Law, Ethics and Professional Guidelines in Health Care Profession

This essay discusses the importance of professional, ethical and legal issues in nursing practice. It also highlights the immediate and subsequent actions taken in a scenario where a fellow student made derogatory and threatening comments about a lecturer on social media. The essay captures the most applicable sections of the Australian Registered Nurse Standards for Practice, ICN Code of Ethics for Nurses and Code of Conduct for Nurses and the possible legal and future implications of such behaviors.

Running head: NURSING PROFESSION 1
LAW, ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL GUIDELINESS IN HEALTH CARE RPOFESSION
Student’s Name
University Affiliation
Course
Date

Running head: NURSING PROFESSION 2
INTRODUCTION
The nursing as a profession is often underpinned by a wide range of professional, ethical
and legal issues that are important for safe nursing practice and that ensures interests, needs and
requirements of all patients are fully met. Nursing profession is governed by professional and
legal requirements that are meant for protect the well-being and safety of patients. The National
Board works with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) in the
National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (the National Scheme) in order to maintain the
safety of the public by that ensuring competent and qualified nurses attend to their needs. Based
on case 2 whereby my fellow student made a derogative, disrespectful and threatening comments
about my lecturer, this essay will discuss on the immediate and subsequent actions taken. The
essay will also capture on some of the most applicable sections of the Australian Registered
Nurse Standards for Practice, ICN Code of Ethics for Nurses and Code of Conduct for Nurses
and the possible legal and future implications of this behaviors.
Immediate actions
Professionalism can be categorized into three major sections. They include professional
behaviors, professional parameters and values and professional responsibilities. Simply,
professional parameters are related to the principles of lawful and ethical matters while
professional behaviors and values pertain the area of abilities, knowledge, way an individual
carries himself or herself in terms of appearance and behavior and fostering bonds with other
colleagues. Professional responsibilities on the other hand include employers, personal, societal
responsibilities and patients. Professional values and behaviors include acceptance, non-

Running head: NURSING PROFESSION 3
judgmental attitude, communication, accountability, confidentiality, self-improvement and
collegiality (Curtis, Horton & Smith, 2012).
Based on the scenario, what the student did was unlawful and unethical based on the code
of ethics of nursing provision 3 on acting on questionable conduct which violates the rights of
another person. What the colleague did in the scenario was questionable and it’s a violation of
individual rights. The first immediate action that I should take is contacting the student who was
responsible for the disrespectful and derogative post and talk to him or her regarding the issue
and inform him to withdraw it form Facebook. In relation to nursing code of ethics, provision 1
elaborates more on respect for human dignity and relationships with colleagues and others in
institutions. Taking this action shows that as a nurse am concerned about the dignity of the
lecturer who was threated and disrespected via a social media. Provision 1 of nursing code of
ethics adds that the nurse is accountable for the needs, values and dignity of others. This code of
ethics emphasizes on respect in all areas of nursing interaction (Curtis, Horton & Smith, 2012).
The second immediate action is approaching the colleague and find out the reason as to
why he or she did such as thing for the lecturer. I will take time with the colleague and find
interrogate him or her to find out any underlying issues between him and the lecturer that might
have led to such a behavior in a social media. This will help me gather adequate and detailed
information about the incidence hence enabling me to make appropriate and effective decisions
regarding the scenario. According to the regulation standards and nursing code of ethics, nurses
should conduct an assessment of an issue in order to implement appropriate interventions for the
case.

Running head: NURSING PROFESSION 4
The third immediate action I would take will be advising the colleague regarding the
issue, According to the American Nurses Association code of ethics, nurses are guided by the
ethical and legal issues in order to make ethical decisions. Provision 5 of the code of ethics
addresses moral-self-respect whereby nurses have moral obligations to self as they do to others.
Based on this case, the colleague needs to be reminded of a self-respect, respect to others,
personal integrity and wholeness of character. The code plays an important role of delineating
the ethical standards for the nurses in all settings, roles, levels, guidance provision and setting
expectations. Based on the scenario, the decisions made were based on these codes to ensure that
the issue is handled in an ethical manner which does not violate anybody. The values involved in
nursing practice ensure advocacy, barrier elimination and respect for humans (Brown et al,
2017).
Provision 9 of the code of ethics for nurses advocates for collaboration between nurses
and other professional to protect the rights of other people , promote diplomacy and reduce any
form of disparities in nursing profession. The actions of collaborating with the administration
and other authorities was important. When the practice of a nurse falls below the accepted
standards of competence and care, like for this scenario, exposes him or her to litigation. The
basis for litigation is related to malpractice, negligence and failure to exercise at a reasonable
level (Epstein & Turner, 2015). Prudence and professional negligence are also associated with
litigation. The omission and commission acts are obliged to subject the nurse to professional
license review and litigation which can consequently lead to reprimand of his or her license or
total loss of the license. Based on this scenario, this fellow can be subjected to litigation since
posting a threatening and disrespectful message on a social platform violates the legal and ethical
issues and code of ethics of nurses (Epstein & Turner, 2015).

