Professionalism in Nursing Legal and Ethical Issues Essay Answer

Introduction

In nursing, professional ethics consists of values, rights, duties and responsibilities and the overall aim is to protect patients and give the nurses guidance so they can contribute toward the development of a healthy society. The professional code of conduct states that nurses should not breach the regulations and work in the best interest of clients (Clark, C.M., 2019). In addition, a safe nursing practice should be promoted and provision of carelessness should not exist in the profession. Two concepts are crucial in the nursing profession that are ethics and legal issues. Ethics is rooted in morals which is a decision of what is wrong and right (von Vogelsang et al. 2020). It is much more based on the perceptions of the right and wrong of an individual. On the other hand, legal issues are a set of rules and regulations that are needed to be adhered to work as per professional standards. The assessment will discuss one legal and one ethical issue in professional nursing. It is followed by the values of nursing and understanding of therapeutic relationships needs to be maintained.

Health and safety are the legal and ethical issues present in adult nursing. The definition of health and safety is defined as the safety of the patient as the absence of preventable harm to the patient and providing prevention toward unnecessary harm. It is an important aspect of nursing as the report states that unsafe care is a responsible factor for the loss of 64 million disability-adjusted life years and the top 10 causes of worldwide mortality (Sperling 2021). Improving qualitative care and prevention of practice errors is depending on the adherence of nurses to the principle of patient safety. To encourage the health and safety of patients, it is important to look for the root cause that is seen in terms of disrespectful and uncivil behaviour in healthcare settings. Detrimental effects are seen in terms of life-threatening mistakes, a complication in diseases (preventable) and harm to the patient (Kleemola et al. 2020). In addition, workplace bullying is creating a negative influence on the mindset of nurses. The role of nurses is to safeguard the public and ensure patient safety which is dealing with serious threats to patient safety. Uncivil in healthcare settings is creating a negative impact on nurses that is hampering the quality of work as an individual, teams and organisations. Bullying has resulted in disruption in meeting the needs of patients which is hampering the safety of patients and workplace activities. The impact of situations or circumstances also impacts the health and safety of patients in healthcare settings (Pesut et al. 2019). In Covid-19, the frontline workers are positioned upfront to fight the battle of infection. Due to the increase in the number of cases, nurses are obliged to provide care that is enhancing the risk of infection. The research examines that nurses face various ethical dilemmas that are seen in terms of refusal to provide treatment, and the right to refuse treatment of certain patients. It is directly making them unable to be competent to the patient which is reflected in terms of care of the patient (Morley et al. 2020). At the same time, the question is to whom to provide the care. At that time shortage of resources and a lack of beds, nurses face the dilemma of how to manage the patient.

I can recall one of the incidents that happened in my nursing setting where I was assigned to a patient who is suffering from a Kidney infection. I was assigned the role of giving medication and checking the vitals. I also have to attend to 5 more patients and record their vitals. I was panicking about how I would be able to manage the situation and complete the task assigned to me. What I did was give the wrong medication to the patient and fluctuation is seen in vital signs. I was ethically not right despite the fact I have to be ethically correct to ensure safe practices for my patient. I reported the issue to the Registered nurse and she handled the situation. The purpose of health and safety is to undergo training like infection control, health safety and welfare and safeguarding adults that are contributing to the health and safety of patients and managing the number of patients and death rate. It is the ethical and legal role of the nurses present to provide the care that ensures health and safety. To make ethical and legal efforts applied in nursing, it is important to understand the role and responsive care delivered to the patient.

Accountability is an action as the obligation or willingness to acceptance of responsibility for one's action. It is about maintaining competency and safeguarding the quality of patient care outcomes. It is the standard of the profession and the answer to those who are affected by the nursing and midwifery practice. It is inclusive of the use of resources for their intended purpose that will be implementing ethical and legal aspects (Vaismoradi et al. 2020). Taking care of equipment, administration of medication prescribed and documentation of any supplies that document the accountability toward the patient and nurses. It is the key to increasing trust, reducing fear, improvement in morale and performance. It should be based on support and dedication to reach excellence (Hwang et al. 2019). It is a philosophical ideal that nurses learn in school, it is identified as the most trusted profession that holds accountability for the inclusion of high standards. The four pillars of accountability are as follows: legal, ethical, employment and professional accountability. Legal is about following the rule and regulation that makes the nurses able to provide error-free care. Ethics is seen in terms of deciding between right and wrong based on the perception that guides the nurses to do what is right or wrong. Employment is in terms of what are the expectations of a job role and what needs to be done to meet them (Dall’Ora et al. 2020). In addition to this, NMC codes are there that are guiding the nurses to meet the requirements of patients. The code comprises professional standards that are designed for the nurses, midwives and nursing associates that are making them inclined to act as per the regulation. Code is in line with the direct care to individuals, groups and communities or brings the professional knowledge to be implemented. The significance of the code of conduct is seen in terms of how it is useful for the patient and service use (Sandelin et al. 2019). As it makes the nurses receive the feedback that takes care, timely updates will be there. It will be promoting safe and effective practices at the workplace that is taking care of the nurse factor and patient factor. There is a set of codes that is guiding the nurses to work under competency. In health and safety, standards preserve safety that makes sure that patient and public safety is not affected. The standard states that recognition of work and care is within the limits of competence and being open and candid with the user about the aspect of care and treatment. Reporting the incident promptly is happening and keeping the family, carers and others in the loop (Ingvarsdottir and Halldorsdottir 2018). Acting without any delay that is assuring the patient safety and protection of the public. I took the help of the NMC code which made me able to report the issue to the RN who helped me to find a suitable way to overcome the problem.

