A professional nurse is one who puts the needs and importance of patient care above all others. The professional should exert a positive public image considering the public is where services are directed to. A professional appearance is important for making first impressions on patients and other coworkers. The first impression is always of utmost importance and plays a major role in gaining a patient’s respect and trust. Once the nurse has began establishing a relationship with their patient, they must be careful to not pass or show any judgment on a patient’s decisions, beliefs, values, or culture.
The necessity for nurses to be able to communicate effectively is vital for the continued care of patients. More specifically, it is crucial that Nurses are able the change their language patterns and vocabulary, depending on the person they are talking to. The communications a nurse has with their patient is completely different to how a nurse would speak to a fellow Medical Officers (MO). There must be a strong, clear wording, instruction and diagnosis when talking to colleagues; otherwise there may be confusion as to the treatment of a patient. However, when speaking to a client, using jargon and medical terms can be considered as inappropriate and confusing for the people involved.
The husband wanted to save his wife, but on the other hand, their children belief that their mom wants a quality of life with dignity. When a nurses engaged such a complex ethical situation, the Ethical Committee resources included multidisciplinary groups that are needed to assist patient and family. Based on statutory law, patients have the right to make a decision to withdraw or withhold any treatment (Blais & Hayes, 2011). In the case study of Marianne, the patient do not have advanced directive on file, therefore, the statutory laws are not against family's decision related to her care. The nurse can only educate and provide information and be the patients' advocate.
Good communication skills are a vital aspect of nursing. Communication is a process that requires interpretation, sensitivity, imagination and active participation. Nurses interact with many persons in the course of their profession and good communication assists in meeting legal, ethical and clinical standards of care. If communication fails, there may be serious difficulty, increased liability and a threat to professional credibility. There are many steps to take in order to improve communication skills in nursing such as honesty, availability and responsiveness.
Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing The nurse has a unique ability to follow a specific and a general code of ethical decision-making while caring for the most vulnerable of patients. The nurse must navigate public health law, educational law, and his or her institutional policies while keeping his or her own personal beliefs from controlling what is best for the patient. Ethics are “the principles of conduct governing one’s relationships with others-basic beliefs of right and wrong…. Law is the minimum ethic, written down and enforced.” (Ellis& Hartley, 2008, p. 288) The registered professional nurse must use resources to assist her, including the ANA Code of Ethics and the state’s nurse practice act. A final influence in the case of both of these cases, as with case one, Marianne could not make her decisions, as a patient advocate, the code ethics states in provision 1.3, “The nurse respects the dignity and rights of all human beings irrespective of the nature of the health problem.
Ethical issues in clinical practice By: Miami Dade College Medical Campus School of Nursing RN-BSN NUR-3805 Abstract In every nurse's career, the nurse is faced with many legal or ethical dilemmas. One of the professional competencies for nursing states that nurses should integrate knowledge of ethical and legal aspects of health care and professional values into nursing practice. As such, it is important to know what types of dilemmas nurses may face during their careers and how they may have been dealt with in the past. It is also important for nurses to understand what malpractice is and how they may protect themselves from a malpractice suit. Nursing students increasingly encounter ethical problems during their clinical practice which sometimes infringe the rights of patients.
One of these qualities is critical-thinking skill. Registered nurses must be able to asses changes in the health state of patients, including when to take corrective action and when to make referrals. It is common that a nurse will work with multiple patients at a time with various health needs so organization skills are critical to ensure the patient is given proper care. They also need to be caring and sympathetic and detailed oriented because they must make sure that their patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time. Last but not least, a registered nurse must be able to be emotional stable with human suffering, emergencies and other stresses.
Developing Communication Skills In Nursing Essay Nurses largely affect society in the health care system by helping, supporting and caring for an individual, a whole family or even an entire community. While in the medical surroundings, the nurse becomes the primary contact for the patient in care and spends a lot of time with them. Before approaching a nursing care situation a nurse needs to clear all judgments and respect every individual, as there are many different religions, morals and personal beliefs in the world today. Therefore nurses need to develop the ability of quality communication skills which helps to create great interpersonal relationship skills in nursing. Communication and interviewing are both skills needed to develop interpersonal relationships within the nursing environment.
Effective communication is an important skill that the professional nurse needs to develop in order to interact effectively with patient and bring about a better resolution in patient’s health condition. Johnson (2010) emphasizes the importance of effective communication by nurse with patient and staff. He says, “ The communication process enhances the broadcasting of information needed to ensure patient safety and promote quality patient care”. When nurse clearly communicates the details of a patient’s condition or progress verbally or writing to other members of the healthcare team handling the case as well as nurses that deal with the patient on other shifts, the likelihood of mistakes that put a patient in jeopardy greatly decreased, so patient are safe. The consequences to the patient if nurses do not clearly communicate all important patient information may be greater pain, a worsening of the patient condition, permanent injury or even death.
According to the ANA code of ethics, the RN’s primary commitment is to the patient and to protect the health, safety, and rights of the patient. The RN also collaborates with other health care members to meet the needs of the patient. “The nurse plays a central role in creating an environment of mutual trust and respect among all health care professionals by engaging in an open dialogue and claiming a place in the shared decision making about patient care.” (Lachman, 2009). Therefore, it is important to consider the physician’s belief system, as there are a number of medical professionals who “…refuse to deliver care that runs contrary to their moral or religious beliefs, asserting a ‘right of conscience’ or ‘right of refusal’.” (Stein, 2007). In the second case study regarding the malpractice and negligence of a nurse, the primary obligation according to the ANA code of ethics is to the patient.