Ethical and legal aspect in nursing

Nursing professionals deal with sensitive and private life events like birth, death, and disease. They encounter problems and disagreements as a result of the distinctive nurse-patient relationships they have in their professional activity. A rise in ethical concerns has been attributed to a number of factors, including improvements in medical and reproductive technologies, client rights, special and legal reforms, and the utilization of technical resources. When making decisions, nurses must be able to use ethical concepts and take into account their personal values as well as the opinions of their clients, profession, and other interested parties.

Ethics is defined as the norms or guiding principles of moral decision-making or behavior. It offers a mechanism for separating right from wrong based on a particular viewpoint. The study of morality known as ethics can help us make moral decisions. One controls their conducts by using moral principles consciously and consistently. It is the study of moral behavior and one's own value system. It is the study of moral behavior, motivations, and character. It is focused with figuring out what is worthwhile or good for everyone. Ethics is about the actions we want people to take, not the ones they have to.

Ethics is the study of how people relate to one another in a spirit of justice that permeates all professions. It serves to defend each person's right. The study of ethics encourages the philosophical and theological investigation of morals, morality, and moral issues. The term "nursing ethics" relates to moral concerns in nursing procedures. It offers the code of conduct for nursing activities that safeguards the nurse and the patient. According to nursing ethics, nurses have responsibilities to their patients, other medical professionals, the profession, and the community. For a professional nurse to conduct ethically, ethics are crucial. Every day, they mentor nurses as they practice. When the correct course is not evident, they aid nurses in determining what is right and incorrect.In their nursing work, nurses are expected to uphold certain ethical norms. The nurse must be aware of ethical issues, feel confident when assessing them, and be aware of the influence that beliefs, attitudes, values, regulations, norms, prior experiences, and decisions have on the decision-making process. Situations involving patient care or relations with coworkers may give rise to ethical quandaries. Sometimes, nurses may be requested to perform tasks that are uncomfortable by other healthcare professionals or employers. Due to the fact that practically everything a nurse does might be viewed by the public as a moral act, it is exceedingly challenging in real life to distinguish between ethical behavior and other behaviors and practices. As a result, when a person joins a profession, they take on the obligation of upholding the profession's code of ethics. A profession's ethics are a defining quality and are referred to as a code.

Goal of Ethics

• Ethics seeks to uphold what is morally correct and appropriate.
• Care for the person, family, community, and society is the aim of ethics.
• Respecting the client's right to self-determination and treating them with respect.

Fundamental Ethics Principles

The core ethical standards of the nursing profession are unwavering, regardless of changes to laws and medical procedures. For the nurse who works in a correctional context, ethical issues come up often.

Autonomy

• It alludes to the freedom to choose one's own actions. Respect for autonomy means that nurses are aware of each patient's individuality, right to be who they are, and right to select their own goals.
• Nurses must uphold the ideals of autonomy by allowing patients to make decisions even when they don't seem to be in their best interests.
• Respect for others entails treating them kindly.
• Before tests and procedures are performed, clients must give their informed consent. The nurse will advocate for individuality, self-reliance, and freedom of choice.
• Clients are given the chance to choose, and decisions on medical care are made with their informed consent.

Non-maleficence

• Duty to avoid injury.
• Harm can refer to purposeful harm, potential for injury, and unintended harm.
• In nursing, intentional risk of injury during a nursing intervention that is meant to be beneficial is never appropriate.
• A client may occasionally have a negative reaction to a drug; the extent to which a risk is morally acceptable can provide a conflict.

Beneficence

• Nurses should constantly strive to do good and minimize harm.
• This idea should guide all healthcare professionals when making judgments about patient care.
• Nurses have a moral obligation to carry out this implementation.
• Health care practitioners want to assist individuals in leading better lives through greater health.

Justice

• The distribution of goods and services is a key component of justice or fairness.
• Justice aims to equitably allocate resources and treat equals equally as access to healthcare grows more and more limited.
• Problems occur when resources are limited and not enough to meet everyone's requirements. How can we fairly decide who receives what in such a circumstance.
• In cultures like the United States, the complicated principle of justice coexists peacefully with respect for individuals and their autonomy. Nevertheless, enforcing justice can be difficult and complicated.

Veracity

• Truthfulness is meant by this.
• Most kids learn to always tell the truth, but as adults, the options are frequently less obvious.
• Does a nurse tell a falsehood if she knows it will allay her fears and anxieties?

