Ethics And Legalities Of Medication Error Disclosure DQ
Texas is named, which makes the legal half checkable, and the brief asks you to decide whether you would disclose your own error. A paper that describes both sides without deciding has skipped the deliverable.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 22, 2026
Texas is named, and you have to actually decide
Two things make this paper specific and both are easy to lose. The first is Texas, which means citing Texas provisions rather than general principles: the Texas Board of Nursing rules on prescriptive authority and on reporting, the state's apology statute governing whether an expression of sympathy is admissible, the medical liability provisions including notice and expert report requirements, and the state peer review confidentiality protections. A paper that says the law requires disclosure without a citation has not done the legal half. The second is that the brief asks what you would do, so decide and give the rationale. Describing both sides and stopping is the commonest way to lose the marks actually available here. The scenario is your own error, which is what makes the decision uncomfortable and what makes it worth grading. Write the decision as a sentence you would be willing to say to the patient, because that is the test the section is really applying.
The ethics of disclosure is more settled than students expect, and knowing that makes the paper easier to write. Professional codes and patient safety consensus support disclosing errors, including those that caused no harm, on grounds of respect for the patient, honesty and the trust the relationship depends on. The counterarguments are real but weaker: fear of litigation, which the evidence on disclosure programmes does not support as strongly as expected, and the claim that disclosure of a harmless error causes needless distress, which substitutes the clinician's judgement for the patient's about what they would want to know. The prescription section is the practical answer to the same problem, so treat it as prevention rather than as an appendix: complete prescription elements including indication, avoiding error-prone abbreviations and trailing zeros, using leading zeros, electronic prescribing with interaction and allergy checking, reconciliation at transitions, and teach-back so the patient can catch the error you did not.
Likely learning objectives
- Cite state-specific legal provisions rather than general principles.
- Take a position on disclosure and justify it.
- Represent the counterarguments to disclosure fairly before answering them.
- Treat prescription-writing technique as error prevention.
Assignment instructions
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
Write a 4- to 6- page paper that addresses the following: APA style with 4-5 references that are less than 5 years old. • Explain the ethical and legal implications of disclosure and nondisclosure. Be sure to reference laws specific to TEXAS • Describe what you would do as the advanced practice nurse in this scenario including whether or not you would disclose your error. Provide your rationale. • Explain the process of writing prescriptions including strategies to minimize medication errors
Course-wide instructions that accompany this question
You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes. Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages. Ethics And Legalities Of Medication Error Disclosure DQ Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor. The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument. ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS Discussion Questions (DQ) Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words. Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source. One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words. I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses. Weekly Participation Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately. In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies. Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work). Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week. APA Format and Writing Quality Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required). Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation. I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition. Use of Direct Quotes I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly. As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content. It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source. LopesWrite Policy For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me. Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes. Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own? Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score. Late Policy The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies. Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances. If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect. I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension. As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading. Communication Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class. Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours. Ethics And Legalities Of Medication Error Disclosure DQ Critical Reasoning Week 2 Discussion DQ Critical Reasoning Week 2 Discussion DQ Initial Post Instructions Select one of the following options to research for this discussion: Before you read the news articles, try to look at the artworks through an image search in Google. Then, read the news articles to see the different viewpoints about the murals. For the initial post, address at least four (4) of the following questions for the option you selected: Textbook: Chapter 4, 5 Lesson At least 1 news article (e.g., latimes.com, usatoday.com, nytimes.com) Minimum of 1 scholarly source (in addition to the textbook) Option 1: Google <California Washington mural>. You will find numerous reports concerning a California school district that voted to paint over a mural in the high school. The Life of Washington was painted by Depression-era artist Victor Arnautoff. Option 2: Google <Indiana University Thomas Hart Benton mural>. You will find numerous articles on the controversy surround a panel from Benton’s A Social History of Indiana (1933) murals. Option 3: Conduct research on a mural or statue or monument in your town that is the subject of controversy. What do you think should be done with the artwork (e.g., painted over, covered, destroyed, left as is in plain view, etc.)