Does the ability to practice legally in an area differ from the ability to practice competently in that area?

Module 7: Personality Disorders & Crisis
Interventions
Answer the
Critical Thinking questions below. Remember that saying how the management
should respond doesn’t answer the question.

One day, Linda arrives at work on the behavioral care
unit. She is informed that the staffing office has requested that a nurse from
the psychiatric unit report to the intensive care unit (ICU). They need help in
caring for an agitated car accident victim with a history of schizophrenia.
Linda goes to the ICU and joins a nurse named Corey in
providing care for the patient. Eventually, the patient is stabilized and goes
to sleep, and Corey leaves the unit for a break. Because Linda is unfamiliar
with the telemetry equipment, she fails to recognize that the patient is having
an arrhythmia, and the patient experiences a cardiopulmonary arrest. Although
he is successfully resuscitated, he suffers permanent brain damage.
a. Can
Linda legally practice in this situation? (That is, does her RN license permit
her to practice in the intensive care unit?)
b. Does
the ability to practice legally in an area differ from the ability to practice
competently in that area?
c. Did
Linda have any legal or ethical grounds to refuse the assignment to the
intensive care unit?
d. What
are the risks in accepting an assignment in an area of specialty in which you
are professionally unprepared to practice?
e. Would
there have been any way for Linda to minimize the risk of retaliation by the
employer had she refused the assignment?
f. If
Linda is negligent, is the hospital liable for any harm to the patient caused
by her?

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