The purpose of this assignment is to enhance the students’ understanding of advocacy and ethical considerations in complex medical-surgical nursing care. Students will draw upon their own clinical experiences to analyze a real-life complex case scenario and develop a comprehensive plan that demonstrates advocacy for the patient while upholding ethical principles.
This assignment can be completed as a slide presentation, a paper, or a concept map. Your instructor will assign this as either an individual or small group project.
Case Scenario: Reflect upon a recent clinical experience where you encountered a patient with a complex medical-surgical condition. Provide a detailed description of the patient, their medical history, the nature of their condition, and any relevant background information. Maintain patient confidentiality and avoid using any identifying information.
Assignment Tasks:
Ethical Analysis: Identify and discuss the ethical dilemmas that arose in the clinical scenario. Analyze the potential benefits and risks associated with the care provided to the patient. Apply relevant ethical principles (autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice) to guide your analysis.
Advocacy Plan: Reflect on how you advocated for the patient’s best interests while respecting their autonomy and preferences during the clinical encounter. Describe specific strategies you employed to communicate effectively with the patient, their family, and the healthcare team. Address any conflicts or challenges you encountered during the advocacy process.
Legal Considerations: Identify any legal obligations or considerations that influenced the care provided to the patient in the clinical scenario. Discuss any potential legal implications for the healthcare team if they did not comply with the patient’s wishes.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Explain how you collaborated with other members of the healthcare team to ensure comprehensive and coordinated care for the patient. Identify specific team members (e.g., physicians, social workers, therapists) and their roles in the patient’s care.
Instructions
Interprofessional collaboration and partnerships allow care teams to improve the healthcare experience and strengthen outcomes. Learning the roles of interprofessional team members enhances your ability to become an integral part of the care team and participate in effective team dynamics.
During your clinical rotation, select a Case Manager to interview. If this individual is not available, discuss other options with your instructor. This individual should be unique to the Complex Care Management for Adult Health area.
This interview should address the following:
What is the scope of their position?
What are their daily duties?
What are their expectations of a nurse?
What other interprofessional team members do they work with? What does that role look like?
Reflect on how you, as a registered nurse, would interact with them during the workday.