Make a follow-up of a student’s weekly discussion and respond with your opinion regarding to her post

——You don’t have to post this in APA format necessarily, it’s just giving feedback to the student .

Michael Coletti

1. Analyze the case study for potential issues for members of the healthcare team from office conflict. Contrast the potential effects for each member of the healthcare team based on the required readings from the week. Discuss the potential ethical and legal implications for each of the following practice members: 

Medical assistant: The medical assistant can be legally liable for negligence. Failure to notify the provider of critical vital signs can result in a delay of care. There is no mention of the patient being symptomatic or harmed because of this delay. Ethically, her failure to act violates the code of conduct initiated by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). Arguing in front of patients is considered unprofessional and goes against the standards of conduct and professionalism, according to the AAMA. This act against beneficence can result in disciplinary action ranging from temporary to permanent loss of certification (AAMA, n.d.).

Nurse Practitioner: The NP should review the vital signs when seeing the patient repeating any abnormal findings to rule out user error. Any delay in care will be minimal, but if an adverse event occurs from that delay, the NP could ultimately find themselves in a negligence or malpractice suit, depending on the event and how they respond. Ethically, the NP should have upheld the professional integrity of the practice the first time hostility in the workplace was observed. APNs are expected to demonstrate leadership abilities (Lamb et al., 2018).

Medical Director: The Medical Director is ultimately responsible for any collaborative contract between themselves and the NP and can be held liable for the same. The medical director monitors and maintains professionalism for the practice and staff. To allow this behavior to continue over the years questions their professional integrity and can result in a bad reputation and less patient satisfaction, which means less revenue. Not acting creates a culture of abuse of power and poor treatment of staff (Hodgins et al., 2020).

Practice: The practice suffers poor patient satisfaction scores, reducing reputation and revenue.

2. What strategies would you implement to prevent further episodes of potentially dangerous patient outcomes?

There are many strategies to implement to prevent poor patient outcomes; here are two for this discussion. First, a policy change describing professionalism and hostility in the workplace to include bullying and other types of incivility towards coworkers and patients could be implemented. A straightforward process of discipline can be included for severity and repeat offenses. Staff education and signature verifying they received both education and the policy should be placed in each employee file. Follow-through is essential in these matters (Hodgins et al., 2020). Second, most EHRs have alert systems for abnormal labs, vital signs, and other patient safety tools. Speaking with IT and having these alerts available to notify the providers instantly of any abnormal entry to the patient chart can be invaluable to the patient’s well-being (Rathert, 2019).

3. What leadership qualities would you apply to effect positive change in the practice? Focus on the culture of the practice.

As an NP, leadership abilities to influence positive organizational change are crucial. First, being a leader is being a mentor. Showing staff how to interact professionally with each other and the patients is essential. Leading by example shows you will also be held to the same standards everyone else is expected to show. Second, effective communication is required to communicate clear ideas and expectations. This includes active listening to encourage open communication (Ackerman, 2023). Keeping an open-door policy is helpful in facilitating this idea. Third, create a speak-up culture without fear of retaliation (Gurchiek, 2021). Allow staff to bring problems and speak up without fear of termination or other retaliation, regardless of what or who the issue may be.

References

AAMA official site – American Association of Medical Assistants. (n.d.). https://www.aama-ntl.org/

Ackerman, C. E., MA. (2023, October 31). 
Positive Leadership: 30 Must-Have Traits and Skills. PositivePsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/positive-leadership/#styles

Gurchiek, K. (2021, July 6). 5 steps HR can take to End Workplace Harassment. 
SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/hr-topics/behavioral-competencies/global-and-cultural-effectiveness/Pages/5-Steps-HR-Can-Take-to-End-Workplace-Harassment.aspx

Hodgins, M., MacCurtain, S., & Mannix‐McNamara, P. (2020). Power and inaction: why organizations fail to address workplace bullying. 
International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 
13(3), 265–290. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijwhm-10-2019-0125

Lamb, A., Martin-Misener, R., Bryant-Lukosius, D., & Latimer, M. (2018). Describing the leadership capabilities of advanced practice nurses using a qualitative descriptive study. Nursing open, 5(3), 400–413. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.150

Rathert, C., Porter, T. H., Mittler, J., & Fleig-Palmer, M. M. (2019). Seven years after Meaningful Use: Physicians’ and nurses’ experiences with electronic health records. 
Health Care Management Review, 
44(1), 30–40. https://doi.org/10.1097/hmr.0000000000000168