Relevance Of Legal And Ethical Considerations Into The Nursing Practice
- December 27, 2023/ Uncategorized
Children in the Workplace
a) Children in the workplace
The self-employed people plus those in charge of workplaces are accountable for ensuring the safety as well as health including that of children in the work area. The workers are supposed to operate safely so they are not harmed. Besides, work place safety as well as health planning needs to address situations where children might live at the work station that is their home or be visiting their guardians
b) Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia.
The need for code of ethics is to identify the primary ethical standards as well as values to where the nursing profession is dedicated and such are put in other endorsed professional nursing principles as well as standards of conduct. It also gives a reference point for the nurses on how they are supposed to conduct themselves.
c) Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses
The code outlines a set of standards the nursing professionals are supposed to uphold as well as notify the society about the standards of professional conduct it may expect the nursing staff to uphold. Also it makes nurses practice in line with the standards relating to safety plus quality of healthcare.
d) Codes of practice
The code of practice is to advance clients confidence in the health care sector as well as any other organization that subscribes to the code. However, it also provides customer focused benefits beyond the required or minimum standards.
e) Continuing professional education opportunities and mandatory CPD requirements for nurses
It helps nurses as well as the midwives identify the learning needs based on the evaluation of their practice against a set professional as well as recognized standards. The standards also helps in developing a plan in regard to the needs identified when it comes to the nursing practice. Ideally, nurses and midwives keep evidence of the CP for not less than three years but there is no need for the evidence to be provided every moment a renewal of registration is being made.
f) Direct and indirect discrimination and its implications
Direct discrimination is for instance when a person with disability is not given equal opportunity as to the same person without disability. On the other hand, indirect discrimination is when rules or policies of a given sector stop an individual from getting an opportunity may be due to his or her disability. The two can have great implication when it comes to work force, for example, it happens most of the times where people with the skill to perform a certain type of job are not given an opportunity to exercise their skill. While in contrary, those without the skill are provided with an opportunity thus impacting on the productivity. Moreover, the discrimination can lead to loss of morale to most of the people in the sense that they will feel that they won’t be given a chance in the market sector to exercise their skill or present their ideas to the real world
g) Duty of care of an enrolled nurse
Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia
The enrolled nurse acts in accordance with the needed standard of care. This is the standard to be expected by an ordinary healthcare officer like an enrolled nurse when it comes to executing a certain role or task. However, the standards expected here are not influence by an individual attributes like the level of expertise or experience. Since the aim of nursing council it to provide protection to the public, it also set standards for education, conduct, training as well as performance. Moreover, the enrolled nurses who are part of the nursing and midwifery council follows the NMC as well as othe1r regulations /guidance when it comes to the provision of healthcare services.
h) Equal employment opportunity (EEO)
The legislation achieves a taskforce where individuals work prospects as well as job choice depends entirely on their skills, abilities as well as experiences irrespective of their sex, race or any other factor that is irrelevant to the work. This legislation has been practiced in the nursing practice where there is no discrimination in the taskforce as well as provision of care irrespective of the alienation of a person.
i) Human rights including access to healthcare.
This policy ensures that every other person in the society has access to health care services such as medical services, decent housing as well as adequate food to mention just a few. Nursing practice has made this policy attainable by providing health care services to all as well as ensuring healthcare centers are available and accessible where and during time of need.
j) Informed consent
The informed consent has both ethical and legal angle. In ethical concept, the consent emerges from principle of a client’s autonomy as well as basic human rights. In this aspect, the client decides on what or not to be done to his body as well as to gather info prior to the commencement of a surgery. On the legal perspective, no person has the mandate to touch leave alone treat that person for a certain condition. In this aspect, healthcare workers obtain a consent before they start anything.
k) Professional indemnity insurance (PII) arrangements for enrolled nurses
The guideline provides a direction to the healthcare workers about the necessities of professional indemnity insurance arrangements which are enshrined under the national law. In the nursing practice, healthcare workers cannot practice their profession unless they’re secured in their conduct of practice by PII arrangements. Besides, the ENs need to have PII arrangement to as to meet the requirements of section 129 subsection one of the national law.
