...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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... In the case study, the nurse is facing ethical as well as professional dilemma regarding the patient’s rights. The nurse’s role in this case study is to, work according to the Maryland state regulations and nursing standards; But as per Maryland nursing standards, she is not working as an advocate for her patient, Mr. E at this situation (Code of Ethics - the Division of State Documents, 10.27.19.02). The patient already signed advanced directive against life saving measures almost seven years ago, at the time of admission to a nursing home, with the help of patient advocate; but Dr G. is planning patient care in opposition to Mr.E’s active advance directive and his expressed objections to the medical care. There are numerous issues to consider in this case study. The nurse has to review her professional role according to code of ethics and nursing standards in relation to advance directives and medical power of attorney. The nurse also has to consider the patient’s right to privacy and confidentiality according to HIPPA Policy. The issues in contemporary healthcare facilities are sometimes the statues can be vague, and issues can be in conflict with own personal beliefs in most areas. A) State Regulations and Nursing Standards of practice There are specific Maryland state regulations and nursing standards regarding patient rights in this case study. However, the most relevant regulation is that, the nurse...
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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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...Issues Ethics is an integral part to nursing practice. The American Code of Ethics for Nurses (ANA) with interpretive statements acts as a guide for professional conduct by outlining the ethical values of the profession. The Code provides the profession with a statement of responsibility to the public and serves as a basis for individual nursing decisions in clinical situations when ethical dilemmas arise. The code integrates universal, ethical principles which serve as the foundation for ethical actions. Nurses face ethical dilemmas on a daily basis. Our primary goal as nurses is the commitment to protect our patients. Provision 2 of the American Nursing Code of Ethics, describes the nurse’s primary commitment is to the patient. (ANA, 2010). Another important goal is to maintain safety, dignity and accountability. Respect the patient’s confidentiality and autonomy. The Nurse acts as the person who helps and advocates for the patient and their families about health care and end of life decisions. According to the American Nurse Association Code of Ethics, Provision 1:1 states that, “a fundamental principle that underlines all nursing practice is respect for the inherent worth, dignity, and human rights of every individual” (ANA, 2010). In the case study of Marianne a comatose patient, she has no advance directives, leaving her husband and children to make the decisions with different opinions. (Chitty & Black, 2011, pg.175). The ethics committee is already...
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...Dilemmas and D'Legals: Ethics and Law in Nursing Marsha Brice, Barbara Gong, Holly Lavely, Lindsey Talbot, Loveda Turnage NUR/391 August 6, 2012 Esther Van Baren Dilemmas and D'Legals: Ethics and Law in Nursing Every day nurses are confronted with situations that lead them to question their ethics and the legal duties of their profession. Both dilemmas are presented for examination and discussion in this class via two scenarios. In the first case scenario, the family of a victim of a hemorrhagic stroke must decide what measures they want the hospital staff to take to either sustain her life or if they want to deny any or all life-saving steps. In this instance, the father and children are at odds in their decision. The next case presents malpractice lawsuit scene where a nurse is called to testify on behalf of the patient against the negligent nurse and hospital. While these situations are vastly different, they share two inherent questions: What is the ethical thing to do? What is the nurse’s legal obligation? Each case study produced different legal questions. In the first case study the family of the patient could not agree on a course of action. There was no advance directive and the patient was not conscious. The husband of the patient in this case is the legal next of kin and is therefore legally responsible for making health care decisions for his wife when she is unable to do so. The children of the patient could challenge their father in court...
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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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...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 and patient during ethical dilemmas, is the foundation for ethical decision making (Blais & Hayes). According to American Nursing Association (2001), the nurse should place the patient first in both of these cases. The nurse’s top priority and legal responsibility is to the safety and wellbeing of the patients as their advocates (American Nursing Association, 2001). This...
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...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 that was presented. The six caps study revealed family members to have conflict in their desires when it came time for a decision in going ahead with surgery (the father’s desire) and having a poor quality of life as the...
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...Medical Sciences The Code of Ethics for Nurses F Zahedi, M Sanjari, [...], and M Vahid Dastgerdi Additional article information Abstract Nurses are ever-increasingly confronted with complex concerns in their practice. Codes of ethics are fundamental guidance for nursing as many other professions. Although there are authentic international codes of ethics for nurses, the national code would be the additional assistance provided for clinical nurses in their complex roles in care of patients, education, research and management of some parts of health care system in the country. A national code can provide nurses with culturally-adapted guidance and help them to make ethical decisions more closely to the Iranian-Islamic background. Given the general acknowledgement of the need, the National Code of Ethics for Nurses was compiled as a joint project (2009–2011). The Code was approved by the Health Policy Council of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and communicated to all universities, healthcare centers, hospitals and research centers early in 2011. The focus of this article is on the course of action through which the Code was compiled, amended and approved. The main concepts of the code will be also presented here. No doubt, development of the codes should be considered as an ongoing process. This is an overall responsibility to keep the codes current, updated with the new progresses of science and emerging challenges, and pertinent to the nursing practice. Keywords:...
