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Legal implications in nursing practice from fundamentals of nursing
Legal implications in nursing practice from fundamentals of nursing
Professionalism and nursing theory
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Nursing surrounds the concept of patient care physically, mentally and ethically. The therapeutic relationship that is created is built on the knowledge and skills of the nurse and relies on patient and nurse trusting one another. The use of nursing skills can ensure these boundaries are maintained, it allows for safe patient care. Professional boundaries are the line that nurses cannot cross, involving aspects such as patient confidentiality and privacy, ensuring legal aspects of nursing and the boundaries put in place are not breached. However, nurses accepting financial or personal gain from patient can also cross these professional boundaries. It is only through education in this area that the rights of patients can be preserved, as well as the nursing standards. Through education in areas such as confidentiality, boundaries can remain in tact and the patient care can remain within the zone of helpfulness. Every patient that is admitted to hospital, or seen by a health professional has a right to his or her own privacy, and it is through ensuring professional boundaries are upheld that this basic right can be achieved. According to Levett-Jones and Bourgeois (2011, pp. 237) confidentiality is an obligation made by a professional to respect the information given by a patient to healthcare professional. In this modern age, privacy can be hard as society relies on technology as a form of communication, allowing for information to be more readily available. However, by posting on Facebook about a patient or informing a friend, the trust created in a therapeutic relationship is breach and is called a boundary crossing. Thompson (2010, pp.26) understands that “At times, boundary crossing may be unintentional, but emphasizes th... ... middle of paper ... ... health professionals in the hospitals today, that these breaches can be stopped and the vulnerability of the patient remain unharmed or abused. Therefore professional boundaries ensure that there is no misuse in power resulting in dangerous patient care, and gives integrity to the nursing profession. Works Cited Balzer-Riley, Julia W 2008, ‘Communication in nursing ’, Mosby-Elsevier Inc., St. Louis, MO, pp. 2-16, 74-86, retrieved 8th April 2010, Deakin University Library site. Harris, Nagy, S and Vardaxis N, 2010, The Mosby’s Dictionary, 2nd Edn, Elsevier, Chatswood. Lanier, E, 2011, ‘Parlez-Vous la Terminologie Médicale’, Florida Nurse, Vol. 59 Issue 1, pp.19 Levett-jones, T, and Bourgeois, S, 2011, The clinical placement, 2nd Edn, Elsevier, Chatswood. Kozier and Erb’s, 2010, Fundamentals of Nursing, Pearson Education, French’s Forest.
Standards are important aspects of nursing that a nurse must learn and implement every day for the rest of their nursing career. These standards provide for a nurse’s competence in the quality of care they deliver to the public. Standards offer a necessary guidance to nurses everywhere in an effort to ensure that people are treated correctly and ethically. Patients expect nurses to have a general knowledge of the medical realm and to know exactly what it is they –as nurses- are responsible for. Nurses need to have a sense of professionalism that enable the patient to feel safe and secure, knowing that a competent person is caring for him. A lack of professionalism does the opposite, making it impossible for a patient to trust or respect the nurse caring for him. Standards of nursing, if utilized correctly, give the nurse that sense of professionalism the patient is expecting. It insures for the safety of the patient and allows the nurse to provide quality health care that is expected of a medical professional.
Out of all the duties of a nurse, one of the most important duties is how the nurse honors the trust of a patient by maintaining the patient’s privacy and safeguarding the patient’s information confidentially. Privacy is the ability of the patient to make the choices in how to handle information regarding him or herself that other individuals are not aware of. As an example, prior to releasing the patient’s private information, the nurse must notify the patient on how their information will be handled and get consent from the patient
Employees within healthcare and anyone who has been a mature patient in recent years have been duly informed of the Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act (HIPPA), but even more people are more intimately familiar with the social networking site Facebook. Prior to researching the legal and ethical boundaries at it pertains to patient confidentiality in nursing school, many of us thought little of the HIPPA concept and how it applies to each of us as individuals. We can announce to the world on Facebook that I have a lump, please go get a mammogram! We can whine on for ages about our children’s medical problems. We make announcements and call for prayers for our spouses and parents who are ill. We share with our friends and family, sometimes things we should not share. This is not about Facebook; its essence is respecting others privacy and refusing to participate in activity that may divulge private medical information about anyone. Crossing that line, making clear the intent to become a part of the health care sector, changes your responsibility toward identifying information regarding a person other than yourself, and that information dies with you or there can be harsh consequences.
However, we are looking at a case study where patients safety has been compromised, professionalism has been voided, lack of communication, nurses aren’t liable for their work, the duty of care has been breached and lot more issues can be discovered. Which will be incorporated in this paper. Looking at the patient Christopher Hammett
In this essay the author will rationalize the relevance of professional, ethical and legal regulations in the practice of nursing. The author will discuss and analyze the chosen scenario and critically review the action taken in the expense of the patient and the care workers. In addition, the author will also evaluates the strength and limitations of the scenario in a broader issue with reasonable judgement supported by theories and principles of ethical and legal standards.
