Case Study Analysis on Legal and Ethical Issues in Nursing Practice

Running head: CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
Introduction:
This assignment depicts the case study of Taylah. Taylah is a 14 year old girl who has
come to the healthcare center with the urge to contraceptives. While managing Taylah and
providing her of the care services, nursing professionals need to ensure that they are following
proper ethical as well as legal principles. This assignment would mainly highlight the various
legal as well as ethical issues that might rise from the case and accordingly provide solutions
about how legal and ethical principles can be applied to the situation to provide high quality care
to Taylah.
Ethical considerations:
Ethical standards are fundamental in the nursing profession and advise every nurse to
respect their patients as well as maintain the dignity and the rights of the patients. Nurses have
the duty in creating an environment of mutual trust as well as respect between the patients and
the healthcare professionals (Jonstone & Facn, 2019). Studies are of the opinion that ethical
standards and principles contribute in promotion of the values of cooperation and collaborative
work. They are seen to promote essential social as well as moral values like that of human rights,
welfare of patients as well as social responsibility, compliance with the laws and managing
patient’s safety (). Ethical principles would be used in the case of Taylah by the nursing
professionals so as to provide best quality care that respects her human rights and protects her
dignity. The Four Principles of ethics developed by Beauchamp and Childress would be for the
analysis.
One of the most important ethical principles that had been out forward by Beauchamp
and Childress is respect and autonomy. The principles guide the healthcare professionals to be

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CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
supportive to patients and respect their decision-making abilities in making informed as well as
reasoned choices of healthcare services (Butts & Rich, 2019). Nurses need to respect the choices
and decisions taken by patients regarding their own health and include such decisions in their
own care planning procedures. Nurses do have the power to educate the patients about their
disorders and make them informed about the pros and cons of the treatment procedures available
for their disorders or health concerns but they can never force patients in changing whatever
decisions taken by them irrespective of the outcomes of such decisions (Sanderson, 2018).
Nurses need to respect the dignity and rights of the patients to take decisions about their own
health and they need to respect their autonomy by developing care plans that aligns with their
wishes and suggestions (). The client named Taylah has come to the healthcare ward for taking
contraceptives. From the interview, it is seen that the patient is not comfortable in sharing her
information with her parents. She is an Australian girl who is 14 years old. The Australian legal
system allows individuals of age around 14 or 15 to take decisions about their own health if they
are found to be competent in caring for their own selves. Coming of Taylah to the ward asking
for contraceptives imply that she is well-aware of the negative outcomes of having intimacy with
random people. She can be considered to be competent. The nursing professionals should respect
her wishes of utilizing contraceptives and would accordingly educate her about the correct ways
of utilizing them (Haahr et al., 2019). However, she has been found to live an undisciplined life
as evidenced from the activities like partying, binge drinking, having unsafe sex and others.
Hence, nursing professional should educate her about the negative impacts of the habit and then
explain to her the better lifestyle choices she can undertake. However, she can never force
Taylah to accept them. The professionals should talk with her respectfully without showing nay
judgmental behaviors even when she is adolescent. She would try to provide her person centered

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CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
care by making her centre of care planning and decision making process so that she feel
respected and cared for. This would make her feel that her autonomy is respected. Studies are of
the opinion that respecting autonomy and dignity of patients make them develop trust over the
professionals and this contributes to development of strong bonds (Ingham-Broomfield, 2017).
These enable patients to reveal crucial information that might prove to be fruitful in developing
best care strategies for patients (Fowler, 2017). If the nurse respects autonomy and dignity of
Taylah, she can gain her trust and develop string bonds with her. This would make her reveal
vital information that can help nurse to develop effective care services for her.
The principle of beneficence is another important ethical principle mentioned by
Beauchamp and Childress. This principle mainly states that every healthcare professional must
do everything that would benefit the patients in any situations. Every treatment as well as the
procedures that are recommended should be such that it would provide the best possible outcome
for the patients that are to do the most “good” for the patients. Studies are of the opinion that for
ensuring beneficence, every healthcare professionals need to develop and maintain a high level
of knowledge and skill making sure that they are rained in the most current as well as best
medical practices (Butts & Rich, 2015). They must undertake the cost-risk and benefit analysis
and only accept those interventions in the care plan that would have the highest benefits for
patients. Providing Taylah only with the contraceptives would not suffice the principle of
beneficence. The nurses have to work an extra mile to ensure that she develops better disciplined
life to ensure quality living. Taylah is often seen to lead a rough lifestyle where she not only gets
intimate with unknown. Such unhealthy lifestyle exposes individuals to various sexually
transmitted diseases like hepatitis B, syphilis, gonorrhea, HIV and similar other infections (0.
Moreover, her habit of binge drinking might make her develop alcohol addiction if she does not