...Ethics Case Study Jessica Bamsey HCS 335 March 19, 2012 Robert Vella Ethics Case Study The case study described below is one of different opinions. The views explained are those of mine. Someone else may have a different view, which is perfectly normal. This is a case of legal issues and ethical issues. Knowing how to handle oneself in this scenario is critical so that they will not make mistakes when they are put into this situation. The situation involves a medical assistant who is the only person in the office when a patient calls and wants a refill called into the pharmacy. The prescription was for Valium so that he could get on an airplane. The assistant should not call in the order. Jerry’s medical training does not qualify him to refill this order. There are several reasons he is not qualified. One reason is because he is not a doctor. Doctors are the only ones that can prescribe and order refills on prescriptions. Another reason is because is the guy a patient of Dr. Williams or just a personal friend whom he gives medications to. When a person is a medical assistant or an LPN they are there to assist the doctor with taking vitals, discovering why the patient has come to the office, answer phones when necessary, and give shots. They cannot write prescriptions or call them in. It does not matter if it is for a blood pressure medication needed on a daily basis or not. The same rules apply. There are reasons only a doctor can prescribe medication. The reasons...
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...Jerry McCall Ethics Case Study Overview This is an USA pseudo-case diverged from the following Medical and Ethics Textbook case study in Ch. 4 of Medical Law and Ethics that gives insight to medical – ethics and their applications (Fremgen, 2010, p. 85). Jerry McCall is Dr. Williams’s office assistant. He has received professional training as both a medical assistant and an LPN. He is handling all the phone calls while the receptionist is at lunch. A patient calls and says he must have a prescription refill for Valium and that the provider, a friend, calls in the medication prior to any flights. This type of request happens often and in slightly different scenarios, but the outcome should remain the same to avoid ethical and legal issues. This paper will review the case study to help resolve the problem, the ethics involved, and the medical responsibility to refilling a prescription without provider authorization. Qualified Medical Training Understanding the definitions of a licensed practical nurse, LPN, and a medical assistant, MA is the first step to making a factual conclusion for this case study. Support staff to the provider cannot make decisions about medication refills for patients without a direct order from the provider. This action is outside the scope of practice for an LPN or MA. Licensed Practical Nurse An LPN is a role in support of the nurse or RN, a registered Nurse usually in a skilled nursing setting such as a hospital or long-term care facility...
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...Ethics Case Study JoAnn DiAntonio HCS/335 October 7, 2013 Claudia Unrein Abstract This paper will discuss the ethical dilemmas faced by some health care providers in the performance of their daily tasks. In this paper we will discuss the case of Jerry McCall, an office assistant working for a private physician, Dr. Williams. Jerry is also certified as a medical assistant and an LPN. Jerry receives a phone call from one of Dr. William’s patients while he is covering the telephones for the receptionist. The patient requests a refill for his Valium prescription because he is in the airport waiting for a flight. He is a personal friend of Dr. Williams and tells Jerry he always calls in a small supply of Valium when he has to fly. Jerry is alone in the office at the time of the call (Fremgen, 2009). What can Jerry do? Scope of Practice Although Jerry works as an office assistant, he is also trained as a medical assistant (MA) and a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), neither of these positions allow him to issue a refill order for any medication, especially a Level IV controlled substance. In their scope of practice medical assistants are not allowed to independently prescribe medications, give out medication samples, or refill prescription requests except under the direct supervision and order of a physician (Buppert, 2008). Licensed Practical Nurses may not call a prescription, including a prescription to refill or extend a prescription, to a pharmacy that has...
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...Ethics Case Study XXXXXXXXXX HCS/335 May 2, 2011 Beryl Keegan, RN, BSN, MSN/HCE, CCRN, CLNC Ethics Case Study "Jerry McCall is Dr. William's office assistant. He has received professional training as both a medical assistant and a LPN. He is handling all the phone calls while the receptionist is at lunch. A patient calls and says he must have a prescription refill for Valium, an antidepressant medication, called in right away to his pharmacy, since he is leaving for the airport in thirty minutes. He says that Dr. Williams is a personal friend and always gives him a small supply of Valium when he has to fly. No one except Jerry is in the office at this time. What should he do" (Fremgen, 2009, p. 85)? Medical ethics is a subject open to much interpretation and is prone to many grey area's without definite answers. In the case of Jerry McCall, Medical Assistant, Licensed Practical Nurse and Office Assistant the rationale, ethical and legal, for not refilling a prescription without physician consent are justified. If Mr. McCall chooses to refill the unauthorized prescription and the patient has an adverse reaction, his employer, Dr. William's can be held legally responsible for the committed tort even though he is personally without fault (Regan & Regan, 2002). Ethical and legal ramifications are at stake; using effective problem-solving methods to assist with decision making can help to avert a problematic outcome. Qualifications Required for Authorizing Prescriptions ...
