Wrong-side surgery, the Nursing Obligation

Yesterday we covered wrong-site (also called wrong-side surgery), wrong-patient and wrong-procedure surgeries and how the surgical team, the nurses, should act when the time-out or the surgical site marking doesn’t take place. Today we are going to cover unconsented surgeries and what the nurses should do. Nurses, a good friend is a nurse of mine, have a tough job. At times thankless and other times putting you in line for sainthood the nurse is on the front lines. In your hospital setting I’m not sure how the doctors treat you, but in my mind nurses deserve to have their own national holiday. Well maybe the nation would but with the nursing shortage we can’t allow nurses to take the day off. Just know we love you knowing you’re there protecting we patients.

What about the surgical team nurse?

All the nurses on the surgical team aren’t equal when it comes to seeing what is going on during the surgery. Some are closer to the surgical site than others. Not everyone gets to look and see what is going on during the operation. Of course with video display becoming a part of modern medicine the view of what is going on arguably is available to almost everyone on the surgical team that takes the time to simply look and see. That means denying the obvious is a moral question. It comes down to simple honesty. If you know the surgeon has committed an unconsented surgery and is covering it up you have an obligation to protect the current and all future patients. Simply put that means your moral obligation is to report the event (never-event) to the hospital administration.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Doc Heading to Lefty-Right K-Grade Rehab

My point is if you see or hear something that indicates an improper surgery has occurred then as part of the medical team treating the patient it’s your legal obligation to treat only the patients medical problems consented to. So like the situation discussed yesterday the nursing staff has reason and a legal obligation to act. The patients need to know we can count on you. Even if that means angering the surgeon over demanding a time-out, or marking the surgical site or reporting unconsented surgeries.

If the surgeon, the head nurse and the hospital administration won’t act based on what you reported then see a lawyer just to know you’ve done everything in your power to protect the citizen patients in your care. Should the surgeon later be sued you can say you acted ethically, legally and morally.

Nursing Professionalism and Ethical Issues