When a competent client wants to leave the hospital against medical advice, the essential action for the nurse is to ensure that the health care provider explains the risks of leaving, thus upholding the client's autonomy and decision-making capacity.
Ensuring Continuity of Care: When a competent client wishes to leave the hospital against medical advice, ensuring that the health care provider explains the risks of leaving is essential. This step helps the client make an informed decision about their health.
Decision-Making and Autonomy: In this scenario, respecting the client's autonomy is crucial. By providing relevant information through the healthcare provider, the nurse supports the client's right to make decisions about their own health.
Risk Communication: Effective patient care involves communicating potential risks associated with leaving against medical advice, ensuring the client understands the consequences of their choice.
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Answer:
Option 4, Ensure the health care provider explains the risks of leaving the hospital to the client
Explanation:
Competent patients are allowed to leave the hospital whenever they please, full stop. This is because, though the healthcare professionals such as the nurses and nurse aids may urge the patient to stay due to the progress of their treatment, they must also acknowledge and respect the patient's right to their autonomy -- that is, the patient is the utmost person in charge of their care.
It is unethical to inform a patient that they are not allowed to leave if they are competent enough to understand the risks. Of course, it would also be unethical to not accept and treat the patient should they return for the same condition or a different ailment. So if the patient wants to leave against medical advice (AMA), the staff must let this happen.
The most essential aspect of patient care is safety. Thus, as mentioned above, the best step the nurse can take to honor caring for the safety of the patient is to ensure that the risks of leaving AMA are explained to them. Whether it is the healthcare provider or the nurse themselves someone must explain to the patient all of the common things that can go wrong should they decide to leave.
For example, a patient with an infected open wound leaving AMA without finishing the course of antibiotics risks further infection, due to unsanitary techniques being used around the wound bed or potentially be antibiotic-resistant pathogens; and or wound dehiscence.
Therefore, the most important action for the nurse to take is making sure the patient knows the risk of leaving, option 4.