Discussion: Understanding Legal Mandates

Posted: November 9th, 2022

Discussion: Understanding Legal Mandates

Scenario 1

Imagine you are a new nurse executive in this healthcare setting drawn into a discussion on what to do about this surgeon. Consider issues raised by this situation, such as impact on morale, possible assault charges against the doctor, and potential damage to the hospital’s reputation. How do you respond?

Handling and responding to a case of misconduct can be a stressful situation for a new nurse executive. As such, there is a need for a structured approach. The first step is to collect all the information and facts about the case to include testimonies. This helps with preventing future litigation. The second step is to constitute a panel to help with making decisions on how to discipline the person responsible for misconduct. Constituting a panel acts as an internal review that would ensure consistent discipline while minimizing the risk of a discrimination claim. The third step is to keep the situation in the context of the surgeon’s history. Discussion: Understanding Legal Mandates Weighing the case in the context of overall record helps with presenting a fairer determination. Repeat offenses should attract more severe penalties. The fourth step is to ensure that the case is handled promptly. Delaying could raise concerns about motives. The final step is to maintain the documentation related to the case as they back up the decision (Alberico, 2015).

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If sexual harassment were suspected in the surgeon’s “inappropriate” requests, what legal mandates, such as those under Title VII, would you need to abide by to address this situation?

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects personnel from discrimination. The legislation focuses on protecting personnel from discrimination based on national origin, sex (sexual harassment by interpretation), religion, color and race. It describes sexual harassment as a hostile environment or a qui pro quo harassment. It requires that organizations adopt procedures and policies to deal with sexual harassment complaints and to inform personnel of these procedures and policies. These procedures and policies would then be used to determine how to handle the case (Ross et al., 2019).

What ethical principles would guide your response?

Three ethical principles would guide the response. The first principle is human rights and dignity whereby both the accuser and accused would entitled to equal treatment without discrimination during the course of the case being handled. The second principle is respect for human vulnerability that seeks to protect vulnerable groups or persons at risk. The final principle is personal integrity through being honest and showing uncompromising and consistent adherent to set values and principles (Ross et al., 2019). Discussion: Understanding Legal Mandates

What strategies/approaches could support employees impacted by the surgeon?

There are two strategies for supporting the employees impacted. The first strategy is to handle the case speedily and fairly. This helps the employees to move on from the case. The second strategy is to protect them by ensuring that they are not victimized. The third strategy is to provide psychological support in the form of counseling. The final strategy is to remove the individual from the abuse environment, such as changing shifts and work environments (Fried & Fottler, 2018).

References

Ross, S., Naumann, P., Hinds-Jackson, D.V., & Stokes, L., (2019, January 31). Sexual Harassment in Nursing: Ethical Considerations and Recommendations. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 24(1), Manuscript 1. https://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-24-2019/No1-Jan-2019/Sexual-Harassment-in-Nursing.html

Fried, B. J., & Fottler, M. D. (Eds.). (2018). Fundamentals of human resources in healthcare (2nd ed.). Health Administration Press.

Alberico, T. (2015, December 30). 6 steps for handling employee misconduct. https://www.assuranceagency.com/blog-post/6-steps-for-handling-employee-misconduct Discussion: Understanding Legal Mandates