Part 2: The LPN returns from days off for the evening shift and is told that the unit is “really busy today”. She is alr
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 5:19 am
Part 2:
The LPN returns from days off for the evening shift and is told that the unit is “really busy today”. She is already aware of this, because, as she entered the unit, she was approached by at least two new residents asking to go out and meet their family members, and to “let me go home”. She also noticed that the nurse on duty was completing an admission interview with caregivers of another new resident who had arrived just 30 minutes previously. The LPN immediately became immersed in the workload and only had time for a very brief handover from the departing nurse. She senses her anxiety rising as the shift progresses. In the mid-afternoon, the Director of Care pops into the unit for a few minutes, “just to see how the new residents are settling”. She tells the LPN she had received calls from 2 families who told her that no one is answering the phone on the unit. The LPN admits that she had forgotten how to use the phone and had hit the wrong button for a few calls.
1. What are the ethical responsibilities of the LPN now?
2. What risks is she running in continuing to work under current conditions?
3. Would you consider this LPN to be a professional nurse? Why or why not?
Part 3:
A week later, the LPN meets with the Director of Care to discuss her progress. At that meeting she raises a number of the ethical issues identified above. The Director of Care explains that the unit is busy and there is a lot of pressure on the unit to take as many respite cases as possible in order to alleviate the pressure on families and caregivers, and to keep dementing people in the community for as long as possible. She realises that this is a high demand position for a new graduate, but she is confident that the LPN will soon settle into the position. She reassures the LPN that she is doing a good job. She tells her to just call when she needs help. The LPN is aware that the Director is not always on site in the evening of weekend. She agrees to give it “a try for a bit longer” to see if she can settle. In her mind she thinks, “Maybe it is just me? I’m new and other nurses on the unit have not complained. At least, they haven’t told me if they have and the Director did not mention it.”1. What new issues have arisen from this meeting and how does this change the situation? 2. Has the LPN addressed her professional requirements, in terms of the BCCNM Professional Standards? Why or why not? 3. What is your assessment of the ethical conduct of the Director of Care in terms of interdisciplinary collaboration?
A week later, the LPN meets with the Director of Care to discuss her progress. At that meeting she raises a number of the ethical issues identified above. The Director of Care explains that the unit is busy and there is a lot of pressure on the unit to take as many respite cases as possible in order to alleviate the pressure on families and caregivers, and to keep dementing people in the community for as long as possible. She realises that this is a high demand position for a new graduate, but she is confident that the LPN will soon settle into the position. She reassures the LPN that she is doing a good job. She tells her to just call when she needs help. The LPN is aware that the Director is not always on site in the evening of weekend. She agrees to give it “a try for a bit longer” to see if she can settle. In her mind she thinks, “Maybe it is just me? I’m new and other nurses on the unit have not complained. At least, they haven’t told me if they have and the Director did not mention it.”
1. What new issues have arisen from this meeting and how does this change the situation?
2. Has the LPN addressed her professional requirements, in terms of the BCCNM Professional Standards? Why or why not?
3. What is your assessment of the ethical conduct of the Director of Care in terms of interdisciplinary collaboration?
The LPN returns from days off for the evening shift and is told that the unit is “really busy today”. She is already aware of this, because, as she entered the unit, she was approached by at least two new residents asking to go out and meet their family members, and to “let me go home”. She also noticed that the nurse on duty was completing an admission interview with caregivers of another new resident who had arrived just 30 minutes previously. The LPN immediately became immersed in the workload and only had time for a very brief handover from the departing nurse. She senses her anxiety rising as the shift progresses. In the mid-afternoon, the Director of Care pops into the unit for a few minutes, “just to see how the new residents are settling”. She tells the LPN she had received calls from 2 families who told her that no one is answering the phone on the unit. The LPN admits that she had forgotten how to use the phone and had hit the wrong button for a few calls.
1. What are the ethical responsibilities of the LPN now?
2. What risks is she running in continuing to work under current conditions?
3. Would you consider this LPN to be a professional nurse? Why or why not?
Part 3:
A week later, the LPN meets with the Director of Care to discuss her progress. At that meeting she raises a number of the ethical issues identified above. The Director of Care explains that the unit is busy and there is a lot of pressure on the unit to take as many respite cases as possible in order to alleviate the pressure on families and caregivers, and to keep dementing people in the community for as long as possible. She realises that this is a high demand position for a new graduate, but she is confident that the LPN will soon settle into the position. She reassures the LPN that she is doing a good job. She tells her to just call when she needs help. The LPN is aware that the Director is not always on site in the evening of weekend. She agrees to give it “a try for a bit longer” to see if she can settle. In her mind she thinks, “Maybe it is just me? I’m new and other nurses on the unit have not complained. At least, they haven’t told me if they have and the Director did not mention it.”1. What new issues have arisen from this meeting and how does this change the situation? 2. Has the LPN addressed her professional requirements, in terms of the BCCNM Professional Standards? Why or why not? 3. What is your assessment of the ethical conduct of the Director of Care in terms of interdisciplinary collaboration?
A week later, the LPN meets with the Director of Care to discuss her progress. At that meeting she raises a number of the ethical issues identified above. The Director of Care explains that the unit is busy and there is a lot of pressure on the unit to take as many respite cases as possible in order to alleviate the pressure on families and caregivers, and to keep dementing people in the community for as long as possible. She realises that this is a high demand position for a new graduate, but she is confident that the LPN will soon settle into the position. She reassures the LPN that she is doing a good job. She tells her to just call when she needs help. The LPN is aware that the Director is not always on site in the evening of weekend. She agrees to give it “a try for a bit longer” to see if she can settle. In her mind she thinks, “Maybe it is just me? I’m new and other nurses on the unit have not complained. At least, they haven’t told me if they have and the Director did not mention it.”
1. What new issues have arisen from this meeting and how does this change the situation?
2. Has the LPN addressed her professional requirements, in terms of the BCCNM Professional Standards? Why or why not?
3. What is your assessment of the ethical conduct of the Director of Care in terms of interdisciplinary collaboration?