Term Paper on "Nursing Law and Ethics"

Term Paper 6 pages (1913 words) Sources: 4 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Nursing Law and Ethics

Name two (2) functions of the Nurses Board that are relevant to you as an Enrolled Nurse. 1.Centralized and universal licensure. 2.development and enforcements of legal responsibilities and practice rule of nurses.

State two (2) contributions Florence Nightingale made to healthcare.

The development of nursing as educated role. 2. Establishment and precedence of professionalism in nursing.

List four (4) responsibilities, which come from being registered as an Enrolled Nurse.

Know and practice according to laws and regulations. 2. Responsibility to keep knowledge current. 3. Recognize and respect patient's rights. 4. Advocate for the patient with regard to medical and personal needs.

4.Match the following nursing theory to the theorists responsible for their development.

A) Dorothea Orem iv) Self-care deficit theory

B) Patricia Benner ii) Caring Theory

C) Roper, Logan & Tierney iii) Nursing process & activities of daily living

D) Virginia Henderson i) Fourteen basic needs theory

5. What is the "Doctrine of Precedent" and where did it originate from?

The doctrine of precedent is a legal classification that means that once an ruling has been made by a higher court the ruling is generally followed or receives precedence from a lower or equal court. It originates from English common law otherwise known as civil law and is practiced in the U.S. legal tradition.

6. Statute Law is..

A law directed by written rules and regulations, often dominant in criminal proceedings as well as in determining rights rules and regulations of professions.

7. Civil Law deals with Police or Punishment True or False? False

8. What is your understanding of the term "Duty of Care"?

Duty of care is a general guideline that establishes the responsibility of an individual to act according to a reasonable standard of care. In nursing duty of care would be associated with the fact that logical standards of care should be practiced, not just those delineated in regulations and statutes.

9.Define the following:

Vicarious liability, vicarious liability is the liability one has if they are in direct or implied responsibility for another's actions, such as in the case of a physician over a nurse or an institution over the acts of employees. Most importantly insurance creates vicarious liability as individuals shift responsibilities for their own actions to an insurance agency or company through a malpractice liability policy. (Markesinis & Deakin, 1999, p. 6)

Consent, consent is the agreement of an individual to allow an act toward him or her, informed consent being that the individual is aware of potential outcomes and procedures to be done by a treatment prior to its being done. In most cases consent can only be waved in emergencies and generally requires consent of family in such cases.

Negligence, negligence is not providing reasonable standard of care or inappropriately providing care, by commission or omission, which can or does produce harm to another.

Assault, harming another with words.

Battery, harming another with physical actions.

10.List the four (4) principles that must be proved for an action of negligence to be successful.

1. The person accused was aware of or should have been aware of implications of action or inaction. 2. Harm (usually significant) was done by the lack of action or improper action. 3. There was an increased risk of harm done by the action or inaction of the provider. 4. Standard of care of an equivalent practitioner was not met. (Hall, 1960, p. 115)

11.Name five (5) Legislative Acts that have significance to Nursing Practice.

12.List two (2) members of a Health Care team.

Enrolled Nurse, Registered Nurse

13.Give three (3) fields of nursing in which Enrolled Nurses are trained to practice in.

Medical Nursing, Surgical Nursing, Long-term care nursing

14.An Enrolled Nurse is nurse who has gained practical experience from a limited 12-month coarse and experience in a hospital asetting, the enrolled nurse is subordinate to the registered nurse.

15.List the four (4) domains of the ANCI Competencies.

Professional and ethical practice, critical thinking and analysis, management of care, enabling

16.List five (5) important principles relating to Documentation.

If it is not documented it didn't happen, documentation provides a continuity between health care team members, documentation provides a safety net for professionals when questions of practice of ethic are brought up, documentation is essential to the development of best practices for the future, documentation is essential to the development of outcomes-based treatment efficacy.

17.What are the two broad purposes for nursing documentation?

To provide continuity of care between providers and document a treatment schedule in a timeline.

18.Give three (3) applications of use for the Scope of Nursing Practice Decision Making Framework.

To allow the nurse to be flexible in decision making based on the whole situation of care, to help answer questions about historical best practices, to provide continuity of care from a holistic standpoint

19.To whom does the Scope of Nursing Practice Decision Making Framework apply?

Enrolled nurses and registered nurses as well as nursing support staff

20.What is your understanding of the terms of 'ethics'?

A ethics is acting within the guidelines of all ethical principles of the profession, by respecting the patient, the patients rights and the obligation of the health care community to provide a high standard of care

21.List the four (4) major ethical principles associated with healthcare.

