Gonzales was admitted to a surgical center for a routine colonoscopy during which three polyps were removed.
Assignment: Routine Colonoscopy
Was the nurse negligent for unlocking the bath-room door and allowing Judy to shower by herself?
Was it below the standard of care for the nurse to leave the bathroom door unlocked when the psychiatrist came to see Judy?
How significant are the hospital policy and procedures in this instance?
How would you decide this case?
Read the case study presented at the end of Chapter 18 (Guido, p. 393)
Gonzales was admitted to a surgical center for a routine colonoscopy during which three polyps were removed. The procedure began at 11:00 a.m. and he was released at 12:30 p.m. The patient began experiencing abdominal pain the following day. He tried to phone the attending physician at 2:00 p.m. and later called the physician’s nurse at 5:00 p.m. Mr. Gonzales told the nurse he was experiencing severe abdominal pain and that he was flushed and felt he had a fever. The nurse told Mr. Gonzales that everyone had gone home for the day, and she advised him to take aspirin for the fever and call back in the morning. Mrs. Gonzales drove her husband to the hospital the following morning at 10:00 a.m. He was placed on antibiotics, which did not resolve the problem, and he had surgery on the fifth day following the original colonoscopy. At that time, it was determined that the patient’s intestine was perforated at the time of the
polyp removal, and Mr. Gonzales now has a permanent colostomy. The patient has now filed a lawsuit against the nurse and physician for malpractice.
Was the nurse negligent in the advice she gave Mr. Gonzales concerning his condition?
Did the nurse exceed her scope of practice in the advice she gave the patient?
Should the nurse have instructed Mr. Gonzales to go immediately to the local emergency center?
How would you decide this case? Who, if anyone, is liable in this case?
Read the case study presented at the end of Chapter 20 (Guido, p. 439)
Aburu, 81, with a history of cerebral vascular accidents, was hospitalized as an outpatient for a surgical procedure to incise and drain a skin lesion on his chest. After the procedure, he returned to the long-term care facility with sterile packing in the partially sutured incision site. The packing was to remain for 3 days, then be removed, and the wound covered with a dry dressing. The risk of complications for this type of surgery was considered quite low, and both the nursing home administrator and the attending surgeon saw no reason why the patient could not be adequately cared for in the nursing home immediately after surgery. A pproximately 5 hours after Mr. Aburu returned to the nursing home, blood was observed at the incision site. He was transferred back to the acute care hospital, where he died the following day. E vidence at trial showed that for the 5 hours that Mr. Aburu was at the nursing home, several licensed and unlicensed personnel attended to him. At lunchtime, two aides escorted Mr. Aburu to the dining room; lunch was about 3 hours after his return to the
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