Resident Rights in Long Term Care Facilities free essay sample

Resident Rights in Long Term Care Facilities GEN/200 August 22nd, 2011 Resident Rights in Long Term Care Facilities A number of people in society feel that as people begin to age that they need to be placed into a long term care facility. While some caregivers believe that residents should have limited rights, resident rights are a necessity in a long term care setting and incorporate values and ethics. Resident rights provide privacy and confidentiality for the resident they promote quality of life and set standard rules for a caregiver to follow. In a professional setting such as a long term care facility, professional values and ethics are an absolute necessity. Sometimes the definition of values and ethics is unclear. Professional values and ethics are a set of moral principles and standards of conduct, supporting the moral prestige of professional groups in society. The tasks of professional ethics are to identify moral standards and assessments, judgments and concepts, and characterize people as representatives of a particular profession. Professional ethics develop norms, standards, and requirements that are typical to certain activities. There are many types of professional ethics; some being: medical ethics, educational ethics, scholar ethics, entrepreneur ethics, engineer ethics and more. The different ethics are determined by the customs of the activity and have their own specific requirements (Professional Ethics Report, 2009) In a long term care facility, resident rights provide guidelines for the residents, the care givers, visitors, and everyone else involved. Within the rights, the most important are the ones that benefit the residents as they are the main subject in the matter. Listed below are the main and most important resident rights that are followed in a long term care facility: †¢Privacy: You have the right to privacy, and to keep and use your personal belongings and property as long as it doesnt interfere with the rights, health, or safety of others. †¢The Right to Privacy and Confidentiality, including the right to: oPrivate and unrestricted communication with any person of their choice; oPrivacy in treatment and in the care of their personal needs; oConfidentiality regarding their medical, personal, or financial affairs. †¢Resident Rights promote Quality of Life oQuality of Life The Nursing Home Reform Law requires each nursing home to â€Å"care for its residents in such a manner and in such an environment as will promote maintenance or enhancement of the quality of life of each resident. † This requirement emphasizes dignity, choice, and self-determination for residents. oMedical Care: You have the right to be informed about your medical condition, medications, and to see you own doctor. You also have the right to refuse medications and treatments. †¢Resident Rights provide Protection and Respect for the Resident oRespect: You have the right to be treated with dignity and respect. The Right to Dignity, Respect, and Freedom, including the right to:  · Be treated with the fullest measure of consideration, respect, and dignity;  · Be free from mental and physical abuse, corporal punishment, involuntary seclusion, and physical and chemical restraints;  · Self-determination. oServices and Fees: You must be informed in writing about services an d fees before you enter the nursing home oHumanization: -Elderly person has his or her interest, abilities, and desires regardless of age, sex, color, ethnicity (Residents’ rights in nursing home, 1999). Aside from rights for the resident, there are also guidelines for the caregivers to follow. They are to follow the resident rights and respect and treat each resident equally. It is very important that Certified Nurses and Certified Nurse Assistants are following the resident rights and the company’s professional values and ethics so that they are able to work as well as possible from day to day without compromising themselves, other residents, or the facility that they work within. Over attachment is one problem that is very important to stay away from. When a caregiver gets overly attached to a specific patient, he or she can as a result end up hurting their career, the resident they are working with as well as others, and the facility that they work in. It is important that caregivers are seen as the professional in the patient-caregiver relationship and are meant to keep only a therapeutic relationship with the patient (Professional Boundaries, 2008). There are also professional boundaries that are not meant to be crossed in a caregiver-patient setting. Professional boundaries are the spaces between the nurse’s power and the client’s vulnerability. A few are points such as; sharing personal information, emotional reactions, gifts and favors, and tone of voice (Professional Guidelines for Caregivers). The way that the caregiver handles these situations also shows how well they can work with the guidelines set forth for them. This could end up being a step in the right direction for their career as well. Professional values and ethics in the long term medical field are key, not only to the residents, but also to the caregivers and the facilities providing the care. The more that a nurse follows the values and ethics of the company the better he or she will be seen by fellow employees and residents. For example, if a family member is present during meal time and notices that the resident is not going out to the dining room for the meal. When questioned about why the resident is not going out to the table for their meal, the nurse states to that family member, â€Å"I am sorry Mrs. Smith but I am unable to give you that information at this time because you are not on the list of people who can receive this information†. Mrs. Smith demands to know the information so the nurse asks her to step out. Mrs. Smith steps out of the room. The nurse talks with the resident and explains to the resident that his sister-in-law is demanding to know why he is not going to meals in the dining room. The resident stated, â€Å"I don’t care if she knows why I am not going out there, you go ahead and tell her†. Mrs. Smith is invited back into the room and the nurse explains that the resident has requested not to go out at meal times because he is currently being feed by tube. The nurse used professional ethics by protecting the resident’s privacy and confidentiality. The nurse has now protected the resident, the facility, and the nurse herself. The above example would be the ideal situation, but professional ethics are unfortunately not always followed. For example, it is time for the morning medication pass. The nurse approaches, Jane Doe and tells her that she has her medication. Jane asks the nurse if her morphine pill is in the medicine cup. The nurse replies with â€Å"yes, it is†. Jane states to the nurse â€Å"well, take it out because I don’t want it, it makes me dizzy and I am afraid I am going to fall†. The nurse replies with â€Å"Jane, you have to take your morphine, you will be in pain and it is not an option†. Jane and the nurse go back and forth for a while and the nurse says â€Å"okay Jane, I will go take it out†. The nurse returns and Jane takes her pills. After the nurse walks away she stops to talk to John, another resident in the long term care facility. The nurse then proceeds to tell John that Jane did not want to take her morphine so I pretended to take it out but she really took it. John and the nurse laugh and both continue on with their day. Not only did the nurse violate privacy and confidentiality; resident rights were also violated. The resident has the right to refuse medication and has the right to privacy and confidentiality. This was detrimental to the resident who was deceived and also for the facility. This could also potentially cause the nurse her job. It is essential that professional values and ethics are followed along with resident rights. It is essential that professional values and ethics are followed along with resident rights. Although some caregivers believe that residents should have limited rights, resident rights are a necessity in a long term care setting for three main reasons. First, resident rights provide privacy and confidentiality for the resident. They promote quality of life and set standard rules for a caregiver to follow. Professional values and ethics are incorporated in the standard rules and ensure that the resident is receiving the highest level of care possible. References (April 2008). Professional boundaries. Message posted to http://nursingassistants. net/2008/04/02/professional-boundaries/ (n. d). Professional boundaries for caregivers. Retrieved from https://docs. google. com/a/email. phoenix. edu/viewer? a=v=gmail=0. 1=131df7c7b7e5bde3=application/pdf=https://mail. google. com/mail/? ui%3D2%26ik%3D0a0fef232c%26view%3Datt%26th%3D131df7c7b7e5bde3%26attid%3D0. 1%26disp%3Dsafe%26zw=AHIEtbRKMjO4p5_iGIwzroxHheIoOQxMaQ Professional Ethics Report (Volume XXII, Number 3, Summer 2009). Retrieved from http://www. aaas. org/spp/sfrl/per/newper Residents’ rights in nursing homes (1999). [Online Forum Comment]. Retrieved from http://www. justice4all. org/files/Fact%20Sheet%20on%20Residents%20Rights. pdf