Ethical Standards of Nursing Practice | Report

Running head: NURSING
Nursing
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
According to Haddad and Geiger (2018), ethical values are important for any
healthcare professionals. Ethical considerations are the universal values of conduct that
provides a practical basis for identification of the kinds of actions, intentions and motives.
The Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia helps in identification of the ethical standards of
practice and provides the health care or the nursing professionals with a reference point over
which they can reflect on their professional conduct. It also guides the nursing professionals
in the decision-making process and upheld the ethical values of nurses (Nursing and
Midwifery Board of Australia 2018). The following paper will conduct a case study
assessment based on the violation of the ethical standards of nursing practice and nursing
research. The two main ethical standards of practice that has been violated in this case
include consent, informed refusal and autonomy and confidentiality and privacy.
Discussion of ethical constrains
Breaching the ethical principle of confidentiality and privacy
Privacy is defined as the right of an individual to keep the information about them
private and not to disclose others. The information shared during the clinical process is
regarded as confidential and thus must be protected. Information like identification data,
treatment plan, and case history and progress notes must be stored in multiple media and
must be kept private. The information of the patients must never be disclosed to others
without having prior informed consent or permission from the patient. However, information
can be realised for treatment or administrative purpose without any prior notification to the
patient. Patient also has federal, state and legal rights to analyse and obtain a copy or to
amend the data of his or her health record (Victorian State Government, 2019). Bourgeois,

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Nigrin and Harper (2015) stated that it is the ethical duty of the healthcare professional not to
disclose the personal or health-related information of patient to any person who is not directly
related to the patient’s therapy plan. Any disclosure of the health-related information or the
personal information of the patient to other person without taking informed consent from the
patient leads to breaching of the ethical principle of privacy and confidentiality. The analysis
of the case study showed that one day, post the hospital release of the patient, he received a
call from a research institution to become a participant of the research program in relation to
his experience of care in the hospital after encountering accident. When he (the concerned)
enquired, the research assistant told that they have received his telephone number and his
residential address from the hospital where he was admitted for the treatment. Thus case
study provides a clear indication of breaching the ethics securing the privacy and
confidentiality of the patents’ information. The use of the electronic health records (EHRs)
helps in securing the privacy and confidentiality of the patients’ information.
Consent, informed refusal and autonomy
Informed consent is mistakenly visualised as getting the patients or the participants
sign a consent form. However, Food and Drug Administration UK (2019) stated that
obtaining a patients’ or research participants informed consent either verbally or in written
format is only a part of the process. Informed consent also deals with providing the patient
with adequate information to enable informed decision about taking part in a research
program. It also felicitate the potential participants in understand the research information
along with giving appropriate time to ask questions and to discuss with the family or friends
about the research protocol and whether or not he or she will take part in the research
program. The analysis of the case study showed that research participant asks him whether
would like to participate in the research study. Thus giving indication that consent was taken
from the participant. He also received an email from research assistant stating the scope of