Discussion: Legal and Ethical Conduct
Discussion: Legal and Ethical Conduct
As emphasized in this week’s media presentation, all nurses need to be familiar with the laws and regulations that govern their practice: their state’s Nurse Practice Act, ANA’s Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, specialty group standards of practice, etc. In addition, basic ethical principles guide nurses’ decision-making process every day. ANA’s Code of Ethics and ANA’s Social Policy Statement are two important documents that outline nurses’ ethical responsibilities to their patients, themselves, and their profession. This said, there is a dilemma: The laws are not always compatible with the ethical positions nurses sometimes take. This week’s Discussion focuses on such a dilemma.
ORDER NOW FOR CUSTOMIZED SOLUTION PAPERS
To prepare:
- Review this week’s Learning Resources, focusing on the information in the media presentation about the relationship between the law and ethics.
- Consider the ethical responsibility of nurses in ensuring patient autonomy, beneficence, non-malfeasance, and justice.
- Read the following scenario:
Lena is a community health care nurse who works exclusively with HIV-positive and AIDS patients. As a part of her job, she evaluates new cases and reviews confidential information about these patients. In the course of one of these reviews, Lena learns that her sister’s boyfriend has tested HIV positive. Lena would like to protect her sister from harm and begins to consider how her sister can find out about her boyfriend’s health status.
- Consult at least two resources to help you establish Lena’s legal and ethical position. These resources might include your state’s Nurse Practice Act, the ANA’s Code of Ethics, ANA’s Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, and internal or external standards of care.
- Consider what action you would take if you were Lena and why.
- Determine whether the law and the ANA’s standards support or conflict with that action.
———–BY DAY 3——–
Post a description of the actions you would take in this situation, and why. Justify these actions by referencing appropriate laws, ethical standards, and professional guidelines.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.
———————–This section is due in week 10. i just posted it . so you will have a knowledge about the entire project. ————————————————
Learning Resources
Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.
REQUIRED READINGS
Milstead, J. A. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
- Chapter 7, “Health Policy and Social Program Evaluation” (pp. 114-127)
In this chapter, the focus is on how nurses can participate in public policy or program evaluation. It includes a summary of the methodologies that can be used in evaluation and how to best communicate the results
Craig, H. D. (2010). Caring enough to provide healthcare: An organizational framework for the ethical delivery of healthcare among aging patients. International Journal for Human Caring, 14(4), 27–30.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
The author of this text investigates the ethical discussions surrounding health care resource allocation among aging patients. The article supplies an organizational decision-making model for health care resource allocation among the aging.
Crippen, D., & Barnato, A. E. (2011). The ethical implications of health spending: Death and other expensive conditions. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 39(2), 121–129.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article analyzes the ethical considerations of health care expenditure in the United States. The authors examine the particular means of funding health care services, as well as the tradeoffs of certain funding decisions.
Goethals, S., Gastmans, C., & Dierckx de Casterle, B. (2010). Nurses’ ethical reasoning and behaviour: A literature review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 47(5), 635–650.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article presents a literature review on nurses’ ethical practice with regard to their processes of ethical reasoning and decision making. The authors explore how nurses reason and act in ethically difficult situations.
Pavlish, C., Brown-Saltzman, K., Hersh, M., Shirk, M., & Rounkle, A. (2011). Nursing priorities, actions, and regrets for ethical situations in clinical practice. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 43(4), 385–395.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article reviews the results of a survey to determine nursing priorities and actions in ethically difficult situations. The authors conclude that not enough evidence-based ethics actions have been developed.
Zomorodi, M., & Foley, B. J. (2009). The nature of advocacy vs. paternalism in nursing: Clarifying the ‘thin line.’ Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65(8), 1746–1752.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article explores the concepts of advocacy and paternalism in nursing. The authors utilize four case studies to compare the two concepts.
REQUIRED MEDIA
Laureate Education (Producer). (2012a). Ethics and advocacy. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 5