? Why? Should the context in which the artwork was created (the Great Depression of the 1930s in the case of the Benton and Arnautoff murals) have an impact on the decision of what to do with the artwork? Should the context in which people now view the artwork have an impact on the decision of what to do with it? What message do you think the artwork conveys? Do you think there is ambiguity in the message? Do you think the message is vague? Does the artistic value of the artwork require that it be saved regardless of message? Does the historic value of the artwork require that it be saved regardless of message? Do you think the message of the artwork is sufficiently important that the message alone requires that it be saved? Do you think the artists were biased or prejudiced? If yes, explain specifics about the artwork that support 7/16/20, 2:09 PM Page 1 of 51 Search entries or author ” Reply Follow-Up Post Instructions Respond to at least two peers or one peer and the instructor. Respond to one peer who chose a controversial artwork other than the one you chose. Further the dialogue by providing more information and clarification. Do you agree or disagree with your peers’ positions? Explain why. In addition, address different issues than what your peer focused on. Writing Requirements Grading This activity will be graded using the Discussion Grading Rubric. Please review the following link: Course Outcomes (CO): 5, 6 Due Date for Initial Post: By 11:59 p.m. MT on Wednesday Due Date for Follow-Up Posts: By 11:59 p.m. MT on Sunday Critical Reasoning Week 2 Discussion DQ your opinion. Do you think viewers might be bringing bias or prejudice to their opinions? Are you? Minimum of 3 posts (1 initial & 2 follow-up) Minimum of 2 sources cited (assigned readings/online lessons and an outside source) APA format for in-text citations and list of references Link (webpage): Discussion Guidelines Unread # $ % Subscribe (https://chamberlain.instructure.com/courses/65138/users/97891)Sonja Sheffield (Instructor) Jun 22, 2020 ! Greetings Students, You are only required to post an initial answer post and ONE follow-up post in each required discussion, each week. Please make your TWO posts each week between Monday and Sunday. Your posts must occur on different days with the first post occurring by Wednesday. If there are extenuating circumstances, please communicate with your professor. One of the topics for this week focused on context, purpose, and quality. The text also mentioned interpreting science and pseudoscience. When it comes to interpreting claims of science and/or pseudoscience, how would you go about doing so? 7/16/20, 2:09 PM Page 2 of 51 Edited by Sonja Sheffield (https://chamberlain.instructure.com/courses/65138/users/97891) on Jun 22 at 12:37pm ” Reply & Science is a means for uncovering truth that investigates causal explanations to discover empirical facts about how the world works. Science is not the only way of constructing knowledge, since we also learn about the world from direct perception, by reasoning, and through aspects of life that are not empirically measurable, such as humor, dignity, and love. The reliability of science comes from its use of precise definitions, clearly defined contexts, and replicable results. If no one else can recreate your experiment, it’s more anecdote than science. Some claims look like science but aren’t. We call this pseudoscience. Pseudoscience doesn’t follow the rules of the scientific method. To protect yourself from being taken in by pseudoscience, look out for the following signs: A pseudoscientific explanation will often fail many of the standards of a good explanation in the following ways: Think about how context and purpose affect the quality of interpretation. Watch the following video for more information on context, meaning and value. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoyDmwNwIKQ&feature=youtu.be (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoyDmwNwIKQ&feature=youtu.be) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoyDmwNwIKQ&feature=youtu.be) References: Dewey, J. (1909). How we think. Retrieved from https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37423/37423-h/37423- h.html (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37423/37423-h/37423-h.htm) Soomo Webtext. (2016). Sources [E-reader Version]. Retrieved from https:webapps/smo-soomo- bb_bb60/soomo/courselink?course_id=_253478_1&mode=cpview (https://blackboard.strayer.edu/webapps/smo-soomo-bb_bb60/soomo/courselink? course_id=_253478_1&mode=cpview) Providing the explanation after the fact Failing to consider alternatives Not being open to the possibility of error Bypassing peer review before reporting widely Relying heavily on anecdotal evidence Not empirically testable Doesn’t explain anything beyond the phenomenon it’s supposed to explain Overly complex / raises more questions Doesn’t fit in with what we already know about how the world works 7/16/20, 2:09 PM Page 3 of 51 (https://chamberlain.instructure.com/courses/65138/users/118358)Monica Hernandez (https://chamberlain.instructure.com/courses/65138/users/118358) Monday ! Good Morning Professor and Class, Critical Reasoning Week 2 Discussion DQ Option 1: Option 1: Google <California Washington (https://image-seeker.com/s/?q=Washington) mural> This mural was painted in 1936. There have been many debates on having the mural removed from San Fransico High School because of the reference to slavery. According to the article of Los Angeles Times it mentions, “The Depression-era mural, which depicts black slaves and dead Native Americans in Colonial-era scenery, is in the lobby of George Washington High School on Geary Boulevard in San Francisco’s