...Ethical and Legal issues in Nursing The nursing profession is very complex. Every day nurses deal with patients and medical care. There are some days when ethics and legal issues play a role. We were given examples of the legal complexities of nursing through two case studies we were to evaluate. For this paper we will discuss the legal responsibilities of nursing, how personal and societal values can influence ethical decision-making and how the ANA’s Code of Nursing Ethics would influence the final decisions. Legal Responsibilities of Nurses Nursing boards are governmental state agencies responsible for regulating the nursing practice. A nursing license obtained through state nursing boards validates that nurses have met standards for providing high quality care. Nurses are legally held accountable for administering medications accurately, educating patients and public on health issues, advocating for the patient regarding health care, and serving as a liaison between the patient and the physician. Professional standards are determined by Standards of Practice Acts and the American Nurses Association’s Code of Ethics. As professionals, nurses must also be familiar with ethical responsibilities and protect the rights of their patients and families. As the definition of liability has continued to expand through the judicial system, courts of laws have placed higher standards on the profession of nursing. Many times professional...
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...Ethical Issue in Nursing Name: Jackson vrail Class: NR 504 Professor: Dr. Gre Date: 06/02/2012 School: CCN THE ETHICAL ISSUES IN NURSING Ethics can be defined as a moral decision of what it is, and what it ought to be. Ethical issues in nursing have been dramatic and political due to different ideologies and rising technology in healthcare. The American Association of Nursing has provided guiding principles where nurses base their decisions. These principles include; “Autonomy, nonmaleficence, Beneficence,, Justice, Veracity, Confidentiality, and Fidelity”( American Nursing Association, 2001). All these doctrines act as a foundation for nurses when making decisions pertaining the fate of patient’s life. The major ethical issue commonly seen and which invoke controversies either in our communities, or in courts of laws, is the issue of “do not resuscitate”. DNR can be explained as termination of life support if a patient is critically ill and permitting patient to die instead of continuing to suffer with no promise for recovery. This is decided by the patient when he/she is still capable, family, or surrogate. Despite the fact that nurses strive to help patients, family members, and responsible parties to make a...
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...Ethical Issues in Nursing: Critically Ill Neonates Who decides and communicates the neonate’s prognosis? Where is the line drawn for treatment? Who is responsible for identifying positive versus debilitating outcome ratios in neonatal care? Who decides enough is enough? These questions only begin to touch the surface of what nurses and healthcare personnel face when it comes to providing ethical neonate medical care. According to Skupski et al. (2010), “The cusp of viability, where some but not all infants may be able to survive, has been pushed to incrementally lower gestational ages. The number of neonates born yearly at extremely premature gestational ages has increased dramatically.” (p. 579). With this said, difficult ethical decisions are becoming more and more demanding due to the advances in healthcare technology and treatment methods that give premature and critically ill neonates a chance at survival. Parents and families of these neonate patients grasp this advancement in health care and strive for positive health outcomes for their children, but in all reality health care personnel including physicians and nurses must work collaboratively to identify ethical health care goals to treatment and stand behind their decisions. The article, Moral Obligations of Nurses and Physicians in Neonatal End-of-Life Care, identifies several key objectives that deal with end-of-life care in neonates that focus on both the infant and their...
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...Issue 1. When the nurse first approached the patient during the orientation phase, she did not identify herself, establish her qualifications or role in the patient’s treatment, and in particularly, she did not greet the patient by her preferred name. This was seen when she walked into the room and unprofessionally addressed the patient by; “Mandy”. To this, the patient uncomfortably proceeded to correct her name to be “Sandra” and yet even after this correction, the nurse chose to call her “Sandy” instead, which violated the patient’s right to choose her preferred name. It is essential that this first level of information is correctly gathered and implemented as it is one of the key steps in building rapport and trust if one wants to form...
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...Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing Team C NUR/391 Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing Nurses face various ethical and legal issues in the medical setting. As professionals, nurses must be aware of these legal and ethical issues when they occur. Nurses have a legal and ethical obligation to respond to these issues. Being a professional nurse requires a nurse to assess the pros and cons of different situations, but also to withhold their personal beliefs and listen and respect the beliefs and traditions of others. Legally Nursing implications require nurses to maintain licensure, obey state and federal laws and to remain within their scope of practice. Within these legal and ethical issues the American Association Code of Nursing ethics, personal and societal values, legal aspects and legal responsibilities all affect decisions. Two different cases will be discussed and explored; an advance directive case involving a woman by the name of Marianne, and a malpractice case involving a nurse and the involved healthcare organization. The American Nurses Association Code of Nursing Ethics can influence the final decision made in the case study involving Marianne’s family by designating a surrogate. According to "American Nurses Association" (2011), “The nurse supports patients self-determination by participating in discussions with surrogates, providing guidance, referral to other resources as necessary, and identifying and addressing problems in the decision-making...
