Assignment task:
Ms Smithfield administered a child with the Inactivated poliovirus vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio (dTpa- IPV ) in January. She informed the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR) that the vaccine had been given, but incorrectly stated on clinic records the vaccine given was MMR for measles, mumps and rubella. Ms Smithfield administered the IPV vaccine for a second time when the child returned to the clinic weeks later, but the MMR vaccine was never injected. The ACIR contacted the child's parents about the vaccine months later.
When questioned about the discrepancy, Ms Smithfield "falsified the records of 17 patients to cover up her own mistake"."If this had not been discovered, the child would have remained unprotected against the diseases that the MMR guards against," the judgement said. "The child's parents would have been deceived into thinking that the child was properly immunised when that was not the case."
A similar course of events was found to have taken place in the cases of two other children, who also had their records altered to hide the fact they had not received the MMR vaccine. In the separate case of another child, Ms Smithfield administered only half of the correct dosage of flu vaccine and again changed the patient's records to hide the error.
After two adult patients suffered adverse reactions to immunisations, Ms Smithfield altered their records to reflect that she had washed her hands before administering the vaccine and asked the patients to remain at the clinic for monitoring.
The clinic said it has taken steps to ensure, as far as possible, that any concerns about patient vaccines have now been followed up.
Tribunal outcome
Ms Smithfield has been banned from providing health services for 15 years
Part 1:
Registered nurses, enrolled nurses, and midwives are responsible for making professional judgments about when an activity is within their scope of practice and, when it is not, for initiating consultation and collaboration with, or referral to, other healthcare team members.
Differentiate and critically discuss the ethical, legal and clinical issues that is associated with the Ms Smithfield? Identify and integrate the relevant Codes of practice and the Australian Registered Nurses' Standards of Practice that aims to prevent these events throughout the discussion.
Determine and discuss how the registered nurses' values and attitudes impact their responsibilities in keeping patients safe.
* You are expected to support this section with quality scholarly journals, books, policies & professional standard references applicable to the Australian context in APA Version 7 Style in-text and end referencing list.
Part 2 - Recorded Reflection
Through an audio recording, reflect on how Ms Smithfields' story impacts you and your values, beliefs and attitudes about your future role as a Registered Nurse and your strategies in safeguarding patient care.
Within this, present professional practice challenges that may arise within the nursing practice; What do you believe are the most important ways to demonstrate your integrity as a health professional? And how will you evaluate your professional practice and your professional identity?
Referencing the audio recording - Identify the reflection references separately to your written reference list with an additional heading; Reflection references