Legal/Ethics Issues In The Health Care Business
BUS670
Rhunda Mitchell
Instructor Little
10/24/11
More than any other industry, it is in the healthcare business that ethics are of utmost importance. This is because, people in this industry deal with such situations and circumstances, everyday, which have a direct bearing on another person's life. In this paper one will discuss the ethical/legal issues which are faced by the healthcare industry as a nurse, and ethical issues in healthcare, pertaining to both management and medical research and give suggestion on how to handle each situation in hand.
Ethical/ Legal Issues as A Nurse: Nurses are subject to a wide range of legal, ethical and professional duties which can be very challenging. These duties are generally considered to be to respect a patient’s confidentiality and autonomy and to recognize the duty of care that is owed to all patients. As a nurse their duties have to be always professional, because there are legal implications if these duties are breached. They also must consider when it is okay as a nurse to breach these duties and therefore ethical issues arise. Ethics is a set of moral and practical guideline that influences nursing decisions big and small. One of the main priorities of a nurse is to advocate for their patients a nurse expresses and defends the cause of their patient, nurses are expected to protect their patients’ rights. Patients’ rights can vary from being a responsible for their own care and making choices and decisions in that care, and having the right to a nurse-patient relationship based on trust and respect, to the nurse being responsible in making sure that the patient has all healthcare service at their fingertips to get their needs met. Nurses must be fully aware of the moral and legal rights of clients to self-determination, and