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...ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES OF Nursing Many confusing factors make it a task to establish, monitor and sustain ethical and legal issues in nursing. Everyone has various personal views based on experiences of life, religion, education and political affiliations, all nurses should be aware about nursing laws and ethics and understand how nursing legal issues can affect them. The American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics is very influential to nurses because it is used as a framework for making ethical decisions with all aspects of health care. The foundation in any successful professional practice, are based on ethics, values, morals and principles from which the ANA Code of Ethics are formatted. Moral leadership in nursing is about professionalism, responsibility, accountability, and competency. Nurses have an obligation to preserve their patient’s values, beliefs and dignity, to assure optimal health care, personal well- being, and promote quality of life. In all aspect of nursing, nurses are role models, healthcare providers, patient advocates and are required to meet the needs of their patients. Which can be done by communicating openly and honestly, being fair and trustworthy, being proactive, and by putting patients first. Nurses are face with ethical dilemmas on a daily basic therefore, must examine their own personal and professional values and morals in order to maintain a caring and compassionate relationship with their patients. When complex ethical...
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...Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing Nursing as a profession, holds itself to a standard of practice and a code of ethics that governs this discipline. It was well put by Nicholson (2012), “Nonprofessionals cannot be held to the standards of the medical professions, but persons who have been specially trained, educated and licensed are accountable for performance that deviates from the customs of their field.” To function effectively, nurses need to be aware of their contents and incorporate them as a guide for their professional decisions. “A wise nurse who is aware of deep personal values and moral standards will make decisions regarding practice setting so that the nurse’s own personal integrity remains intact, while putting patients and their needs first” (Chitty & Black, 2010, p. 101). A person’s value system is initiated by the beliefs held by his or her family, and as growing occurs the person is exposed to other cultures, belief systems, peers, and societal norms, that may be incorporated into his or her value system. A nurse is expected to make ethical decisions. Having the ability to make ethical and responsible reasoning, involves rational thinking. It is also systematic and based on ethical principles and civil law. Ethical decision making can’t be based on emotions, intuition, fixed policy, or an earlier occurrence. (Blias & Harris, 2011, p. 61). A nurse is not exempt from developing values, and belief systems that shape how they may view their patient...
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...Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing NUR/391 Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing As nurses, it is our duty to advocate for our patients. At times, we are faced with personal and professional challenges that impact how and when we chose to advocate. It is imperative we have a healthy awareness of these potential challenges. Improvements in health care technology have provided patients with an array of treatment options as well as assumed or possible increased chance of survival. As a result, nurses are met with a rise in ethical decision making. This paper will discuss the legal, ethical, social, and personal factors that can impact our decision making process, with the focus on two specific case studies. American Nurses Association Code of Nursing Ethics Role in Practice The American Nursing Association (ANA) has created a set of ethical standards for the profession of nursing to abide by, which is entitled the ANA Nursing Code of Ethics. The ANA Code of Ethics states that collaboration is central to the care nurses deliver and to their ethical commitment to the patient (Garity, 2005). In the end-of-life case study, the nurse (she) has an unwritten obligation to the patient; the family appears to be in conflict with how to proceed with the patient's medical treatment. The medical team has an obligation to give the family all of their options and possible outcomes. If the family remains in conflict, it would then be appropriate for her to refer the family to...
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...Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing The American Nurses Association’s (ANA) Code of Nursing Ethics, personal and societal values, and legal responsibilities all influence the way we care for our patients, treat our co-workers, and take care of ourselves. Never the less, nurses need to make a distinction between their individual values and their professional ethics when caring for their patients. The American Nurses Association’s Code of Nursing Ethics is the cornerstone for nursing practice. Even though patients can still receive quality ethical care even if the code has never been read by the nurse, enhanced and complete nursing care is given when the nursing code of ethics is followed. The nursing code of ethics, according to Lachman, 2009, is the fundamental document for nurses and it provides a social contract with the patients we serve and acts as an ethical and legal framework for nurses, especially while the nurse is taking on more multifaceted roles and is involved in more complex ethical and legal situations. In the case of 55 year old Henry, the ANA’s Code of Nursing Ethics would influence a final decision in the following ways. The final decision would not be based directly on the nurse caring for Henry, but based on a healthcare team approach. It is the nurse’s responsibility to make sure that Henry’s family is fully informed of all possible choices. First, according to Lachman, 2009, the patient is not the only one involved in the nurse’s care. The nurse...
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...Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing NUR/391 July 28, 2013 Mary Nicks, MSN, RN Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing In this paper ethical and legal issues will be reviewed concerning the decisions and responsibilities of the nurse in the case of Marianne who has had a stroke and the decisions that the family is facing for treatment or end of life care. The legal and ethical issues in a malpractice case that occurred several years ago and the responsibility of the nurse to her employer, the nurse being sued, the client in question, and the institution’s client will be reviewed. The areas that will be reviewed include how the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics would influence a final decision in each case study, how personal and societal values can influence the ethical decision making, the fundamental legal aspects of each case study, and the legal responsibility of the nurse in the work setting. The ANA code of Ethics must be followed in practice and is an especially useful tool when there are difficult legal and ethical issues that arise in nursing practice. In the example of the malpractice case for negligence, as a witness to questionable practice, it is the nurse’s primary responsibility to protect the safety of the patient. Although the nurse was correct in reporting the episode to administration, she also had a duty to counsel the nurse about the inappropriate standard of care. The ANA is clear that when a nurse is aware of questionable practice...