Provide life saving medical intervention, do no harm, respect the patient, respect the patients dignity and wishes

22. Give four (4) ethical issues that you may deal with in nursing practice.

The right of a patient to informed consent, the right of a patient to refuse treatment, the need to help make life saving medical decisions in a healthcare team in the absence of consciousness on the part of the patient and without a family member present, the need to set aside personal opinion of patient and/or his or her decisions and still freely offer available care

23.When confronted with an ethical issue in nursing practice, what is the name of the document that all nurses would refer to?

Scope of Nursing Practice Decision Making Framework

Case Study 1 Part a Mr. Spencer and his son were driving home when another motorist failed to stop at a red light. Both were severely injured and taken to the local hospital. The accident and emergency department was extremely busy and in the confusion, the tourniquet, applied correctly at the scene of the accident, was left on too long by the nurse. The leg subsequently had to be amputated. Mr. Spencer's wife arrived as he was returned to theatre. Shortly after he arrested and was resuscitated. His wife witnessed the events. The next three months were particularly difficult for his wife not knowing whether her husband would survive or not. She became extremely distressed and required hospitalization for physical and emotional problems.

His son's condition was also critical and required surgery. The child returned to the ward with a verbal order from the recovery nurse "as much fluid as possible" despite a doctor's order of 100ml per hour. During the course of the night, Nurse Harvey became very busy with new admissions. The observations on the child were not always carried out or if they were not recorded. The child's condition steadily deteriorated and at 00 hrs he had a grand mal seizure. Nurse Harvey reported the matter to her superior who notified the surgeon. Despite the seriousness of his condition the surgeon showed total disregard for the condition of the child and did not attend. The following morning the child died.

A a) What, if any, action may Mr. Spencer take against the hospital and its staff?

Wrongful death of his son. Negligence for the loss of his leg. Pain and suffering.

A b) What, if any, action may Mrs. Spencer be able to bring in her own right?

Wrongful death of her son. Pain and suffering.

A c) Following the death of the child is there likely to be a coronial inquest and if so, why?

Because the child died as a result of negligence on the part of the nurse, who overrode the doctor's orders for fluid and because the surgeon did not attend the child when warned of his condition.

A d) Who may be called as a witness and what are the implications of not attending?

Any medical professional present a well as implied supervisory role present or not, the plaintiff, and the plaintiff's legal representative at the time of the events. If any witness is subpoenaed to appear not attending could result in a contempt of court filing which has very flexible rules for punishment on the part of the court.

A e) What are the likely outcomes following a coronial inquest?

The nurse and doctor would likely be held liable and some sort of settlement will be ordered by the court to be paid by the institution, the individual or a malpractice insurer.

A f) Do you think further action may be taken against doctors, nurses and the hospital following the death of the child? Please explain… READ MORE

How to Reference "Nursing Law and Ethics" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Nurse Health Habits Effect Hospital Environment Research Paper

This general data includes the age, ethnicity, hobbies, general appearance, memory impairment as well as disabilities. At this particular stage the cultural challenge which was observed was the different culture… read more

Research Paper 12 pages (4387 words) Sources: 11 Topic: Nursing / Doctor / Physician

---

Whistleblowing in Nursing Essay

Nurse Whistleblower

Whistleblowing in the Australian Nursing Profession: Practical Observations and Ethical Implications

The world is growing ever smaller, as interconnections between previously disparate people and groups become ever tighter… read more

Essay 8 pages (2192 words) Sources: 10 Topic: Nursing / Doctor / Physician

---

Ethics the Nursing Profession Term Paper

Ethics

The nursing profession, perhaps more than any other, is a veritable minefield of ethics issues and dilemmas. Because it is a caring profession, the focus of the nursing business… read more

Term Paper 9 pages (3034 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Ethics / Morality

---

Nursing Law Dissertation

Critical Care Nursing

Regarding Legal Liability

the critical care nursing regarding legal liability issues

Definition of key concepts

Introduction to the history of forensic nursing

Interaction with patients with legal… read more

Dissertation 30 pages (9400 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Nursing / Doctor / Physician

---

Nursing Model Theory Application Research Proposal

Nursing Model/Theory Application

A nurse's role, according to Virginia Henderson's Nursing Theory, which she wrote prior to the development of theoretical nursing, is to help a person, whether he/she is… read more

Research Proposal 6 pages (1740 words) Sources: 4 Style: APA Topic: Nursing / Doctor / Physician

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>