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...Ethics Case Study 1 Lynette A. Volk HCS/335 March 31st, 2-14 Beryl Keegan Abstract Jerry McCall is an employee in a medical office for a Dr. Williams and is professionally trained as both a medical assistant and as a licensed practical purse. While Jerry is alone in the office and the receptionist is at lunch, a patient calls and is requesting a refill for an antidepressant medication, Valium, and states he needs the refill right away, as he is leaving for the airport in 30 minutes. The patient is stating that the doctor is a personal friend of his and that the doctor always orders him a small supply before flying. Jerry must wrestle with the ethical dilemma of what he wants to do and what is legally and ethically the correct thing to do. This paper will determine that Jerry is not legally qualified to refill the valium, or any other medication as it is not within his scope of practice. Ethics Case Study 1 Jerry McCall’s professional training as an LPN and medical assistant does not qualify him to refill the valium order for a patient because it isn’t within a medical assistant’s or an LPN’s scope of practice. Only a physician or physician’s assistant can prescribe and refill prescriptions because they are trained to do so. Jerry has been formally trained and therefore knows what he is not qualified to refill any medications, especially valium, a antidepressant and a controlled substance. It doesn’t make a difference whether it was controlled substance, a blood...
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...Ethics Case Study: Jerry McCall Evanie N Williams HCS/335 December 31, 2013 University Of Phoenix Ethics Case Study It’s important that those who work in the medical field know their scope of practice and keep within their professions guidelines. The following case study will discuss an issue a medical assistant/LPN has encountered during his shift at Dr. Williams’s office and why the assistant must act under his scope of practice. Case: Jerry McCall is Dr. Williams’s office assistant. He has received professional training as both a medical assistant and a LPN. He is handling all the phone calls while the receptionist is at lunch. A patient calls and says he must have a prescription refill for Valium, an antidepressant medication, called in right away to his pharmacy, since he is leaving for the airport in thirty minutes. He says that Dr. Williams is a personal friend and always gives him a small supply of Valium when he has to fly. No one except Jerry is in the office at this time. 1) Dose Jerry’s medical training qualify him to issue this refill order? Why or why not? No, Jerry’s medical training does not qualify him to issue refills on the patient’s Valium order. Jerry McCall is both a medical assistant and an LPN (license practical nurse) neither certificate nor license grants the ability to write prescriptions. Medical assistants are unlicensed health care personnel that can only preform non-invasive technical support under the supervision of a licensed...
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...Managing Human Resources for Health in India A case study of Madhya Pradesh & Gujarat 2007 Central Bureau of Health Intelligence Directorate General of Health services Ministry of Health & Family Welfare Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi – 110011 Website: www.cbhidghs.nic.in, www.prodindia.nic.in Email: dircbhi.nb.nic In collaboration with WHO - India Country Office Managing Human Resources for Health in India A case study of Gujarat & Madhya Pradesh October 2007 Central Bureau of Health Intelligence, Dte.GHS, MoHFW, GOI In collaboration with World Health Organisation - India Country Office The Report on Managing Human Resources in India may be freely reviewed, abstracted, reproduced or translated, in part or whole, but is not for sale or for use in conjunction with commercial purposes. Any relevant enquiry may be addressed to the office of Director, Central Bureau of Health Intelligence, Directorate General of Health Services, 401, A-wing, Nirman Bhavan, New Delhi 110011(India). © Central Bureau of Health Intelligence, Dte. General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India. 2007 Technical Support: Advent Healthcare Group 102, Tribhuvan Complex, Mathura Road, New Delhi 110065 (India) Tel: 91-11-65689631, 26312631 Email: info@adventhcg.com 2 Table of Contents Foreword ............................................................................................................. 5 Preface ........................................
