Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing Diane Eckert, Christen Rosa, Gary Pagdilao, Melissa Mendoza Nurs 391 April 20, 2015 Willie Goodwin Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing The nurse plays an important role in the safety and well-being of the sick and vulnerable. In two different cases, one involving the care of the unresponsive patient without advanced directives and the second involves the nurse observing negligent behavior by another nurse. The nurse is responsible not only ethically but legally for the care of the patient. The American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics serves to protect the welfare of the sick, injured and helpless. Nurses are relied upon to advocate for our patients dignity, privacy, confidentiality, improper and incompetent care.
The conflict arises because the decision not to resuscitate could be seen as not promoting the well being of the patient and an omission on the nurse’s part, causing detrimental consequences (Rumbold, 1999). On the other hand, clause seven of the ‘Code of Professional Conduct’ states that a nurse should “recognise and respect the uniqueness and dignity of each patient and client and respond to their need of care” (UKCC, 1992). The nurse who does not comply with a patient’s wish to die with dignity and not to be resuscitated, could be seen as violating this clause (Rumbold, 1999). There are several viewpoints regarding the use of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (C.P.R.). One such viewpoint is that it
“Knowledge of legal issues are essential because nurses are required to practice in accordance with legislation affecting nursing practice and health care failure to respect the legal rights of clients may result in legal or disciplinary actions.” (Makely, Austin, & Kester, 2013, p.64). Failure to respect the legal rights of clients may result in legal or disciplinary actions. According to the Department of Consumer & Industry services, regulation R338.10104 Delegation; Rule 104. (1) Only a registered nurse may delegate nursing acts, functions, or tasks. A registered nurse who delegates nursing acts, functions, or tasks shall do all of the following: (a) Determine whether the act, function, or task delegated is within the registered nurses scope of practice.
Ethics committees can be useful in this situation, because they can help explain the patient’s situation and provide possible answers to those hard questions. The nurse who neglected care towards the patients, in my opinion, should lose their job. Nurses who neglect care are putting their patients at danger. According to the Code of Nursing Ethics, “The nurse owes the same duties to self as to others, including the responsibility to preserve integrity and safety, to maintain competence, and to continue personal and professional growth” (ANA Code of Nursing Ethics). This nurse neglected the patient, therefore, neglected the responsibility in preserving the safety and integrity of the patient.
Ethics. No. Only the first nurse acted ethically and responsibly. An explanation to the patient would be that HIPAA prevents the nurse from speaking about other patients. All healthcare professionals would have to follow their “code of ethics” which would always include a statement to protect patient confidentiality.
Applying Ethical Frameworks in Practice Susan Warden Grand Canyon University Applying Ethical Frameworks in Practice In the article Bioethics in NBC’s ER: Betraying Trust or Providing Good Care? The author examines the ethical issue of patient confidentiality. On the television show ER Nurse Hathaway encounters a 14 year old patient who comes into the ER to be tested for a STD. Nurse Hathaway promises the patient that all of the information that she tells her will be kept confidential so the patient confides in her. After testing is complete the results revealed that she had HPV and cervical cancer.
W if she and I could schedule a private meeting to discuss Ms. R’s case? Tell her how I’ve notice how hard she has been working with Ms. R without a lot positive results. As nurse supervisor I would help her to recognized the value of delegation. The ANA defines delegation as “ Transfer of responsibility for performance of a task from one individual to another (1996). The Five Rights of Delegation include 1.The right task.
Problem solving is another area of informal leadership a professional nurse possesses. Upon encountering a problem, whether noted objectively or overheard through another’s complaint, the nurse employing leadership will not vent and complain to others, but take a different approach such as discuss with others with questions such as ‘have you noticed a problem when; entering this information in the computer, working with the IV pump, difficulty replacing universal precaution equipment, working with a Dr. Smith during procedures?’ etc. After garnering this information and determining if this is a static problem or ongoing, the nurse exemplifying the problem solving leadership will determine the next step whether further investigation is required, increasing an order of supplies, or approaching management and communicating with them. These actions will define and determine if the nurse is an effective leader. The assigned titles “manager”, “director”, “administrator” do not determine the leader, but the actions, attitude, and professionalism of the person determines the level of leadership.
Becoming aware of these laws would be ideal, but not knowing the key points of each law where someone may encounter an emergency should be protected if they act reasonably. Keywords: liable, protect Good Samaritan Laws May Vary In her article “How good a Samaritan should you be?” Penny S. Brooke (2003) describes legal ramifications and duties a nurse has when encountering an emergency situation outside of work. Many people refuse involvement during an emergency due to a possible lawsuit. They may be unaware that most states have Good Samaritan laws. These laws are designed to protect an individual from being held liable when volunteering their healthcare skills in an emergency.
When the doctor finally sees him he tell him that he will not be give any narcotics, before examining him and assessing his pain, .The patient decided to leave and mentioned that he is going to another hospital in the city. The doctor calls the other hospital and alerts the doctors not to treat the patient in question because he demonstrates drug-seeking behaviour. The author will provide a critical evaluation of the ethical principles and the legal aspects of this case study in relationship to professional conduct. The Nursing and Midwifery Code of Professional Conduct (NMC) (2008) provides a guideline to ethical decision making and the standards of professionalism that are required by nurses. Also the Nurse's contract of employment, the hospitals policies and procedures or consulting a legal advisor can help when determining if an action is ethical, professional or unlawful as observed by Griffith et al 2010,and yet Dimond (2008) further argues that to care for a patient a nurse must have the knowledge of law and professional practice which can assist in decision making, As can be seen from the scenario, there are laws and guidelines which need