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...Ethical and Legal Issues Ethical and Legal Issues Faced with ethical and legal decisions on a daily basis, nurses must at times make some pretty tough decisions including how to proceed with care for an incapacitated patient with no advanced directive or how to proceed when called upon to testify against a current employer. The American Nurses Association Code of Nursing Ethics is one of the main tools available for the nurse to utilize when it comes to making these tough decisions. The nurse may apply personal values as well as societal values to these cases in order to come to a sound, ethical decision. The legal aspects of each of these cases can have a profound effect on the continuing career of the nurse, a thorough evaluation is necessary to protect all involved. Finally, the nurse also carries a legal responsibility to her profession, workplace, patients, and self. Ethical and legal decision-making are complex but after a thorough assessment, the nurse can continue to make an ethically and legally sound judgment on how to proceed. Influence of the ANA Code of Nursing Ethics The ANA Code of Nursing Ethics is the first reference when deciding how to proceed with an incapacitated patient who has no advanced directive or how a nurse should react when called upon to testify against an employer in a negligence or malpractice case. This code, designed to assist the nurse in maintaining his or her ethical integrity as well as protect the nurse...
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...Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing University of Phoenix Nursing 391 Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing Marianne, the 79-year old woman who presented with a hemorrhagic stroke in a recent case study, brings up thought for ethical debate. Her outlook is poor, with or without surgery, and she has no advanced directive. Her husband and children cannot come to an agreement on whether life support should end or if all resuscitative measures should be attempted. The following paper will discuss how the American Nurse’s Association Code of Nursing Ethics would influence a final decision, how personal and societal values can influence ethical decision making, the fundamental legal aspects of each case study, and the legal responsibilities of nurses in the work setting. Regardless of any situation that may arise, every nurse has a set standard in place that must be followed. These are nonnegotiable, ethical standards, obligations and duties that every individual swears to when entering the nursing profession. These standards are all found within the American Nurses Association’s code of Nursing Ethics and Conduct. Whether dealing with patients and families during end of life decision making or dealing with nursing negligence within the court of law, the first provision in the code of ethics is the most imperative to remember. Nurses are always obligated to their patient’s best interest, therefore making them an unrelenting patient advocate. Many provisions are pointed...
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...ETHICAL & LEGAL ISSUES IN NURSING HOW PERSONAL & SOCIETY VALUES CAN INFLUENCE ETHICAL DECISION MAKING… In my opinion, personal and society values are learned through observation and experience which are influenced by culture, race, religion, and family. Values involve thought, knowledge, and emotion; and vary between one another. With this in mind, it can be difficult to when making an ethical decision. Everyone’s values differ, therefore the nurse needs to be open-minded and not base their decision on their own beliefs and values. In the case study for the six caps, personal values do interfere with ethical decision making. Marian, a 79 year old with a hemorrhagic stroke who needs to have surgery knowing she may not recover function and both the husband and the children have different values of what should be done in this situation (Black & Chitty, 2011). Does the husband go along with the surgery and hope that things turn out the way he wants it to, or do the children get involved and help the father to recognize what would be best for their mother and doing what they believe is right for her? Both the husband and the children think they know what’s best for their wife/mother, but what is the ethical thing to do? In the critical thinking exercise, I believe personal and society values are influenced. Three years ago, when the nurse was acting negligent and being the nurse to witness it brings in my own values in play. First of all that nurse was violating standards...
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...Nurses today face many ethical dilemmas in the delivery of patient care. What can or should be done for the patient versus the wishes of the patient’s physician conflicting with the personal beliefs the nurse holds to be true. The client’s wishes may conflict with the institutional policies, physician professional opinion, the client’s family desires, or even the laws of the state. According to the nursing code of ethics, the nurse’s first allegiance is to the client (Blais & Hayes, 2011, pg. 60). The ethical ideals of each nurse must be weighed with the laws of the state along with providing the most ethical care for the patient. The advancements in medical technology make it possible to sustain a patient life where previously there was no hope of recovery. These advancements have put nurses in the forefront of decision making begging the question “just because we can, should we” to be answered. Nurses need to understand the legalities involved with these new technologies to practice safely and effectively. Scientific achievements have opened new ground for nursing exploration. In response to the need for nursing input into social and legal issues, nurses now find career opportunities as forensic nurses, legal nurse consultants, and nurse-attorneys (Blais & Hayes, 2011, pg. 75). This paper will explore the ethical and legal issues encountered by nurses in two case studies. The American Nurses Association Code of Nursing Ethics could influence a final decision in each case study...
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...Ethical Issue Paper: My ethical issue paper focused on substance abuse among nurses. I decided to focus on why and how substance abuse impacts patient care. I also tried to focus my paper on the number one thing we as future health care members should do which is to get those nurses who are abusing substances help. I feel like many people would argue and say that they should get fired and never be able to work as a nurse again and I strongly disagree with that. No one is perfect and everyone deserves a chance. It is important to listen to these types of people and be there for them. Once a substance abuser realizes that they aren’t alone then they will work to improve and get better. Why did you choose this topic? I decided to choose this...
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