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...Complications for Medical Advice from Office Staff Andrea Sammut University of Phoenix Healthcare Ethics and Social Responsibility: HCS /335 March 28, 2011 Jodie Ausloos Potential Ethical Complications for Medical Advice from Office Staff Jerry is a medical assistant who is also and LPN (licensed practical nurse). Jerry is an employee of Dr. Williams’ a licensed medical doctor. Jerry’s responsibilities include administrative as well as patient-oriented tasks such as taking medical history and vitals. Jerry also shared the administrative during such as answering the phones. In this case study Jerry is alone in the office without the supervision of Dr. Williams. Jerry receives a call from a patient who also claims to be a friend of Dr. Williams requesting a refill on his prescription for Valium, a controlled anti-depressant medication. Jerry must make a decision on how to respond to the patients needs while taking legal and ethical ramifications into consideration. Medical assistant and LPN Qualifications and Responsibilities Jerry is a medical assistant and a licensed practical nurse (LPN.) A LPN is generally a bedside nurse performing duties such as checking vital signs, administering injections, wound care, enemas, and catheters. LPN’s also gather information; update patient files with current conditions as well as medical history. Medical assistants have similar duties and LPN’s. Administrative tasks are often included in the duties many medical assistants which...
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...Ethics Case Study Heather Holcomb University of Phoenix Ethics: Health Care and Social Responsibility HCS 335 Deborah Laughon RN BSN MS DBA January 23, 2012 Ethics Case Study Case Study Jerry McCall is Dr. William’s office assistant. He has received professional training as both a medical assistant and a LPN. He is handling all the phone calls while the receptionist is at lunch. A patient calls and says he must have a prescription refill for Valium, an antidepressant mediation, called in right away to his pharmacy, since he is leaving for the airport in thirty minutes. He says that Dr. Williams is a personal friend and always gives him a small supply of Valium when he has to fly. No one except Jerry is in the office at this time. What should he do? (Fremgen, 2009). Overview Health care providers are faced with making difficult ethical decisions everyday. Moral and value systems influence the ethical decision process, but the law and licensure regulations do as well. This case study is an example of a potential ethical dilemma and a possible breach of the law. The following questions will be explored: 1. Does Jerry’s medical training qualify him to issue this refill order? 2. Would it make a difference if the medication is for controlling high blood pressure that the patient critically needs on a daily basis? 3. If Jerry calls in the refill and the patient has an adverse reaction while flying, is Jerry protected from a lawsuit under the doctrine of respondent...
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...An Ethical Case Study: Jerry McCall Heather Sewell HCS335 November 4, 2013 Susan Kajfasz An Ethical Case Study: Jerry McCall The Jerry McCall case study involves a health care worker who is a medical assistant and LPN and b faces a legal and ethical decision when a patient insists on a prescription of Valium while Jerry is in the office alone. Jerry must decide how to provide the patient with what he needs while maintaining the law and his ethical values. Jerry McCall, although he received professional training as a medical assistant and an LPN, is not qualified to refill a prescription for a patient. According to New York State Law, LPNs are not allowed to work independently. The law “requires LPNs to practice under the direction of a registered professional nurse, nurse practitioner, physician, dentist, physician assistant, specialist assistant, podiatrist, or midwife” (Office of the Professions, n.d.). Jerry is aware of the rules and regulations concerning prescriptions and should not be intimidated by a pushy patient. Rules and laws are in place to protect both patients from injury and health care workers from malpractice. The law covers all medications because a patient can have an adverse reaction to even a common medication which is why all prescriptions must be ordered by licensed professionals. It does not matter whether the patient requests a daily medication such as a blood pressure medication or Valium as in Jerry’s case. The only legal way that...
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...In: Other Topics Qualitative Research Study Running head: Qualitative Research Study Qualitative Research Study Grand Canyon University NRS433V 5/30/10 Qualitative Research Study Introduction The qualitative research study that I chose to critique is on infections related to Nursing home-acquired pneumonia. Pneumonia care and the nursing home: a qualitative descriptive study of resident and family member perspectives. Soo Chan Carusone,1 Mark Loeb,1,2 and Lynne Lohfeld1,3 1Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada2Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Canada 3Program for Educational Research and Development, McMaster University, Canada Corresponding author. Soo Chan Carusone: chansy@mcmaster.ca; Mark Loeb: loebm@mcmaster.ca; Lynne Lohfeld: lohfeld@mcmaster.ca Received September 19, 2005; Accepted January 23, 2006. Pneumonia is the inflammation of the lung parenchyma, build up fluid in the tissue of the lungs and then this infection spread in to whole body. The causes are mainly by Viruses, Bacteria, often caused by parasites or fungi. Pneumonia is the 5th leading cause of death in elderly. It may be unrecognized due to many factors such as it may be asymptomatic, or may be confused with other medical Pneumonia and other lower respiratory infections occur frequently among older adults residing in long-term care facilities...
