Regulation of APN and scope of practice. Whistle blowing significance in nursing leadership. According to Jackson et al, (2014), whistle blowing as a nursing leader can also be more than just a nurse reporting a concern. According to these authors, there are very few documented cases where nursing leaders have raised eyebrows in their professional careers, even when there are unethical issues in their working environments. Kaufman (2012) is of the perception that all ethically sound nursing leaders are legally and morally justified to disclose any unethical issues that may happen in their places of work.
However, there is very little evidence supporting ethically sound disclosures made by legally and morally justified professionals (Transparency International, 2014). Nursing leaders are expected to improve the patients’ outcomes, delivering requisite changes without any repercussions. According to Marquis & Huston (2015), medical managers’ past failures, and that of the DH to show moral leadership and whistleblowers support makes it unlikely that they will be in vanguard of change. They argue that financial goals emphasis, lack of commitment towards the outcomes of care, and unethical leaders are the major deterrents towards whistle blowing in nursing. Leach & FarLand (2014) are also of the perceptions that if medical managers’ upheld a sound code of ethics, it would encourage all parties in healthcare maintain the same level of professionalism.
Whistle blowing in nursing is commonly applied in different situations in healthcare, which include, but are not limited to;
- Requesting clinical outcomes review of a whole department.
- In case of the need to provide adequate nursing resources by reporting on the failure in systemic trust.
- Reporting and anticipating of a single catastrophic event.
- Poor clinical outcomes review which involve a single individual over a period of time.
Ramification in nursing leadership
According to Astron Solutions (2010) whistle blowing in nursing can play a significant role in quality health care delivery. However, there are also several ramifications surrounding the ideology. For instance, the situational controversies surrounding whistle blowing can result in isolation, distrust and segregation in regards to the employees in the organization (Hooper, 2011). For instance, individuals who lie on the job or even omit some important information in the job applications may also find themselves subject to the legal consequences as is stipulated by the law. Taking a common example of lying in the nursing application, an individual who makes this mistake may find him/herself detained. Such a situation discourages colleagues to raise the issue with the management or the senior official in an organization, protecting such a disgruntled individual. This is as a result of peoples’ lives being placed in their hands and for committing ethical violations which are against the profession.
References
Astron Solutions. (2010). The importance of whistle blowing. Retrieved from http://www.astronsolutions.net/the-importance-of-whistle-blowing/
Hooper, S. (2011). Understanding the ethics of whistleblowing by nurses. Journal of The Australasian Rehabilitation Nurses\’ Association (JARNA), 14(3). Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Jackson, D., Hickman, L. D., Hutchinson, M., Andrew, S., Smith, J., Potgieter, I., & … Peters, K. (2014). Whistleblowing: An integrative literature review of data-based studies involving nurses. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal for the Australian Nursing Profession, 48(2), 240-252.doi:10.5172/conu.2014.48.2.240
Jackson, D., Peters, K., Hutchinson, M., Edenborough, M., Luck, L., & Wilkes, L. (2011). Exploring confidentiality in the context of nurse whistle blowing: Issues for nurse managers. Journal of Nursing Management, 19(5), 655-663. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2834.2010.01169.x
Kaufman, B. (2012). Anatomy of dysfunctional working relationships. Business Strategy Series, 13(2). Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Leach, L. S., & McFarland, P. (2014). Assessing the Professional Development Needs of Experienced Nurse Executive Leaders. Journal of Nursing Administration, 44(1). doi:10.1097/NNA.0000000000000021
Mansbach, A., & Bachner, Y. (2010). Internal or external whistle blowing: Nurses\’ willingness to report wrongdoing. Nursing Ethics, 17(4), 483-490. doi:10.1177/0969733010364898
Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2015). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins.
Transparency International. (2014). Best practices and challenges for whistleblowing systems in multinational companies. Retrieved from: http://www.transparency.org/files/content/corruptionqas/Best_practice_and_challenges_for_whistleblowing_systems_in_multinational_companies_2014.pdf