l) Public liability insurance arrangements for enrolled nurses
The cover has been used in the medical health sector as well as in nursing practice to protect people/ patients against financial costs that emanate due to malpractices in the medical field.
m) Life and death issues
Power of attorney
This is a legal document that appoints a trustworthy person to make decision on behalf of the client or patient.in the medical field, the document has been widely used especially when making critical decision when the patient is not in a position to make such decision by him/herself especially when the client is unconscious following an injury.
- Living wills and advanced directives (advanced care plan)
Living wills as well as advanced directives are written plus legal instruction about the choice for medical care in the event a patient is not in a position to make decisions by him/herself. The advance care plan has been used in the nursing practice to guide healthcare professionals in the choice for healthcare professionals as well as care givers when the patient is terminally ill is near the end of life. - Guardianship (guardian of property and person)
Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses
Guardianship is an option in the event when a person has chosen the power of attorney for healthcare or finances and the person is incapacitated due to disability or advancing age. The guardianships have been used in the nursing practice to make end of life decisions on behalf of the patient as well as releasing confidential records of the client when there is need to.
n) Mandatory reporting (provide examples from a nursing context)
This is a statutory obligation that puts legislative duty to report certain types of child maltreatment on a specified groups of person who encounter children in their profession. Examples of mandatory reporting is when a healthcare provider gives report of child abuse and maltreatment such as being hit by the guardian or a parent. Another example can be when a report is made that the child parents/ guardians are abusing alcohol/drugs.
o) Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia nursing practice guidelines, standards and fact sheets
- Enrolled nurse competency standards for practice
These are key practice standards that give the framework for accessing ENs practice. What they do is that they communicate to the general public about the standards that should be expected from enrolled nurses such as assessing enrolled nurses returning to work following breaks in service as well as development of curricula by the education providers.
- Professional boundaries
These are the limits that protect the boundary between the patients vulnerability from the professionals power. However, when nurses and health care professionals go beyond the limit, they are generally acting in an unprofessional manner as well as misusing their power in that relationship. This practice has been applied in the nursing practice where nurses exercise kindness as well as respect when handling their patients
- Professional practice guidelines
Nurses plus midwives needs to be registered with the NMBA as well as meet its professional standards to practice in Australia. Some of the professional practices as well as behavior or nurses/midwives are the code of conduct and ethics, guides for professional boundaries as well as standards for practice.
- Decision-making framework (DMF) including the nursing flowchart
The framework comprises of two section, the first one is set of guidelines that establish the foundation for the development as well as evaluation of decision making tools. The second comprises of templates for decision making. This framework has been use in the nursing practice to identify the agreed foundation principles for the decision making tools implemented by the nursing as well as midwifery authorities. It has also been used in showing the application of the principles as well as concepts in the healthcare and service delivery.
- Re-entry to practice
The guideline applies to those who hold or has earlier on held registration as a midwife or nurse in Australia and they are seeking for registration and cannot meet the recency of practice registration standard. The policy is used in the nursing practice for those who have not practiced nursing for a period of ten years or more. The policy is also useful when it comes to the registration renewal for nurses in each year.
- Registration guidelines
The registration guidelines has been applied in the nursing practice in the sense that the applicants should meet all the registration as well as qualification criteria so as to be in a position to register without any restriction or limitations.