Fidelity

• It implies to uphold commitments made and responsibilities assumed. A nurse has obligations to herself, their patients, their employers, the government, and society.
• Which obligations take precedence at a given time are frequently impacted by circumstances.

Confidentiality

• All privileged information regarding the client is respected by the nurse.
• A patient must be able to assume that information provided to a health care provider would be respected or not respected, for example, imagine a well-known patient being treated for a critical ailment; if the information were made public, the patient may lose everything.
• The nurse upholds promises and is dependable with them. These obligations embody all ethical standards.
• The nurse is committed to doing good and being safe. Clients are helped without bias or discrimination and all clients are appreciated.
• The nurse respects the client's right to information, and she always bases decisions on the client's best interests.
• Truthfulness and honoring promises are implicit, and clients actively and voluntarily engage in them. Clients can rely on the confidentiality of their information to be maintained regardless of the situation.

Code of Ethics

As in many other professions, codes of ethics provide important guidelines for nursing. the formal code of professional ethics that sets forth the expected moral norms for a given group. Every profession has a code of ethics that describes the moral obligations associated with practicing in that profession.The code of ethics for nurses was created as a manual for performing nursing duties in a way that is consistent with the ethical requirements of the profession and the quality of nursing care. The guidelines specify how nurses should conduct themselves ethically in their area of work and how they should make decisions when faced with obstacles that prohibit them from carrying out their duties. Additionally, the codes might assist nurses in their work and lessen their moral suffering.

Despite the fact that there are legitimate international codes of ethics for nurses, the national code would give clinical nurses with additional support in their complicated duties in patient care, teaching, research, and control of specific areas of the nation's health care system. A national code may offer nurses culturally appropriate instructions. Nearly all internationally known professional groups have issued ethical codes for nursing, one of the most respected professions. The International Council of Nurses adopted the first global code of ethics for nurses.

ICN Code of Ethics for Nurses

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) originally approved a global code of ethics for nurses in 1953. A set of guidelines for behavior based on societal values and needs is the ICN Code of Ethics for Nurses, which was most recently revised in 2012. Since it was initially adopted, the Code has been the reference point for nurses all around the world.In response to the reality of nursing and health care in a changing society, the Code is routinely reviewed and changed. The Code makes it quite apparent that nursing must uphold all human rights, especially the right to life, dignity, and respect. The ICN code of ethics directs nurses in daily decisions and encourages their refusal to take part in activities that are incompatible with providing care and promoting healing.

Preamble

Promoting health, preventing sickness, restoring health, and easing pain are the four main duties of nurses. The necessity for nursing is ubiquitous. Respect for human rights, especially cultural rights, the right to life and liberty, dignity, and treatment with respect, is ingrained throughout the nursing profession. Nursing care is respectful of and not constrained by considerations of age, race, color, or creed, culture, sickness or handicap, gender, sexual orientation, or nationality. Nurses provide medical care to individuals, families, and communities while coordinating their services with those of connected organizations.

Element of the Code

There are four main components that describe the norms of ethical behavior in the ICN Code of Ethics for Nurses.

• Nurses and people
  • The provision of necessary nursing care is the nurse's main professional duty. When delivering care, the nurse works to foster a culture in which the individual's human rights, values, customs, and spiritual beliefs are respected. The nurse makes sure the patient has access to enough information to make an informed decision about receiving care and other treatments. Personal information is held in strict trust by the nurse, who exercises discretion when disclosing it. The nurse is jointly responsible with society for launching and promoting initiatives to address the public's health and social needs, particularly those of disadvantaged groups. The nurse is also responsible for preserving and defending the environment against exploitation, pollution, deterioration, and destruction.
• Nurses and practice
  • The nurse is personally responsible and answerable for nursing practice as well as for upholding competence through ongoing education. The nurse keeps their personal health up to par so that their capacity to offer care is not jeopardized. When accepting and assigning responsibility, the nurse exercises judgment regarding each patient's level of competence. The nurse consistently upholds moral norms that reflect favorably on the profession and foster public trust. When providing care, the nurse makes ensuring that technological and scientific advancements respect people's rights to safety and dignity.
• Nurses and the profession
  • The primary responsibility for establishing and upholding accepted standards for clinical nursing practice, management, research, and education rests with the nurse. The nurse actively works to build a solid foundation of research-based professional knowledge. Through the professional association, the nurse contributes to establishing and upholding secure, fair social and financial working conditions in the nursing profession.
• Nurses and co-workers
  • The nurse maintains cooperative relationships with colleagues in other professions and the nursing industry. When a coworker or any other person puts someone's health in jeopardy, the nurse takes the necessary steps to protect those people, their families, and their communities.

