Assignment task:
Here is a Discussion from a Peer, Could you make a Peer review for this Discussion. dont forget in-text citations and references.
In your reply post, do a reflection on this student's discussion post and address the following prompts and questions:
Describe what you found most interesting and explore how the case can impact your nursing practice.
Peer Discussion
Premature Newborn: Court Accepts Expert's Opinion On Nurse's Duty To Advocate.
The legal case I choose to select is about a premature infant born at 34 weeks. The hospital the newborn was born at did not have a NICU. The infant wasn't transferred to another hospital. The infant was put in the hospital nursery and was supposed to be monitored. The baby was holding good oxygen saturation and other vital signs. There was no documentation for a thirteen-hour period that the infant was checked on. The infant's oxygen saturation was dropping and holding around 85% oxygen saturation. The infant should have been transferred to a NICU center, with nurses who specialize in premature births. Infant's lungs aren't fully developed till closer to 38 weeks' gestation. The downward spiral in the newborn's respiratory status would have been revealed to caregivers if the nurses had been obtaining oxygen saturations on the virtually continuous basis, according to the family's expert, that is required for a newborn premature infant. This case shows signs of negligence and possible abandonment. (Catalano, 2019) The negligence is not having the infant transferred to a hospital that is capable of caring for premature babies. The abandonment is not having any supporting documentation that the infant wasn't cared for, for thirteen hours. ("Premature Newborn" (2023) p.1)
The child has profound deficits related to cerebral palsy that stems from oxygen deprivation due to untreated respiratory distress in the first hours of life in the hospital's well-baby unit rather than an intensive care unit in another, more suitable facility. There is no documented outcome for the court case. This could have been prevented if the newborn was transferring to an appropriate hospital, equipped with a NICU. This also could have been prevented if there were continuous vitals taken on the baby. ("Premature Newborn" (2023) p.1)
Reference:
Catalano, J. T. (2019). Nursing now: Today's Issues, Tomorrows Trends. F.A. Davis.
Premature Newborn: Court Accepts Expert's Opinion On Nurse's Duty To Advocate. (2023, July) Legal Eagle Eye Newsletter