Reference no: EM133855853

Assignment:

Kelly, RN is a surgical nurse on an orthopedic unit. Mrs. Bend is transferred to the unit at 3pm after having a right knee replacement. The knee dressing is saturated when she arrives and the recovery room nurse reports that the surgeon is aware that the dressing is saturated and vital signs are stable. Kelly, RN is aware that most patients have oozing after this operation and reinforces the dressing per post-operative orders.

At 5pm vital signs remain stable but the reinforced dressing is also saturated and more serosanquineous drainage is on the bed linen. Kelly, RN calls the surgeon to report her concern regarding the large amount of bleeding but the surgeon reassures her that this is normal and to continue to monitor the patient. Kelly, RN reassesses and reinforces the dressing.

At 6pm and 7pm Kelly, RN reports to the surgeon that the bleeding seems excessive. She also informs the surgeon that the patient's heart rate has increased from 80 to 105 beats /minute in the past 2 hours. Again, the surgeon reassures her and tells her to closely monitor the patient.

By 8:30pm, the bleeding continues and Kelly, RN must use a Doppler to obtain a blood pressure of 60 and the heart rate is 130 beats/minutes. She calls a Rapid Response.

It is later determined that Mrs. Bend is in hypovolemic shock from a bleed from the popliteal artery and is transferred to operating room.

Questions:

1. Is there evidence of professional negligence (malpractice) in this case?

2. At what point could the nurse and or surgeon modified their actions to reduce the probability of a negative outcome (mitigate the situation)?

"Five Elements Necessary to Prove Negligence" to determine whether this nurse and/or surgeon is guilty of malpractice. All five elements must be present for a professional to be held liable for malpractice.