Strategies that Enhance Ethical Practice of Nursing

• Know your own ideals and the nursing profession's ethical requirements.
• Know and adhere to the nursing code of ethics.
• Respect other healthcare workers' values, viewpoints, and obligations.
• Continually educate people about ethics since, like other subjects, it must be learned.
• Make a space where nurses can voice their opinions. having a work climate that encourages nurses to voice their ethical concerns and gives them the tools to do so Take part in conversations and ethical rounds that are centered on the moral aspects of Clint care.
• Speak with industry organizations. Professional associations frequently offer tools to help with training and ethical dilemma resolution.
• In order for nurses to effectively collaborate with other healthcare providers, strive for collaborative practice.

Legal Issues in Nursing

Although a career in nursing is incredibly satisfying, there are hurdles along the way. Nurses encounter a variety of ethical conundrums every day, regardless of their field of expertise or level of accreditation. The legal repercussions of nursing practice are influenced by licensure, state and federal regulations, the scope of practice, and the public's expectation that nurses operate at a high professional standard. The framework through which nurses are required to practice is provided by the nurse's education, license, and nursing standard. When a nurse's practice deviates from the accepted levels of competence and care, this puts the nurse at risk of legal action. All nurses should be knowledgeable about nursing legislation and ethics and aware of how these matters may affect them.

Legal Responsibilities in Nursing

A nurse's obligation to uphold the law in her professional activity is known as her legal responsibility. The practicing environment for nurses and other healthcare workers is fast changing as a result of technological advancements, breakthroughs in medical knowledge, and pressure to keep costs down. The changing nature of healthcare forces nurses to make decisions when the potential legal ramifications are unclear and experts have divergent views on what constitutes an ethical choice in a given circumstance. A nurse is in charge of ensuring competent and safe practice. A nurse may be held legally liable for malpractice or negligence if harm, needless suffering, or death result from the treatment they provided. Legal accountability is therefore crucial in nursing. A nurse must have a solid understanding of legal obligations and how they apply to them.

These are a few legal nurses

• Safeguards for the nurse and student
  • You are individually responsible for any injury a client experiences as a result of your own actions, even if as a practical nurse you are likely to work under the supervision of other nurses and doctors. The negligent actions of healthcare facilities' employees may potentially subject them to legal liability.
• Common-Sense precautions
  • Observe customary practices. Always follow instructions and the guidelines in your healthcare facility's procedure handbook to avoid any lawsuits.

• Be competent in practice

  • You are always in charge of your own actions. Refuse to complete tasks for which you are unprepared.

• Ask for assistance

  • If you are unsure how to complete a technique, always ask for assistance. It's always better to acknowledge that you don't know how to accomplish something than to try and hurt someone. Also, challenge any doctor's order that you don't understand, can't read, or that you think contains a mistake.

• Document well

  • One cannot overstate the significance of maintaining accurate records of all treatments and prescriptions, as well as a record of a client's reactions and behavior. The medical record serves as the treatment's official written record. The welfare of each client as well as your own depend on careful and accurate documentation.

• Do not give legal advice to clients

  • The laws that govern a person's personal and property rights are numerous and intricate. Never attempt to give legal or financial advice to a client.

• Do not accept gifts

  • Receiving presents from clients is a bad idea for a number of reasons. Exchange of presents could jeopardize your reputation as a professional, and you risk being accused of coercing the client if the client is one of the many clients who are deemed to be vulnerable adults (such as mentally ill, retarded, or confused people).

• Follow the nursing code of ethics while making decisions.
• Provide care while upholding the patient's autonomy, dignity, rights, and safety.
• Respect privacy while staying within the bounds of the law and regulations.
• Obtain signed informed consent before the surgery.
• Ensure patient variety is taken into consideration when you provide care in a nonjudgmental, nondiscriminatory manner.
• Use the resources at your disposal to help you make moral decisions.

Legal Rights of Nurses

• Follow the nursing code of ethics while making decisions.
• Provide care while upholding the patient's autonomy, dignity, rights, and safety.
• Respect privacy while staying within the bounds of the law and regulations.
• Obtain signed informed consent before the surgery.
• Ensure patient variety is taken into consideration when you provide care in a nonjudgmental, nondiscriminatory manner.
• Use the resources at your disposal to help you make moral decisions.

Nursing and the health care consumer

• The right to establish nursing practice, educational, and research standards to ensure the best possible health care services and delivery.