Nursing Ethics Essay

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This essay is written to identify the ethical and legal principle that underpins the notion of care in health practice significantly nursing practice. It gives a broad understanding of the legal, professional and statutory code of conduct that affect health and social care practice. It is to give awareness to the legal and ethical influence on health and social care practice by focusing on the legal and ethical issues of an adult case study. This essay will examine the case study and highlight main areas of concern namely consent, autonomy and communication. The principles used in ethical decision-making and the Nursing and Midwifery code of professional conduct will also be discussed. The writer will be looking at a scenario within her practice exploring some legal and ethical issues that arises during practice, adhering to confidentiality at all times. A summary of the main points will be discussed in the concluding part of this essay.

In this essay, the writer will explore a scenario of an elderly patient who had a hip fracture was admitted into the ward from the accident and emergency unit. Her medical history included advanced senile dementia and severe heart problems with a ‘DO NOT RESUSCITATE ORDER”. She was added to the operation list and the procedure was scheduled to take place towards the end of the day but the patients relatives who accompanied the patient was not informed of the decision either by the nursing or the surgical staff. She consented to having surgery with the medical staff but told the nursing staff that she had changed her mind. The nursing staff informed the consultant, which is in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Code of Conduct, which states that, we must work with others to protect and promote the health and well being of those in your care, by making referrals to another practitioner when it is in the best interest of

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