Tuma Vs. Board of Nursing

Scenario:

I have read the case of Tuma Vs. Board of Nursing, 1979. After reviewing the case I have composed reasonable answers to the following 4 questions.

Question 1:

What, if anything, did the nurse do wrong?

Answer:

The only thing the nurse did in this case was not communicating the patient’s concerns and what was discussed with the physician. What happened in this case did not interfere with the patient-physician relationship at all. The patient asked a question which is her right and as a provider it is her obligation to give the information to the patient.

Question 2:

Has the nurse moved beyond her scope of practice?

Answer:

Under Chapter 326-B of the Nurse Practice Act, the nurse in this case did not go beyond her scope of practice. One section did catch my attention in regards to this case. Under this act a nurse shall provide health teaching and counseling to promote, attain, and maintain the optimum health level of clients, families, groups, and communities. I truly believe that this is really what the nurse was doing.

Question 3:

Could the nurse’s conduct be justified under the patient advocate portion of her role?

Answer:

As an educator her conduct can be justified under the patient advocate portion of her role. As a patient advocate she possibly could have saved her life we will never know because the chemotherapy was the only treatment according to the doctor and she died. Many of the code of ethics for nurses state that they act as a patient advocate. They also have obligations to the