Abrina, Mary Antonette H.

Create a max 600-word essay describing the following: (a) overview or summary of the article of your
choice, (b) ethical issues associated with the chosen trend, (c) potential solutions and or
recommendations in improving the nursing practice in reference to the topic selected.

Article: The case of RaDonda Vaught highlights a double standard for nurses and physicians
https://www.statnews.com/2022/05/13/radonda-vaught-case-double-standard-nurses-physicians/

One of the biggest issues in nursing in the recent months have been the verdict of RaDonda
Vaught, a former nurse from Tennessee, USA. RaDonda was sentenced last May to three years of
supervised probation after being convicted in March of making a fatal medication error in 2017, which
resulted in the death of a patient under her care. She gave her patient an injection of vecuronium, a
muscle relaxant that left the 75-year-old woman unable to breathe, instead of Versed, a sedative. The
hospital where she worked as an intensive care unit nurse, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, had
systems that enabled nurses to override safety measures which made them susceptible to mistakes. In
this situation, her mistake was fatal. It is argued though that RaDonda didn’t kill her patient
intentionally. Nurses from all over United States came to RaDonda’s hearing to support her since her
sentencing will set a precedence in our profession. Mistakes happen in the practice of nursing every day
and knowing that even when you don’t have an intention to kill, even if it was an accident, even if it was
due to a faulty system in the workplace, nurses will be held criminally liable for the death of a patient
and will be revoked her license and will be required to serve a sentence. Another issue being compared
to RaDonda’s is the case of William Husel, a former Ohio physician, who was acquitted of murder in April
for hastening the deaths of 14 critically ill patients under his care by ordering doses of the painkiller
fentanyl that were 10 times the amount ordinarily ordered for critically ill patients. Husel knowingly, and
with intent, ordered the inordinate dosage of medication to patients across the lifespan — from their
late 30s to their 80s — with a variety of ailments ranging from pneumonia to cancer. The difference
between these cases was that RaDonda was convicted of a crime for unintentionally killing a single
patient while Dr. Husel was acquitted for killing many patients in a span of years. We can see here
clearly the double standard present between doctors and nurses when at the end of the day, they are
both medical professionals just operating in different capacities. It is a mystery why in one situation, a
medical professional was held liable while one was set free and acquitted. What was the basis of the
court’s decision? If they have chosen to acquit Dr. Husel, why not RaDonda Vaught? They both don’t
have a clear intent to kill.

Potential solutions that I can see being done to avoid such situations is the improvement first
and foremost in the system of the health care institution. It’s sad that while the medical professionals
were brought to court, we rarely hear of the institution being held liable for the death of the patients
when they are a big part of the situation. Strict rules and accountability should be pushed to protect the
safety of nurses all around the world. For the nurses, I believe that seminars every now and then to
remind them of proper hospital routines should be done since to remind them of the hazards that entail
the profession so as not to repeat the mistakes that other nurses have done before. It’s sad that a
double standard exists in our profession but it is a reality we have to face. As a future nurse, I will always
remind myself that patient safety comes first and to not make shortcuts in the area. In that way I protect
both myself and the patient.