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...professional nurses we often find ourselves faced with questions of ethics and legality when it comes to the care of patients. It is here that we find ourselves in the conundrum that is called nursing judgment. ”The basic level of problems concerns the dilemmas which arise for individual professional when they sense that there is a conflict between their private moral convictions and what they believe is required of them…” (Thompson, 1976). Nursing judgment is hard when so many factors are present, from the patient’s viewpoint, to the family/caregiver to the physicians ultimately in charge of the care. Many complicated scenarios can occur for the RN at any time and they must base their decisions on the ethical and legal guidelines that govern the nursing profession. Body In the world of nursing we are faced with ethical decisions on a regular basis but it is how we handle these situations that makes the difference. As a nurse we are bound by the guidelines of the code of ethics. The ANA (2014) states the “Code of Ethics for Nurses is a succinct statement of the ethical obligations and duties of every individual who enters the nursing profession. “It is the profession’s nonnegotiable ethical standard” and “an expression of nursing’s own understanding of its commitment to society”. In the case of the patient admitted with a hemorrhagic stroke whose family disagreed on the plan of care, the code of ethics outlines that the patient is our primary concern. When faced with conflict...
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...Ethical Issues with Case Studies Kimberley Corkran, Kleopatra G Jikokaj, Nicole Sherrod, Novia Williams Course/Number 12-08-2014 Mary Nicks Legal and Ethical Issues Introduction Nurses are governed by their nurses’ association code of ethics. Each individual also have values and beliefs which guides their behavior, however in the work setting the nurses association code of ethics supersede. As an individual, when we commit an offence, even though we are guided by our association code of ethics it is the law of our country by which we will be judged. In this paper we will be exploring how personal and societal values, and the American Nurses Association (ANA) code of ethics would influence decision in two scenarios involving patients. One case in which a nurse is a witness against her colleague in a malpractice case, in which her colleagues negligence resulted in harm to the patient, and she have reported her colleagues acts of negligence to her administrator on several occasion. The other case involves a patient who was diagnosed hemorrhagic stroke requiring ventilator assistance. Her family is divided in what the management should be, with her husband wanting to try everything to save her life and her children believing that she would not want to do surgery to be kept alive to live a poor quality life, which they believe will occur if she did the surgery. We will also be looking at the fundamental legal aspects of each case and the legal responsibility...
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...ACHE v. AMA Codes of Ethics ACHE v. AMA Codes of Ethics The American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Code of Ethics is a list of principles set forth to guide healthcare executives in their daily practice. The Code of Ethics clearly defines the behavior and performance standards required by those performing the duties of healthcare executives. The ACHE Code of Ethics is designed in a way that clearly directs healthcare executives in their interactions with patients, employees, and the community. The ACHE Code of Ethics also clearly defines the responsibilities of the healthcare executive to the profession of healthcare management and also the responsibilities of the healthcare executive to the organization, as well as the responsibility of the healthcare executive to report violations of the code to the appropriate entities. The ACHE Code of Ethics is comprehensive and provides guidance for healthcare executives in the many facets of the profession. One of the areas of strength of the ACHE Code of Ethics is the focus on ensuring that there are adequate processes in places for nearly every area of patient care, including conflict resolution, safeguards to prevent discrimination, ensuring autonomy, ensuring confidentiality, and many others. Because the ACHE Code of Ethics outlines the importance of having these processes in place, it is vital that the healthcare executive ensure that these processes are in place so that he/she can be in compliance with the ethical...
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...of Nursing NUR 391 September 19, 2011 Ethical and Legal Aspects of Nursing Nursing is an ever-changing profession that responds to diverse and complex issues of health maintenance, protection of patient safety, human rights, and dignity. Professional nurses are in a unique position as patient advocates, regardless of practice setting. Nurse’s face inherent ethical decisions making, and they are frequently involved in the ethical decisions both personally and professionally when ethical reason both for and against the choice are both equally desirable (Pierce, 1997). The ANA Code of Ethics with Interpretive Statements offers a statement for every professional nurse’s ethical obligations and duties, ethical standard, and commitment to society (ANA, 2001). Nurse must continuously meet standards of care and the ANA Code of Ethics and uphold fundamental legalities. Taking a closer look into the nurses ethical responsibility and fundamental legalities associated with direct patient care and as it would apply in the case study case study of patient Marianne, a 79 year-old female, who is admitted to the emergency department with hemorrhagic stroke, a grave prognosis of recovery and no advance directive. This paper will discuss legal responsibilities of the registered nurse as witness in a malpractice case of a nurse colleague found negligent in following standards of nursing practice. “The nurse’s primary commitment is to the patient who is the recipient of nursing care...
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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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...Ethics in Nursing Practice, Values and Decision Making Name Name of College Abstract Nurses work with a wide range of patients, and each patient presents their own economic, social and cultural differences. While nurses work to provide care for the sick, injured and dying, they are always working within the boundaries of their professional codes of ethics. The nursing code of ethics is more than laws and common etiquette, and upholding the code of ethics is understood and agreed upon by people in the nursing profession. The two kinds of ethical theories discussed most in nursing are consequentialist and nonconsequentialist theories. By examining these two theories, nurses are able to evaluate the principle of confidentiality and how to apply the principle within reasonable limits. Further understanding of these normative theories gives nurses the abilities to evaluate conflict avoidance and resolution. As nurses further navigate the world of ethics, they discover how the code of ethics is influenced by a person’s culture, and they acquire a solid foundation for current ethical decision-making models used in their industry. Ethics in Nursing Practice, Values and Decision Making Nurses who take care of patients are encouraged to do so with a certain level of politeness. Other than being polite, nurses are required to be skilled, and they must follow the laws which govern them in their field of practice. Between all of the skills, politeness and laws...
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