Jessa Marie P. Sabio th 4 year
The Lorenza Somera Case SUMMARY:
She was found guilty of Negligent homicide, As the head Nurse was ordered by the Operating Surgeon to prepare 10% cocaine with adrenaline for administrating to a Tonsillectomy patient, which she did and even confimed it back to the surgeon, The order should have been 10% procaine (not Cocaine), anyway the patient went into shock and died, the case was that with her training she should have known the mistake and so she was negligent.
REACTION:
In my ruling, both Nurse Somera and Dr. Favis are responsible Anastacia Clemente’s death. Dr. Favis flaw in this case was that he ordered the wrong medication and as testified by student nurse Montinola, he worsened his error by confirming his wrong order after being asked by Ms.Somera. Though Ms. Somera followed her nursing responsibilities by the book, she still lacked something. Obviously the order was questionable, and she did her role by confirming the order but as someone who took up years to gain the title nurse, she had a lot of OR experiences, and surely in the past none of them involved cocaine used as a local anesthetic. She should have at least commented to Dr. Favis something like “I’ve never seen cocaine used as an anesthetic in the OR before. Is this a new addition doc?” or “This is a commonly abused drug right doc? I should be careful. To gain the physician’s attention. She should not have carried the orders unless they are written in the chart. That way she could have her proof and defense. But the thing is, when health professionals, talk, order, confirm information in the field, we must listen and listen well. When we do something, we should focus on the job at hand and leave all worries and preoccupations behind. don’t think, I know that it was very unfair. In the In terms of the court ruling, I don’t first place, it was Dr. Favis who gave the order. If you were to stick to the rules and leave out the fact that the order was only verbal, the nurse had done her job of receiving the order and confirming it. Thus the main culprit is the surgeon. The court What’s should have sentenced both persons, with more weight to the surgeon. What’s frustrating about this case is the fact that it was not mainly Ms. Somera’s Somera’s fault, she had much lesser salary, she had just started her career, but she gets all the blame while the surgeon goes free unscathed.
NURSING JURISPRUDENCE Philippine Nursing Act of 2002 (RA 9173) Summary:
The Board is now composed of a Chairman and six members instead. Qualifications of Board Members is not limited to registered nurses with Master’s degree in nursing but also to registered nurses with master’s degrees in education, or o ther allied medical profession provided that the Chairperson and majority of the members are holders of a Master’s degree in nursing o Of the ten years of continuous practice of the profession prior to appointment, the last five (5) years must be in the Philippines. Licensure Examination and Registration shall be taken within two (2) years after the last failed examination. Revocation and Suspension of Certificate of Registration: Implementing Rules and Regulations, Code of Ethics, Code of Technical Standards, for Nursing Practice and policies of the Board and of the Commission o Added: Sec. 28g for practicing the profession during the period of suspension o Period of Suspension of the certificate of registration/professional license not to exceed four (4) years. Nursing Practice o Scope of Nursing – Duties and responsibilities of the Nurse Deleted: Special training for intravenous injections but Nursing Service Administrators still require formal training for the safety of the patient and the protection of the nurse and of the institution. Special training for suturing the Lacerated perineum. Observe the Code of Ethics and the Code of Technical Standards to maintain competence through continual professional education. Health human resource production and Utilization additions o Comprehensive Nursing Specialty Program. The Board is mandated to formulate and develop a comprehensive nursing specialty program that would upgrade the level of skills and competency of specialty nurse clinicians in the country. Reaction:
Our profession as a nurse is guided by a strong set of laws and rules approved by the national government for us to base our policies in. Nurses should be familiar with what these laws hold and what they can do to help us function fully and legally and as an effective nurse in the hospital, in the community or in any setting which our profession requires practice. Here in the Philippines, nurses are not affected by the medical malpractice however such acts are still accountable against the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002 R.A. 9173. Many of us heard about medical practice acts and the people who are being affected. First, the physician, and next the nurses, the main focus of this article are the nurses. The scope of nursing defines the nursing responsibilities and duties of a Registered Nurse within the Philippine territory. This includes responsibilities of nurses for clients in different life spans and in any health care setting, may it be in the hospital or in the community.
