Assignment: Signature Assignment: Legal and Ethical Considerations in Nursing Presentation: Among various stakeholders, the registered nurse must incorporate legal and ethical theories and principles...

LEGAL & ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN NURSING
LEGAL & ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN NURSING
Toyin Talabi
Aspen University
INTRODUCTION
Registered Nurses must consider legal and ethical principles in healthcare practice.
The presentation assess the legal and ethical principles and role of nurse in health initiatives.
It analyzes the factors associated in nursing in responding to dilemmas in diverse healthcare settings.
It provides an overview of regulatory action, legislative and judicial processes.
Introduction cont.
It enables the nurses to get familiar with changes affecting healthcare system like patient rights, technological advances and managed care.
The work illustrates all the legal and ethical issues regarding workplace violence, and policies recommended to improve the delivery of quality care.
The work enlists the priorities, challenges and issues faced by healthcare providers and patients in present scenaio.
FIVE LEGAL/ETHICAL CONCEPTS INFLUENCING NURSING PRACTICE
1. Law and Judicial process
2. Ethical principles
3. Liability issues
4. Nurse Practice Acts, Licensure, and scope of practice
5. Effect of law on nursing in selected professional settings (Guido,2013)
IMPACT OF LEGAL/ETHICAL CONCEPTS
ON AGENCY VIABILITY AND QUALITY PATIENT CARE
1.Law & Judicial Process
Law can be defined as a set of rules or principles.
Sources of Law can be constitutional, Statutory, Administrative or Judicial law.
Law can be of many types: Civil, common, criminal, public substantive, private or procedural.
Laws must operate equally among all people, and must be reasonable and definite.
To enforce a rule, fair procedures must be followed.
Cont..
In application of due process, when there is any need for nurses to appear before the nursing board, they must be offered proper notice about charges imposed and upcoming hearing (Parker, 2007).
2. Ethical Principles
Nurses should use ethical decision making like MORAL model in case of dilemmas.
As patient advocate, nurse must be concerned about patient priority.
As patient advocates, Nurses must be aware of hospital policies, norms and standards of care.
If a nurse finds any instruction offered by physician harmful for the patient, nurse must refuse to follow it and should inform supervisors.
Cont..
Early discharges must be prevented to ensure patient’s safety.
Discharge planning and instructions must be given in written form, and should include symptoms of possible complications the patient may feel (Guido,2013).
3. Liability Issues
Standards of care are the acceptable level of care and skills normally possessed by nursing professionals.
Standards of care can be internal or external.
Internal standards are defined by nurse’s education, job description and policies of institute.
External standards are regulated by state board of nursing, hospital authorities and federal organizations.
Cont..
National standards make available equal quality of care for all patients.
Healthcare practitioners are provided defense against liability, intentional...