- Recency of practice fact sheet
Codes of Practice
This implies that the nurse has kept a good connection with as well as recent past practice since after obtaining registration. The NMBA recency of practice requires that every nurse or mid wife to have a recent experience when it comes to the nursing practice as well as ensure that their professional practices and skills are current. For those registered as midwife and a nurse it applies to the experience as well as skills in the two fields.
p) Privacy and confidentiality
According to the NMBA, nurses and midwives have a moral obligation to protect the privacy of their clients or patients requiring or receiving health care. They should also maintain confidentiality when it comes to the records of their clients and only share it amongst the health professionals attending to the client and also to the relatives if need be. Privacy and confidentiality has been exercised in the nursing practice when it comes to the provision or privacy of records of the patient.
q) Disclosure of health information
According to the NMBA, disclosure of health information of a patient should only be done amongst the health workers attending to the patent or to the relatives and guardian of the patient.
r) Policy frameworks for nursing practice
This framework gives three main principles for safety as well as high quality care which that care is consumer centered, organization for safety as well as driven by information. Ideally, the framework is used in nursing practice to provide ways for refocusing current safety as well as quality strategies.
s) Social media policy
The social medial policy has a myriad of implications to the nursing practice such as patient education where people access health care information as well as other educational resources. It is also used in professional education where communication power provided by the media is used in improving clinical education. Other implications include networking in the professional field, organization promotion and patient care to mention just a few.
t) Ethical decision making models
The two common ethical decision models include the nursing and midwifery code of standards models. This model is applicable in Australia and it is used by nurses and midwives in their profession. The second model is ethical decision making framework that is used in clinical ethics committee to provide support on ethical issues about the clinical practice.
u) Contemporary ethical concepts and principles in nursing such as: a
According to the nursing and midwifery board, the following principles needs to be adhered to in every situation; respecting the client wishes(Autonomy), treating every patient with fairness and equality(Justice), remaining competent in the field of health care and service delivery and reporting suspected abuse (Nonmalificence), having compassion and taking positive action when it comes to helping others (beneficence), keeping commitments based on the aspect of care(fidelity) and lastly is considering the entire person when it comes to decision making(totality and integrity).
a) Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth)
This is an Australian law that deals with privacy. According to the act section 14, there are some privacy acts referred to as IPPs or information privacy principles. The principles apply to the Australians in every sector including the health care sector and they govern how an individual’s records should be collected by government agencies. The act impacts nursing practice in the sense that it makes provisions to protect the privacy of people as well as for related purposes.
Continuing Professional Education Opportunities and Mandatory CPD Requirements for Nurses
b) My Health Records Act 2012 (Commonwealth)
The act is about making health information regarding healthcare recipients that can be reached to provide healthcare to patients. Health information can be obtained used as well as disclosed from the disclosed from the healthcare recipient though the my health care record with the aim of providing healthcare to the people subject to the access controls put forth by the recipient. The act impacts nursing practice in a positive manner by helping overcome the fragmentation of health information.
c) Aged Care Act 1997 (Commonwealth)
The act provides for the commonwealth to provide financial aid through payment of subsidies for the provision of Aged care and also through payment of grants for the subject about provision of aged care. The act promotes high quality of care and also facilitates access to aged care services for those who require them.
d) Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Commonwealth)
This acts prohibits against discrimination for people with disabilities especially in the education, health and job sector and also in the provision of goods/services. In this act discrimination is failing to reasonable judgments for an individual. The acts promotes acceptance as well as recognition in the society as well as fair and equal distribution of resources in the society.
e) Criminal Code Act 1995 (Commonwealth)
This act codifies the general principles of criminal responsibility under the umbrella of common wealth laws. It comprises of the principles of criminal responsibility that may apply to any other offense. The act is of great importance to the nursing practice in the sense that it establishes the compensation and penalties that need to be applied during a criminal case.
f) Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 (Commonwealth)
This act provides framework to cover the health, safety, as well as well fare of the employees at the work area. The acts also protects the health as well as safety of every other person that might be affected by the work. Ultimately, the act provides cover or protection to the general public such that their health as well as safety is not put at risk by work activities.
a) Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act:
Health practitioner regulation national law Western Australia act 2010
b) Health (drugs and poisons) legislation:
The medicines and poison act 2014
c) mental health legislation:
Mental health reform legislation
d) Carers recognition legislation or official policies: Carers recognition act 2012
e) Anti-discrimination legislation:
Civil rights act 1964
f) Children and young people legislation:
Children protection act 1993
g) working with children legislation:
Working with children regulation 2016
h) Workplace health and safety (WHS) legislation:
work health and safety act 2011 (Qld)
Negligence; this is a nursing malpractice done with the consent of a health professional. Negligence in health care sector can lead to serious problems especially to patients with severe condition that require immediate response by a doctor.
