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Regrettably, whistleblowing is still necessary in today?s health care environment one that is weighed down with fraud, incompetent practitioners, and patient safety issues. It is an action seen in movies and heard about in organizations, yet distant from nursing. Nurses are left with a question, ?Could I stand up for what is right like that courageous person?? The focus of this article is to provide ethical justifications for the action of whistleblowing as well as information on legal protections and ways to reduce the risks and negative consequences often experienced by the whistleblower.
What Is Whistleblowing?
Whistleblowing is an attempt by a member or former member of an organization to issue a warning to the public about a serious wrongdoing or danger created or concealed by the organization (Ahern & McDonald, 2002; Bolsin, Faunce, & Oakley, 2005; Davis & Konishi, 2007). Numerous definitions of whistleblowing appear in health care and business literature, but all point to the importance of advocacy, that is, protecting someone who will likely be harmed. For this article, the definition will differentiate between reporting the problem within the organization and whistleblowing to an external agency (Fletcher, Sorrell, & Silva, 1998; Sellin, 1995).
To define the terms further within the scope of nursing, whistleblowing is the action taken by a nurse who goes outside the organization for the public?s best interest when it is unresponsive to reporting the danger through the organization?s proper channels. Reporting is the action taken by the nurse inside the channels of his or her organization to correct a dangerous situation. Examples of reporting include incident reports and verbal reporting to line managers (Firtko & Jackson, 2005).
These definitions indicate that whistleblowing results from a failure of the ethical climate of the organization to address accountability for the safety and welfare of the patients. The nurse feels compelled in the face of inaction to take a stand against the wrongdoing in the organization. Because staff nurses have an increasing responsibility to maintain an ethical practice environment, it is important to cover the organizational ethics issues and solutions as well. A discussion of what both the organization and the nurses in leadership roles within the organization can do to help maintain the business? moral compass will be discussed in...