Management of Medication or Treatment Errors

THE ART OF BLOWING THE WHISTLE

INTRODUCTION

Ethics would always be a very distinctive facet in a particular profession . It is through ethics by which professionals cling on to in dealing with their customers and clients . Ethics plays a big role in building a mutual relationship between both parties by making distinction between a moral and immoral conduct . Especially in the field of nursing , conforming to the ethics is vital for every nurse . Nurses deal with patients , from all walks of life , from all religions and customs and it is necessary

for them to behave in a manner which would promote amicability between both individuals so as to prevent conflicts and misunderstandings . The ethics in nursing is a set of defined codes of conduct which aims to provide the nurses a basis for appropriate behavior especially in dealing with patients

The nursing ethics provide a discipline in assessing the advantages and disadvantages of a particular conduct , the social concerns and implications , and the like . It also encompasses several principles which are health related such as the principles of beneficence and non-maleficence . This form of ethics is very essential in the innovation of nursing profession because it entails esteem to the patient as a human person . The ethics which grounds nurses and other health related professionals evolved from a mere set of virtues to a more specific array of rights and duties that a nurse should always mirror upon

Sadly , however , there are many instances wherein nurses are being involved in instances such as medical and clinical malpractice . In 1999 the National Academy of Sciences ' Institute of Medicine cited that there are approximately ten thousand people who died of medical malpractice (O 'Connor , 1999 )- a very staggering amount compared to the number of persons who died of diseases such as AIDS and cancer . These issues are very controversial nowadays and there is a great need to put an end on this

WHISTLEBLOWING DEFINED

Due to the staggering cases of clinical malpractice , many professionals are concerned on stopping this . While others don 't do anything , there are also others who are in dire need of bringing a halt to these incidences by whistleblowing . Whistleblowing is a term referring to the act of publicly exposing the wrongdoings of a certain organization most especially done by a member or former member of an organization Incidences such as wrongly prescribed treatments , environmental vulnerabilities , illegal and inadequate staffs , incompetent personnel and unethical treatment to patients- these are the most common complains being disclosed by the whistleblowers to the public 's eyes . This is considered as one of the most pressing dilemmas in nursing profession because it is perceived as a confrontative conducts of nurses toward their organizations /workplaces (Wilmot , 2000

Whistleblowing is not just limited for the nurses however , it is most likely to occur in nurses . It is most common in their profession since they are the first to recognize the unsafe procedures and potentially hazardous practices with regards to their patients . Because of...