Lack of ethics and professionalism; it is evident that the patients should be the first priority when it comes to attending to their needs hence when such is violated it amounts to the breach of the nursing code of ethics.
Direct and Indirect Discrimination and Its Implications
The student nurse, the person who delegated the responsibility should be held accountable in case of a mishap or omission of the student nurse. Besides, the scenario should not occur since a student nurse should have a receptor by her side to guide on what to do.
Consent should be obtained before performing any action that from asking the client o allow assessment to obtaining informed consent for a procedure.
The following are the legal requirements; patient valuation which comprise the enduring summaries and wellbeing drafts and strategy of caution which is usually acknowledged taking into attention the patient valuation, medical delivery, preceding patient credentials and oral communication with the patient and family and its usually discussed with the patients’ and their carers to certify clear anticipations of caution, processes, inquiries and release.
The following should be done after the suspicion; listen diligently if the casualty requests conversation but evade enquiring outside what is essential to safeguard the casualty and secure evidence, collect important evidence by enquiring what transpired?, where and when it occurred? And who is the apparent abuser? Avoid damage or demolition of identified confirmation, regulate and hold the condition, certify claims are not recurring to others and file a cruelty report.
Neurologists and psychoanalysts
Definition of terms:
- a) Ethics:
These are honorable codes that direct a person’s behavior built on what is upright and evil.
b) Bioethics:
It is the study of moral disputes developing from improvements in biology and medicine.
- c) Nursing ethics:
It is a division of practical principles that worries itself with happenings in the arena of nursing. - Describe the following terms
a) Civil law:
It is a body of law that deals with the personal life of an individual
b) Common law:
this is the system of Law based on tradition, custom as well as court decisions compared to the written law. - c) Statute law:
This is the law passed as well as established by a legislative department of the state.
d) Precedent:
A reference used in justifying similar events at a later date or time
e) Law of torts:
These are set of laws that give solution to people who have suffered harm through unreasonable deeds of others.
f) Negligence:
It refers to the failure to act with caution that a sound individual would apply under a similar circumstance.
g) Trespass:
It is unlawful intrusion which affects an individual or a person
- h) Assault:
It is a threatened/attempted physical attack by a person who appears to be in a manner to cause bodily harm especially when not stopped.
i) Battery:
This is an intentional act meant to cause harm or injury to an individual.
j) Legal capacity:
This is the capability of an individual to make or execute reasonable judgments - k) Intellectual capacity:
it refers to the ability of the brain to make right decisions/reasoning as well as to project future plans and strategies that are good - l) Clinical incapacity:
Refers to the lack of legal ability qualifications or competence to execute clinical matters. - m) False imprisonment:
This is an act/failure to act as per the defendant who confines a plaintiff to a certain area. - n) Defamation:
This is an act of communication that can lead to shaming, ridicule or lack of reputation to a person.
o) Vicarious liability:
This is a doctrine where the employer employee exists and the employers are usually held legally accountable for the wrongful actions of their workers - p) Defendant:
It is an individual against whom suit is brought requiring to the pay the other person or party for legal relief. - q) Plaintiff:
It is the individual to a civil suit that brings the suit seeking damages
r) Harassment:
This is the abuse, insult or harm of an individual on a regular basis.
s) Expert witness:
This is the person who helps the jury by offering opinion on whether a nurse committed a malpractice or not. - t) Coronial inquests:
These are public hearings held to find the cause as well as the circumstance surrounding the death of an individual in unusual/unnatural manner. - The application of NSQHS in Australia
The NSQHS implemented by the ACSQHC was introduced in January 2013 and is a must for a vast of the private and public hospitals in Australia. The program was aimed at improving or developing patient safety as well as healthcare services. The ACHS organization was approved by ACSQHC to provide accreditation program to tackle the needs of the current NSQHS standards. The ACHS provides two programs for its members so as to provide sensitization as well as support services that the members are acquainted with. These programs include the ACHS national safety as well as the quality health service NSQHS standard program and last is the ACHS EQuIP National program.
