
What strategies would you implement to prevent further episodes of potentially illegal behavior?
What leadership qualities would you apply to effect a positive change in the practice? Be thinking about the culture of the practice.
A scholarly resource must be used for EACH discussion question each week.
(-Provides relevant evidence of scholarly inquiry of the potential ethical and legal implications for each of the practice members. Uses valid, relevant, and reliable outside sources to contribute to the threaded discussion
-Provides relevant evidence of scholarly inquiry of strategies to implement to prevent further episodes of potentially illegal behavior. Uses valid, relevant, and reliable outside sources to contribute to the threaded discussion.
-Provides relevant evidence of scholarly inquiry of leadership qualities to apply to effect a positive change in the practice. Uses valid, relevant, and reliable outside sources to contribute to the threaded discussion.)
Sample Solution
Medical assistants who have been cross-trained conduct just clinical and administrative tasks. Because they don’t have prescriptive authority, Stephanie, the medical assistant, was working outside of her field of training. She’s in violation of both state and federal laws (AAMA 2019). The medical assistant owes it to the patient to treat him or her with nonmaleficence. Medical assistants are in charge of keeping patient records and collecting data and lab specimens in most primary care settings. Stephanie acted unethically and legally outside of her realm of expertise in the case study. Stephanie was unethical because she made a medical choice to give Mrs. Smith amoxicillin without having the appropriate medical or nursing experience.