Richmond District. The 13 frescoes, known collectively as “The Life of Washington,” were painted by Russian artist Victor Arnautoff in 1936, and funded by the New Deal Works Progress Administration”(Wick 2019). References: Wick, J. (2019, August 13). Newsletter: What will become of San Francisco’s controversial George Washington mural? Retrieved July 13, 2020, from https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-08- 13/san-francisco-mural-controversy-george-washington (https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019- In my opinion, the mural should be left as in plain view, because the issue after the many years doesn’t show any good manner. We should understand that we cannot erase or change the history of America but we can change our behavior and attitude. I don’t think every mural is a symbol of race or slavery, we are living in the 21 century, and we cannot be stuck with conservative ideologies. The mural issues are nothing more than the conservative ideology and teasing. Students and schools should make an open environment to develop better interpersonal relations. I am not sure that the creator of this artwork was intentional to show the racism or slavery, they just have done a job in effective manners but now we are searching for racist ideas in everything. I don’t know, why modern American society is tilting towards conservatism and social identity. I think the artwork should be considered as the artwork rather than anything else, any traditional idea can ruin the value of the artwork. The artwork is just a symbol of American history and it should remain safe. History is a part of our present as well as the future so destroying history will affect the future. For example, many Tsars humiliated their people but it does not mean we should have destroyed buildings and beautiful structures. The artwork conveys the ideological and socio-economic values of contemporary America, it helps us to understand the history and present. If we see any social discrimination in the artwork is just an apperception. We should see the artwork as part of American history and culture which is changing gradually. Critical Reasoning Week 2 Discussion DQ
Turn the brief into deliverables
- 01Ethical implications of disclosure and of nondisclosure.
- 02Texas provisions cited by name.
- 03A stated decision about whether you would disclose, with rationale.
- 04The process of writing a prescription, element by element.
- 05Strategies to minimise medication errors.
- 06Four to five references less than five years old.
Ethics, Texas law, your decision, then the prescription process
What ethics requires
Set out the case for disclosure from professional codes and patient safety consensus.
What the assessor is likely looking for
Disclosure of a harmless error addressed explicitly.
What Texas law provides
Cite the board rules, apology statute and liability provisions that apply.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A named Texas provision rather than a general legal claim.
The counterarguments, fairly stated
Give the litigation and distress arguments and answer them with evidence.
What the assessor is likely looking for
Evidence on disclosure programmes rather than an assumption.
What you would do
State your decision and the reasoning that produced it.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A decision rather than a summary of considerations.
Writing prescriptions safely
Give the elements and the specific practices that prevent error.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A named practice such as avoiding trailing zeros or including the indication.
Where the Texas provisions and error evidence sit
Recommended databases
- Texas Board of Nursing
- AHRQ PSNet
- PubMed Central
- Walden Library
Search sequence
- 1.Find the Texas Board of Nursing rules on prescriptive authority before writing.
- 2.Look up the Texas apology statute and what it actually protects.
- 3.Search for outcomes of disclosure and resolution programmes.
- 4.Check the current list of error-prone abbreviations.
Reference shortlist
These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.
Medication Errors and Adverse Drug Events
AHRQ Patient Safety Network · 2024
Medication errors and adverse drug events, for prevention strategies.
Medical Error Prevention and Root Cause Analysis
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
Error prevention and root cause analysis, for the systems response to an error.
Culture of Safety
AHRQ Patient Safety Network · 2024
Safety culture, for disclosure and reporting behaviour.
APRN
National Council of State Boards of Nursing · 2024
Prescriptive authority and its regulatory basis, for the state-specific analysis.
2025 Code of Ethics for Nurses
American Nurses Association · 2025
The professional code, for the ethical obligation to disclose.
Before you submit this paper
Common mistakes
- Discussing disclosure law generally without citing Texas.
- Describing both sides without deciding, when the brief asks what you would do.
- Assuming disclosure inevitably increases litigation risk.
- Treating a harmless error as not requiring disclosure.
- Writing the prescription section as a formality rather than as prevention.
Submission checklist
- Are Texas provisions cited by name?
- Have you stated your own decision plainly?
- Is the litigation counterargument addressed with evidence?
- Does the prescription section list specific error-prevention practices?
- Are all references under five years old?
Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read Brinevia's academic-integrity policy.
Written by
Maren Caldwell
MSN, RN, CNE
Medical-surgical nursing, pharmacology and NCLEX preparation
Maren is a registered nurse with over 15 years of clinical and educational experience in medical-surgical nursing. She writes on NCLEX preparation, patient care fundamentals, pharmacology and evidence-based practice.

Reviewed by
Dr. Tessa Redmond
DNP, RN, CNE
Evidence-based practice and clinical education
Tessa is a doctorally-prepared nurse educator. She reviews Brinevia content for clinical accuracy and alignment with current evidence-based guidelines.