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...PROJECT My personal nursing mission statement is changing and developing as my career advances, however, one core piece will remain constant. I will strive to provide the best, safest, most ethical and compassionate nursing care that I can for all patients and family members with whom I come in contact. I began my post-high school academic career as an accounting major. I enjoyed the challenge of manipulating a report until I had balanced. I thought I had found my calling. As my first semester was nearing an end, I found myself contemplating the thought of sitting behind a desk all day. I wondered if I would find fulfillment in this work as a career? The more I pondered this thought, the more I realized that this was not the right career path for me. I saw images of the medical assistant program in the catalog at the school where I was attending. I could not shake the thought of the medical field for a profession. I attained my medical assistant degree and worked in the field for 10 years. The longer I worked, the more I realized that there was more that I wanted to do, but my current degree restricted me from going further. I researched nursing school programs and selected one with a night/weekend program that would allow me to continue working full-time during my studies. I have a family that I needed to continue to provide for and this seemed to be the best fit. My nursing school decision was fortified when I was selected for an award by the nursing faculty from all...
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...Ethics Case Study Angela Gentile HCS/335 May 21, 2012 Claudia Unrein This paper is on an ethics case study, I will first explain the case study, and address why the person involved is not qualified to refill prescription medication. Also does it matter if the medication is on a daily need bases, and will that person be protected from a lawsuit? All these questions will be answered, so let me give you a little background on the case and some definition that might help you understand the circumstances. “Case Study: Jerry McCall is Dr. Williams’s office assistant. He has received professional training as both a Medical assistant and a LPN. He is handling all the phone calls while the receptionist is at lunch. A patient calls and says he must have a prescription refill for Valium, an antidepressant medication, called in right away to the pharmacy, since he is leaving for the airport in thirty minutes. He says that Dr. Williams is a personal friend and always gives him a small supply of Valium when he has to fly. No one except Jerry is in the office at this time.” (Fremgen (2009) pg.85. Definitions: “CMA, certified medical assistant, duties are grouped into two categories: administrative and clinical. Work in a variety of healthcare settings including physician’s offices, and clinics. Must graduate from an accredited program and pass a national certification exam. “LPN, licensed practical nurse, performs some of the same, but not all, tasks as the registered nurse. Must graduate...
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...Case Study of Jerry McCall Debra Dean, RN University of Phoenix HCS/335 Ethics: Health Care and Social Responsibility Instructor Katherine Rossiter Jerry McCall is an office assistant for Dr. Williams. Jerry has had training as both an LPN and medical assistant. While answering a patient call Jerry is asked to refill a patient’s valium prescription. Dr. Williams in not in the office at this time. This patient claims to be a personal friend of Dr. Williams and states that the physician always calls in a prescription for valium before he takes a trip due to his anxiety when flying and he will be leaving for the airport in thirty minutes. This poses both an ethical and legal dilemma for Jerry. Often medical assistants or office nurses are asked to call in prescriptions for the physician. This practice frees up the physician so that they may have more time to spend with patients and to tend to other duties that are required of them. The LPN may not call in a prescription including a prescription to renew or extend a medication that has not originated from the prescriber or physician ( Minnesota State Board of Nursing, n.d.). According to Drug Enforcement Administration ( 2010) “While the core responsibilities pertaining to prescribing controlled substances may not be delegated to anyone else, an individual practitioner may authorize an agent to perform a limited role in communicating such prescriptions to a pharmacy in order to make the prescription process more...
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...Professional Dynamics Diane Irby January 25, 2014 Introduction In 1860 nurse training began after the Crimean war. Florence Nightingale started the nursing program by caring for the sick, injured and dying soldiers during the war. The first nursing school was established in London. During the civil war the American women provided skilled nursing care. During world-war II they needed more nurses so an Associate’s Degree nurse program was developed. This was intended for them to work in the field of nursing as a technical nurse, assisting and working under the supervision of the professional nurse. (Creasia J., & Freiberg, E (2011). Differences in competencies between the Associate degree nurse and the Baccalaureate degree nurse There are 3 levels of nursing. 1. The diploma nurse who is trained by the hospitals this level hardly exists anymore. 2. The Associate’s degree nurse who gets the training at community colleges and Universities. They learn the technical aspects of nursing by learning the knowledge and skills needed to provide direct care to patients and families mostly in the acute care setting. 3. The baccalaureate nurse which is earned at the university. The BSN is taught the technical skills and knowledge but in more details and depth along with emphasis on assessment, research, critical thinking, Case management, Leadership and health promotion (Dianne S. Moore,PHD,RN,CNM,MN,MPH West Coast University). Research has shown that the BSN degree nurses...
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