Which of the following actions would most likely promote interprofessional collaboration in a healthcare team?

Rationale:

A. Delegating the task to a nursing assistant without supervision is incorrect because delegation does not absolve the nurse of accountability. The nurse remains responsible for ensuring safe and appropriate medication administration and must provide proper oversight.

B. Relying solely on the electronic health record for dosing information is incorrect because while the EHR is a valuable tool, the nurse must also independently verify orders, calculate doses as needed, and consider patient-specific factors such as weight, age, and renal function. Accountability involves critical thinking and verification beyond automated systems.

C. Administering the medication without verifying the patient's identity is incorrect because failing to confirm the patient’s identity can lead to medication errors, posing significant risk to patient safety. Accountability requires following established safety protocols, including the “right patient” verification.

D. Consulting the patient's chart for potential allergies before administration is correct because it demonstrates the nurse’s accountability in ensuring safe practice. By verifying allergies, the nurse proactively prevents harm, adheres to professional standards, and takes responsibility for the patient’s safety throughout the medication administration process.

Rationale:

A. Justice is correct because this ethical principle emphasizes fairness, equity, and impartiality in the distribution of resources. In organ transplantation, justice ensures that organs are allocated according to ethical criteria, such as urgency of need, compatibility, and likelihood of successful outcome, rather than personal wealth, social status, or favoritism. This principle underpins organ allocation policies and waiting list protocols, promoting ethical and transparent decision-making.

B. Autonomy is incorrect because it relates to the patient’s right to make informed decisions about their own care, such as choosing to donate an organ or accepting a transplant. While autonomy protects individual choice, it does not guide the equitable distribution of limited organs. For example, a patient’s autonomous decision to receive a transplant does not address how organs are fairly allocated among all candidates.

C. Beneficence is incorrect because it emphasizes actions intended to benefit others and promote well-being. In transplantation, beneficence would focus on maximizing positive outcomes for individual patients, such as performing surgery safely and optimizing post-transplant care. However, beneficence alone does not address fairness across multiple patients competing for the same scarce resource.

D. Nonmaleficence is incorrect because it requires avoiding harm to patients. In organ transplantation, this principle ensures that procedures, medications, and donor-recipient matching minimize potential harm. Although nonmaleficence is critical in clinical decision-making, it does not govern the fair allocation of organs; a process could minimize harm yet still be inequitable if organs are not distributed according to consistent, ethical criteria.