The NMBA executes functions as set by the practitioner regulation national law. The board regulates the practice of nursing as well as midwifery in Australia and one of its primary duty is to protect the public. Although nurses and midwives can be put to help during disasters or emergency they also provide info on regulatory as well as professional advice for the midwives and nurses. The information may help in proving framework for ethical, regulatory as well as legal considerations to be put in the context of practice or support the principles of practice plus standards that guide a person’s practice (Turner et al. 2008). Above all, the NMBA endorses nurses plus disaster preparedness as well as health of women and children in disasters.
- Consequentialism: the consequence ethics entails judging the morality of a rule or action based on the goodness of its ramifications. In such an ethical system, the ramifications of a decision matter very much such that they cannot be ignored.
- Deontological (duty-based) ethics: it acknowledges that actions as well as their results are two separate things. Ideally, they’re things that are supposed to be done despite the fact knowing that they are wrong.
Duty of Care of an Enrolled Nurse
a) Abortion: nurses have the ethical as well as moral obligation to promote life or protect it either way. The dilemma lies in the right plus responsibility of nurses towards abortion and the right of a client choosing to terminate a pregnancy. However, the role of nurses and the rights of the clients are supported in the law and the ethical framework for nurses.
b) Tissue transplantation and organ donation: the medical research council has provided four sectors that offer information as well as to free advice to nurses about the ethical aspects of organ/tissue donation and transplant. The sectors include donating organ after dealt, ethical issues in donating tissues /organs by living donors, the issues raised by allocating transplant resources and lastly certifying death.
c) Reproductive technology: ethical issues that emerge in reproductive technology surround the creation as well as destruction of embryo. One principle in bioethics is preserving justice, non-maleficence and beneficence. Bioethics contribute a lot to ethical guidelines as well as moral evaluation of modern technologies and methods in reproductive technology and to the public discourse that results to the development of national regulations.
d) Euthanasia and assisted suicide: the code of ethics gives guidance to healthcare experts who are confronted with end of life dilemmas as well as assisted suicide. Healthcare workers have the mandate to alleviate the suffering of their patients or provide care to the terminally ill. Therefore, nurses should play a critical role in helping terminally ill patient prepare for death and also respect their autonomy by doing it with the patient’s consideration of lifestyle.
e) Restraint: restraint should understand that restraint can present great risk to the patient. Therefore, restraint is supposed to be the last option since it presents a threat to human rights, autonomy, dignity plus the wellbeing. Besides, restraint compromises ethics in nursing since it undermines its value. Therefore, a more creative, collaborative plus respectful responses to care are a mandate.
f) Open disclosure: a healthcare professional has the obligation to the client as well as the ethical considerations of non-maleficence as well as fidelity that is the obligation to deter harm and a duty to be faithful to everyone in the healthcare sector. Besides, the nurses own value of providing correct information to the patient needs to be considered all through.
g) Mandatory reporting: the issue of mandatory reporting is very common among health care professionals plus the parameters for reporting are dependent on the area in which a person is. Although this issue is seen mostly during counselling, the ethical demand for mandatory reporting needs to succeed but with the provision of professional indemnity as well as enough discretion for a well put clinical assessment risk.
h) Quality of life: although pain is not only the key factor of intolerable existence the problems may become more rampant when quality of life issues are the main focus thus leading to difficult decision making for the healthcare workers involved in healthcare delivery
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
i) Conscientious objection (CO). Although CO arises in the healthcare delivery, it is very common in women healthcare. The CO also does its best to protect the interest of everyone. However, referring a patient to another provider protects the health of that client while deterring the provider from having to take part in care that violates held beliefs.
