The perspective of a family member of the deceased Charlene Murphey.

 

 

 

Write a 5-paragraph persuasive essay from the perspective of a family member of the deceased Charlene Murphey.
Read p. 10 in your APA Manual for explanations of persuasive and expository essays
Your topic and instructions for approaching this draft are described below:
Medication mistakes are the third most common mistake in nursing practice (berxi, 2022). A recent high-profile case was the RaDonda Vaught trial.
Read these 2 brief articles for an overview of the case:
As a nurse faces prison for a deadly error, her colleagues worry: Could I be next?
Listen to her hearing testimony (3:44) in front of her State Board of Nursing
Why nurses are raging after quitting after the RaDonda Vaught verdict
Then answer these preparatory questions:
Was there regulation involved (if yes, by whom)?
Was there litigation involved (if yes, by whom)?
Find a 2023 National Patient Safety Goal for hospitals that addresses this general topic (list the goal) :
Which regulatory agency publishes the National Patient Safety Goals?
Each student has been randomly assigned a role (perspective) to write this paper from based on class groups- please see N211 teams for role assignment
A: family of the deceased patient
B: family of the nurse (RaDonda Vaught)
C: nursing organization (American Nurses Association)
D: hospital administrator (at the Tennessee hospital involved)
C. Take a stand on this trial outcome (from your assigned perspective): do you think justice was served or not? Explain your position, citing legal and ethical issues. Aim to incorporate terminology from class. Stay focused on being concise, this is a brief essay, not a big research paper (you are not intended to research this case further, nor the reactions to it from various parties). We will add in a research component in the next writing lab when we introduct the concepts of evidence and technology & informatics.
D. Write your draft using this structure:
First paragraph: introduction (gain reader’s attention, provide brief background, state your position/thesis)
Second paragraph: has a strong topic sentence identifying one point to support your thesis with at least 1 example to support your position – address legal issue(s)
Third paragraph: repeat of above with second point- address ethical issue(s)
Fourth paragraph: repeat of above with third point- address perceived impact on nursing as a profession
Suggestion: if you need more structure/guidance for writing your paragraphs, use the CER model (within each body paragraph):
Claim (first sentence states your claim for the paragraph)
Evidence (next sentence or two supports your claim with evidence)
Reasoning (final sentence or two explains how that evidence supports your claim)
Fifth paragraph: conclusion (does not present new information, clearly and poignantly restates the thesis, highlights the 3 main points, concludes with a statement linking it to a larger scope/context)
E. Use supporting evidence to back your claims/position. Cite each of the following sources at least once (that means you will have these 3 sources in your references):
One of the 2 articles about the story listed above
ANA’s Nursing Code of Ethics
One of the following textbooks: Perry & Potter’s Fundamentals of Nursing (see box 23.4, common sources of negligence) or Giddens’ Concepts for Nursing Practice

 

Sample Solution

Yes, there was both regulation and litigation involved in the RaDonda Vaught case.

Regulation

RaDonda Vaught was a licensed nurse in Tennessee. After she made a medication error that resulted in the death of a patient, the Tennessee Board of Nursing investigated the incident. The Board of Nursing found that Vaught had violated several nursing regulations, including:

  • Failing to properly assess the patient’s condition before administering the medication.
  • Failing to follow the hospital’s medication administration policy.
  • Failing to report the medication error to her supervisor immediately.

As a result of these violations, the Board of Nursing suspended Vaught’s nursing license for three years.

Litigation

In addition to the regulatory investigation, Vaught was also charged with criminally negligent homicide and gross neglect of an impaired adult. Vaught was convicted of both charges and sentenced to three years in prison.

Overview of the case

On December 26, 2017, Vaught was working as a nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. She was assigned to care for a patient named Charlene Murphey, who was paralyzed from the waist down. Murphey had been ordered to receive the medication vecuronium bromide, which is a muscle relaxant used to paralyze patients during surgery. However, Vaught accidentally administered the wrong medication, verapamil hydrochloride, which is a heart medication.

Verapamil hydrochloride can cause serious side effects, including heart failure and death. Murphey began experiencing adverse effects shortly after receiving the medication. She was taken to the intensive care unit, but she died on December 31, 2017.

Reactions from the nursing community

The RaDonda Vaught case has sparked a heated debate within the nursing community. Some nurses argue that Vaught was unfairly targeted and that her criminal conviction sets a dangerous precedent. They worry that the verdict will make nurses more afraid to admit their mistakes, which could lead to more patient harm.

Other nurses argue that Vaught’s conviction was justified and that she should be held accountable for her actions. They point out that Vaught violated several nursing regulations and that she made a reckless mistake that resulted in the death of a patient.

Conclusion

The RaDonda Vaught case is a complex one that raises important questions about the regulation and prosecution of medication errors. The case has also highlighted the challenges that nurses face in their everyday work. It is important to learn from this case and to take steps to prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future.

 

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