Boundaries are established to protect the patient, the nurse, and the co-worker from over or under involvement in each other’s lives. Therapeutic care belongs in the middle of a continuum, deviation to either side skews the interpersonal boundaries established for “effectiveness and patient safety” (National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2011). These boundaries are not just established for the benefit of the patient and the nurse, but for all of those in the workplace. Interpersonal boundaries should be respected by all employees. These boundaries include information regarding our personal lives, patient information not pertinent to those involved in their care, or allowing relationships to alter into forms that are inappropriate. What is important to remember about interpersonal boundaries, is that these boundaries are not just established for the benefit of the nurse-patient relationship, but for all employees of a business. Outside of a business, boundaries are established throughout different types of relationships. Maintaining boundaries keeps all people involved in everyday and workplace life safe and professional. This can be a confusing topic, trying to decide what is okay to disclose and what is not okay to disclose. The nurse a...
It is important to preserve the dignity of all patients in the care of nurses and to not make them feel as though they are worthless. For example, when someone is incontinent and cannot care for themselves anymore, such as some residents in long-term care, it is important to help them remain dignified. The resident should be able to feel as though they are respected and are given the appropriate amount of privacy as we are working in their home. With this being said, it is very crucial for nurses to provide residents’ in long-term care, as well as patients in the hospital, with great care while still preserving their dignity and maintaining their privacy. It is important for the client to feel as comfortable as they would if they were in their own home. With this, Registered nurses must appreciate and respect each person in whom they care for. This respect is seen through the nurse as they explain to the patient what they will be doing as they are caring for them, as well as providing care within the wishes of the person. Patients in the hands of the Registered Nurse, appreciate caring as a core value during their stay in the hospital. This is proved as Davis (2005) states, “From a patient perspective, the caring presence that emanates from nurses, positively impacts patients’ hospital experience,” (p.127) As nurses, caring is the absolute root of nursing practice. Preserving patients’ privacy and dignity involves aspects such as closing doors or screens and making sure they are covered while doing so, (Royal College of Nursing, 2015). The Code of Ethics outlines the importance of Registered Nurses supporting the person, family, group, population or community receiving care in maintaining their dignity and integrity, (Canadian Nurses Association, 2008). All these factors involved with the Code of Ethics greatly impact the nursing practice of
1. Legal, ethical and professional principle frameworks underpin all fields of nursing, and it is a requirement for all Registered Nurses to be competent and knowledgeable, act with integrity and maintain professional standards set out by Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC, 2015). Working with multidisciplinary teams within our profession, it is important to acknowledge and recognise the way in which all the professionals are guided by law and their independent regulatory bodies. The needs of the individual patient is to be considered by doctors and nurses alike, who share professional values and are set out in the respective codes of practice, The Code (NMC, 2015) and GMC (2013).
As one can imagine, the values of professionalism within nursing are crucial. Nurses are not trained to perform tasks, but are educated to be professionals who use evidence-based practice alongside an intuitive and compassionate approach to care. The nurse's professional role as a care provider,
Patient confidentiality is one of the foundations of the medical practice. Patients arrive at hospitals seeking treatment believing that all personal information will remain between themselves and the medical staff. In order to assure patients privacy, confidentiality policies were established. However, a confidentiality policy may be broken only in the case the medical staff believes that the patient is a danger to themselves or to others in society. Thesis Statement: The ethics underlying patient confidentiality is periodically questioned in our society due to circumstances that abruptly occur, leaving health professionals to decide between right and wrong.
Nursing may be seen as very independent work even though there will be situations that will require others. Friendships may be formed; however, to have professional interactions is something that is not always followed. In terms of patient confidentiality, we may not realize that a HIPPA violation has occurred due to friendly conversation with coworkers. If a patient were to overhear their nurse discussing their information in an unprofessional manner then it may cause issues with a patient’s dignity and their rights. If a patient’s right is violated then it can lead to a patient’s mistrust in their caregiver, leading to mistrust in the facilities, and can end with a patient’s health being compromised. The patient is the reason for this career; if the needs of the patient are being unmet or violated then the purpose of our occupation will be unsuccessful and
One of the goals of nursing is to respect the human rights, values and costumes of a patient and his or her family and with the community as a whole. The International Council of Nurses states that nursing practice can be defined generally as a dynamic, caring, helping relationship in which the nurse assists the client to achieve and maintain optimal health. As health care providers, we have some fundamental responsibilities such as to promote health, to prevent illnes...
In every nurse's career, he or she will face with legal and 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". It is important to know what types of dilemmas nurses may face
In conclusion, there are numerous legal and ethical issues apparent in the nursing practice. Nurses should study and be as informed as they can with ethics and legality within their field in order to ensure no mistakes occur. Ethical issues vary based on patient’s views, religion, and environment. Nurses are influenced by these same views, but most of the time they are not the same as the patients. As a nurse we must learn to put the care of our patients and their beliefs, rights, and wishes before our own personal
Nursing is based on the ethical value of a commitment to promoting well-being by providing competent and compassionate care. Guidelines and codes are beneficial because they state values, obligations and limitations. These guidelines are designed to help nurse's think and resolve ethical and professional questions and issues. The nurse is faced with many legal and ethical dilemmas. One of the ...