Ethical and Legal Implications for Medical personnel

Ethical and Legal Implications for Medical personnel

Potential ethical and legal implications

Medical personnel has the obligation of ensuring the safety of patients under their care. Healthcare setting can adversely be affected by disruptive behaviors. It can impede staff relationships, communication efficiency and patient outcomes of care. Disruptive behavior refers to inappropriate acts such as confrontation or conflict that ranges from physical, verbal or sexual abuse that affects productivity and efficiency in the workplace. All the practice members comprising of the medical director, nurse practitioner and medical assistants should adhere to the professional code of conducts that governs medical practice (DeNisco & Barker, 2016). The members are required to act in a manner that maximizes benefits and minimizes harms for patients, and hurling abuses at one another can hinder the realization of positive outcomes. It negatively affects the satisfaction of both patients and members of the practice.

Disruptive behavior negatively affects the quality and patient safety. It leads to growing liability if not addressed. It adversely affects the reputation of the practice. The establishment of disruptive behavior policy is critical in providing appropriate education to members of the practice. The risk of failing to address disruptive behaviors is far much higher than the risk of avoidance (DeNisco & Barker, 2016). The medical director has the mandate of ensuring that the members of the practice to abide by the required ethical codes. Conflicts in practice can lead to medical negligence which can make members of the practice be liable under the legal instruments of the local, state or federal law.

Strategies for preventing conflicts

Human relations theory is vital in institutional leadership since it empowers the entire practice to act in a manner that offers the most effective treatments for patients. Creating the most efficient healthcare practice requires the execution of an approach that considers the management of human resources as assets and not just as employees. The quality of care in healthcare practice can adversely be affected by conflicts. It hinders clients from connecting with health care professionals. The conflict between colleagues affects how well they cater to the unique needs of patients. It degrades their confidence and ability to treat patients independently. The inappropriate behavior in practice requires a proactive approach with the aim of identifying the causes and ways of improving the behavior (Tarzian et al., 2015). Performing a confidential internal self-assessment can assist in bringing out a better picture of the situation since individuals who act disruptively are not often aware of their actions and its impact. Accountability can be heightened by discussing contributing factors and the roles and responsibilities of individuals. The issues should be addressed by taking a positive route in which information is used as an opportunity for improvement instead of using it as a punitive approach of identifying the culprits.

Leadership qualities for enabling change

A constructive and collaborative approach can be useful in addressing the problem. Some of the warning signs that should be put into consideration include cliques forming, the generation gap, bullying, lack of mentorship and experience gap. Keeping and demonstrating professional composure should be the first initial response to the situation. Healthcare professionals are required to lead by example, and avoid causing undue conflicts (Tarzian et al., 2015). The practice is mostly made up of old employees that makes it difficult for new ones to penetrate thereby leading to the creation of cliques and social circles. The issues can be addressed by creating mentorship programs to assist new staff to become acquainted with the new work environment. Stress can also be a factor that could cause a spat among colleagues mainly when they are tired or overworked

 

 

References

DeNisco, S. M., & Barker, A. M. (2016). Advanced practice nursing: essential knowledge for the profession.

Tarzian, A. J., Wocial, L. D., & ASBH Clinical Ethics Consultation Affairs Committee. (2015). A code of ethics for health care ethics consultants: Journey to the present and implications for the field. The American Journal of Bioethics, 15(5), 38-51.

 
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