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MSN 612: Module 6
1. Given the patient’s high risk for suicide, what other precautions might the APN
have taken?
According to Yu et al. (2022), suicide is the second foremost source of death amongst
youths in the United States and the third source of mortality in this age group universally.
Prevention and precautions must be made in order to prevent such demise among young
adults.
Something that this certified nurse practitioner could have done differently is to
collaborate with the psychiatric collaborative care provider or even with a colleague
holding the same level of education and practicing forum. Collaboration with others by
means of asking questions or seeking additional advice could have been lifesaving in this
event. An additional precautionary measure that could have been addressed would be to
ensure that any type of access to lethal means was restricted and out of reach of the
patient through discussion with the patient’s primary caregivers. For the nurse
practitioner to simply have a brief dialogue with the patient’s parents could have meant
life over death. A third means of precaution could have been for the patient to have more
frequent follow-ups with the family practitioner to ensure that the family was involved in
the plan of care. This would be critical for the parents to monitor the patient for any
transformations in mental status, anxiety, sleeping patterns, eating habits, and mood.
These variables must be meticulously examined, and the parents could chronicle any
changes to the practitioner (King et al., 2018).
2. How strong is the families claim of malpractice? What evidence could be used to
support the four elements of their malpractice claim:
, 2
The patient’s family could have a strong case for malpractice as they are claiming the
practitioner was negligent. If the practitioner’s documentation was not up to the
expectations that are required, that could highlight negligent behavior. The practitioner’s
attention to detail, use of resources, and interdisciplinary collaborative documentation
will tell whether there was malpractice. However, there was injury that resulted from the
opioid overdose which points a strong finger in the direction of malpractice.
duty of care- The patient and practitioner had a documented six-month relationship
regarding the patient’s psychiatric well-being.
substandard care- For the patient to overdose on narcotics, continuation of suicidal
thoughts was recognizably present. The patient formulated a plan and put it into action. It
is possible that the patient was suffering from so much pain from the diagnosis of
fibromyalgia that opioid overdose seemed like the only reasonable escape.
proximate cause- This could be argued that the practitioner did not recognize impending
suicidal ideations and there was no implementation of inpatient mental health treatment
or even a medication change your adjustment which led to the demise of the patient.
injury- The patient experienced lack of oxygen to the brain and presently subsists in a
long-term care facility.
3. How might the medical outcome and legal liability of this case have been different if
the APN had consulted with a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist colleague?
The medical consequences could’ve been drastically changed if suicidal ideation was
caught prior to the endeavor of suicide. The patient may not have ended up in a long-term
care facility resulting from brain hypoxia if collaborative practices were upheld and
professional knowledge was compiled together for the betterment of the patient. As far as
MSN 612: Module 6
1. Given the patient’s high risk for suicide, what other precautions might the APN
have taken?
According to Yu et al. (2022), suicide is the second foremost source of death amongst
youths in the United States and the third source of mortality in this age group universally.
Prevention and precautions must be made in order to prevent such demise among young
adults.
Something that this certified nurse practitioner could have done differently is to
collaborate with the psychiatric collaborative care provider or even with a colleague
holding the same level of education and practicing forum. Collaboration with others by
means of asking questions or seeking additional advice could have been lifesaving in this
event. An additional precautionary measure that could have been addressed would be to
ensure that any type of access to lethal means was restricted and out of reach of the
patient through discussion with the patient’s primary caregivers. For the nurse
practitioner to simply have a brief dialogue with the patient’s parents could have meant
life over death. A third means of precaution could have been for the patient to have more
frequent follow-ups with the family practitioner to ensure that the family was involved in
the plan of care. This would be critical for the parents to monitor the patient for any
transformations in mental status, anxiety, sleeping patterns, eating habits, and mood.
These variables must be meticulously examined, and the parents could chronicle any
changes to the practitioner (King et al., 2018).
2. How strong is the families claim of malpractice? What evidence could be used to
support the four elements of their malpractice claim:
, 2
The patient’s family could have a strong case for malpractice as they are claiming the
practitioner was negligent. If the practitioner’s documentation was not up to the
expectations that are required, that could highlight negligent behavior. The practitioner’s
attention to detail, use of resources, and interdisciplinary collaborative documentation
will tell whether there was malpractice. However, there was injury that resulted from the
opioid overdose which points a strong finger in the direction of malpractice.
duty of care- The patient and practitioner had a documented six-month relationship
regarding the patient’s psychiatric well-being.
substandard care- For the patient to overdose on narcotics, continuation of suicidal
thoughts was recognizably present. The patient formulated a plan and put it into action. It
is possible that the patient was suffering from so much pain from the diagnosis of
fibromyalgia that opioid overdose seemed like the only reasonable escape.
proximate cause- This could be argued that the practitioner did not recognize impending
suicidal ideations and there was no implementation of inpatient mental health treatment
or even a medication change your adjustment which led to the demise of the patient.
injury- The patient experienced lack of oxygen to the brain and presently subsists in a
long-term care facility.
3. How might the medical outcome and legal liability of this case have been different if
the APN had consulted with a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist colleague?
The medical consequences could’ve been drastically changed if suicidal ideation was
caught prior to the endeavor of suicide. The patient may not have ended up in a long-term
care facility resulting from brain hypoxia if collaborative practices were upheld and
professional knowledge was compiled together for the betterment of the patient. As far as