Adherence to the standard of nursing will bring the quality of care improvement and prevention of practice errors that are aimed at the safety of patients. It will make the inclination with the policies and standard of nursing that is covering the patient-safety principles. The focus on management and adherence will lead to patient-safety principles that are seen in terms of double-checking policies of medicines management, nursing handover between wards and applying knowledge and attitude that seeks the best practices to be applied (Lögde et al. 2018). The nurse's role is to preserve the safety of patients and prevention of harm that is delivering provisional care. Adherence to the nursing intervention overcomes the chances of error that will be allowing the achievement of a sustainable and safer healthcare system. Health and safety will be introduced through research and policies that are seen as a double checking of medication, offering assistance and communicating with healthcare providers (Pursio et al. 2021). Collaboration between nurses and patients motivates patient safety principles. Regular practical feedback, interaction opportunities and observation by which the desired outcomes can be attained. The provision of the standard process for handover improves nurses to be ready to receive the patient from ICU (Holmes et al. 2020). applying the above evidence makes the nurses able to control the infection and error rate that is reported due to professional and personal issues.

 Autonomy, beneficence, justice, and nonmaleficence are the theories of nursing practices that is helping nurses to overcome dilemmas and allow care for the patient. Each patient has the right to decide about the treatment based on their beliefs and values. The role of nurses is to safeguard the public and ensure the safety of patients dealing with serious threats to patient safety (Molina-Mula et al. 2020). Healthcare workers must refrain from maltreatment and minimise harm and promote good toward the patient. Beneficence is based on the maximum benefits for the patient and providing no-harm care. Non-maleficence is avoiding the practices causing harm to the patient. It will make the nurses go with the preference of the patient that gives the patient-centred care to be achieved (Manzoor et al. 2019). Lastly, justice is about understanding the profession and being aware of integrity and moral character. It makes the involvement of the nurses at every level that is a true integration of the art of patient care. I found that with the literature study, we have to ensure that health and safety is the prime concern of nursing and healthcare settings. The application of theories will make the nurses develop a therapeutic relationship with the patient (Suhonen et al. 2018). The therapeutic relationship is defined as the relationship that refers to the relationship between healthcare professionals and clients or patients. Making relationships will give hope to the patient increases the chances of recovery and allows outcomes of care plans to be achieved (Karaca and Durna 2019). It will be determining the capacity of decision-making that creates the direct implication on nursing decision-making and improves the quality and satisfaction toward the nursing services. There is an indirect relationship seen between the autonomy and decision-making of a patient that is attained by a therapeutic relationship by which healing and quality will be delivered.

Conclusion

Health and safety are the legal and ethical issues present in adult nursing. Health and safety is an important component of nursing that goes hand in hand. It can be provided with the consideration of ethical and legal aspects. It can be achieved by the nurses by bringing the Role of nurses to safeguard the public and ensure patient safety that is dealing with serious threats to patient safety. For this, adherence to NMC codes will be making nurses give safe practices to the patient that is provided by reporting and dealing with issues on a primary basis (Nursing and Midwifery. 2022). To achieve health and safety, nurses have to adopt accountability in their practices. It is the key to increasing trust, reduction of fear, and improvement in morale and performance. It should be based on establishing a culture of trust, support and dedication to reach excellence. Implementation of Accountability ensures that the nurses are applying evidence-based practices that are ensuring error-free practices. In conclusion, it is the ethical and legal responsibility of the nurses present to make qualitative practices to be applied by which the safe practices are given that control mortality rate.

References

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Dall’Ora, C., Ball, J., Reinius, M. and Griffiths, P., 2020. Burnout in nursing: a theoretical review. Human resources for health, 18, pp.1-17.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-020-00469-9

Holmes, T., Vifladt, A. and Ballangrud, R., 2020. A qualitative study of how inter‐professional teamwork influences perioperative nursing. Nursing Open, 7(2), pp.571-580.https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.422

Hwang, J.I., Kim, S.W. and Chin, H.J., 2019. Patient participation in patient safety and its relationships with nurses' patient-centered care competency, teamwork, and safety climate. Asian nursing research, 13(2), pp.130-136.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anr.2019.03.001

Ingvarsdottir, E. and Halldorsdottir, S., 2018. Enhancing patient safety in the operating theatre: from the perspective of experienced operating theatre nurses. Scandinavian journal of caring sciences, 32(2), pp.951-960.https://doi.org/10.1111/scs.12532

Karaca, A. and Durna, Z., 2019. Patient satisfaction with the quality of nursing care. Nursing open, 6(2), pp.535-545.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2018.08.006

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Lögde, A., Rudolfsson, G., Broberg, R.R., Rask-Andersen, A., Wålinder, R. and Arakelian, E., 2018. I am quitting my job. Specialist nurses in perioperative context and their experiences of the process and reasons to quit their job. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 30(4), pp.313-320.https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzy023

Manzoor, F., Wei, L., Hussain, A., Asif, M. and Shah, S.I.A., 2019. Patient satisfaction with health care services; an application of physician’s behavior as a moderator. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(18), p.3318.https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16183318

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Nursing and Midwifery. 2022. The Code. https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/nmc-publications/nmc-code.pdf

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Pursio, K., Kankkunen, P., Sanner‐Stiehr, E. and Kvist, T., 2021. Professional autonomy in nursing: An integrative review. Journal of Nursing Management, 29(6), pp.1565-1577.https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13282

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Suhonen, R., Stolt, M., Habermann, M., Hjaltadottir, I., Vryonides, S., Tonnessen, S., Halvorsen, K., Harvey, C., Toffoli, L. and Scott, P.A., 2018. Ethical elements in priority setting in nursing care: A scoping review. International journal of nursing studies, 88, pp.25-42.

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