j) Abuse, e.g. elder abuse: although abuse of elders is a major concern in the healthcare sector, there are few policies that help care providers identify as well as prevent abuse. Besides, ethical ideals as well as standards needs to be put forth to guide on whether clients are being cared for in nursing homes or in their own homes.
k) Consent: informed consent can be of great concern for the nurses because patients feels much safer as well as comfortable asking the nurses to comprehend the message that was conveyed by the doctor. However, it is an ethical issue on how such information is conveyed especially during end of life decision making process. Therefore, nurses should be prepared enough to have such conversation with the client.
l) Artificially prolonging life: the decision of artificially withholding or withdrawing life has made it to be a clinical dilemma. However, it is argued that this practice is not the same as or equivalent to euthanasia or assisted suicide which regarded as taken of life to a patient who is terminally ill. When it comes to prolonging of life, healthcare providers are presented with questions ethics.
m) Refusal and withdrawal of treatment: this scenario has presented itself to almost every healthcare provided when it comes to the treatment of patients especially the elderly and those with mental disorders. However, in law and ethics, the patient privacy and autonomy protects a client’s right to refuse or withdraw medication /treatment.
n) Stem cell research (SCR), e.g. embryonic stem cell research: a rapid progression of the biotechnology has put a lot of pressing ethical issues regarding stem cell research. However, since SCR is both promising and ethically challenging, both the use of current ethical frameworks and careful considerations of new ethical ramifications are vital.
o) ‘Not for resuscitation’ orders: healthcare providers find themselves in situations of making decisions that are not of medical but of moral and ethical aspect. To illustrate on the same the do not resuscitate decision is supposed to be focused on the collaborative technique around the client.
p) Cultural and religious matters: culture and religion are key factors when it comes to the ethical dilemma especially in nursing. However, to provide the best care it is critical to understand the cultural constructs as well as the preference of every patient.
The federal law courts in Australia are put in the following hierarchy
- High court
- Federal court
- Family court
- Federal circuit court
- Military court
- Commonwealth courts and tribunals
The courts of the Australian states as well as territories include the following
- New court wales court
- Victorian courts
- Queensland courts
- Western Australian courts
- South Australian courts and
- Tasmanian courts
- Sources to refer to in accessing information in Australia.
- Legislation; they include legislative instruments as well as standing orders
- Whole of nation policies as well as strategies.
- Requirements of obtaining a valid consent.
First, the consent should be given free. Here the client needs not to be pressure to provide his consent because pressuring a client into making a quick decision can be considered as coercion (Tracy et al. 2000).
Second, the consent should be specific as well as valid only in relation to the treatment for which the client has been informed as well as conformed to.
In expressed consent the contact gives explicit permission to reach them via electronic messages while in implied consent, it is the contact to whom it’s reasonable to believe that you’ve the leeway to send messages.
The coroner’s role can depend on the jurisdiction. For example, some coroners work as administrators while others supervise handling of the clients as well as call for inquiries in suspicious cases.
When a coroners HM investigates the death of a client/patient and the type of evidence is oral presentation.
A civil penalty to give to the plaintiff
The privacy act is an Australian amendment that deals with privacy and confidentiality of a client/ person. When the above is breached the organization will give a civil penalty of an agreed amount to the plaintiff.
References
Tracy, S., Barclay, L. and Brodie, P., 2000. Contemporary issues in the workforce and education of Australian midwives. Australian Health Review, 23(4), pp.78-88.
Turner, C., Bain, C., Schluter, P.J., Yorkston, E., Bogossian, F., McClure, R., Huntington, A. and Nurses and Midwives e-Cohort Group, 2008. Cohort Profile: The Nurses and Midwives e-Cohort Study—a novel electronic longitudinal study. International Journal of Epidemiology, 38(1), pp.53-60.