Running head: NURSING PROFESSION 5
According to the Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses in Australia, it is outlined that:
nursing practice is carried out in a competent and safe manner and according to the professional
standards. Nurses should conduct themselves according to the laws relevant to nursing
profession. Nurses should show respect for culture, dignity, values, and ethnic beliefs of other
people including colleagues (Kalaitzidis & Schmitz, 2012). Nurses should be accountable for any
information they come across and professionally keep it confidential and private. Nurses should
build and maintain on the community’s confidence and trust as far as nursing profession is
concerned. Additionally, nursing practice should be ethical and reflective (Council, 2013).
Subsequent actions
One of the subsequent actions I will take is reporting the incidence to the relevant
authorities so that they can address the issue on a different perspective. Nurses should ensure that
standards of their practice conform to the professional standards established and agreed upon by
the nursing profession to enhance the safety of other people. In case of any circumstance that
seems to compromise the standards of nursing profession, observation of any questionable,
unlawful and unethical practice, an appropriate authority or person should be informed in order
to find better ways of dealing with the person responsible for the unethical act (Council, 2013).
If the concerned issues fail to be resolved and still compromises the safety and competency of
nursing profession, nurses are allowed to intervene in order to deal with the individual and once
the external process is exhausted, the internal processes may inform the appropriate authorities.
Based on the case scenario, the measures taken were appropriate based on nursing profession
ethical and legal issues. Taking this action will help the administration find out any problem that
might be existing between the lecturer and the student that could have lend to the issue (Epstein
& Turner, 2015).

Running head: NURSING PROFESSION 6
The other subsequent action is carrying out follow-up to ascertain self-improvement of
the student behavior. A nurse is an advocate of therapeutic and professional relationships with
families, individuals, groups and communities (Morton et al, 2017). The Australian community
contains a mixture of linguistic and cultural diversity and the standards of Registered Nurses
must appear in this context. As per the regulation of health professionals, RNs operate under the
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). Based on the standards of nursing, this
action will be useful in finding best solutions for the issue (Kalaitzidis & Schmitz, 2012).
The Registered Nurse Standards for Practice are made up of seven key standards: They
include: critical thinking and analyses for nursing practice, engaging in professional and
therapeutic relationships, maintenance of capability for nursing practice, conducting
assessments, establishing plans development for nursing practice and provision of responsive
and safe nursing practice. Lastly, evaluation of outcomes in order to inform nursing practice. The
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) is also for protection of the public (Epstein
& Turner, 2015).
The other subsequent action is approaching the lecturer to discuss on student-tutor
relationship and how it can impact on nursing profession code of ethics. Based on the case
scenario, the most applicable standard is thinking critically and analyzing of nursing practice.
Various strategies of thinking and available evidence are used by Registered Nurses to make
decisions and provide quality, safe nursing practice within the frameworks of evidence-based
and person-centered. The nurse should accesses, assess, analyses, and apply the available
evidence to take actions against an issue. According to this standard, the student- nurse should
show compliance with regulations, legislation, guidelines, policies and other requirements that

Running head: NURSING PROFESSION 7
are relevant to nursing practice context practice in decision-making process and taking actions
(El Haddad, Moxham & Broadbent, 2013).
The other standard that is applicable to the case scenario is maintenance of capability for
RNs. It is the responsibility of RNs to ensure professional development and contribution towards
the development of individuals including colleagues. Nurses are also responsible for offering
education and information which enables them to make effective decisions and take appropriate
action relating to health and which are in compliance with the nurses’ code of ethics and legal
issues. For instance, in this scenario, the act of getting concerned with the post shows
responsibility. In relation to this standard, nurses are accountable for actions, decisions,
responsibilities and behaviors inherent in their duties. They are also responsible for the actions of
others including colleagues (El Haddad, Moxham & Broadbent, 2013).
Professionalism is a very vital aspect in nursing practice and it is very applicable in this
case scenario. Some of the important professional parameters are duty of care, legal and ethical
requirements, code of ethics and standards of practice. These parameters act as guard to the
rights of each and every person. Professional behaviors compromise of contemporary knowledge
and good behaviors with families, colleagues and clients. Colleagues may not be exactly fellow
nurses but also other team members involved in health care system (Dignam et al, 2012). The art
of effective communication is seen perfectly permeate the aspects of appropriate attitudes,
professional behavior such as appearance. Professional responsibilities encompasses of
responsibility to self, profession, clients, community and employers or tutors. A sense of
responsibility is seen whereby an individual has strong, collaborative and ethical working
relationship with the colleagues, community and employers (Brennan & Monson, 2014).

Running head: NURSING PROFESSION 8
Professionalism entails development of positive and professional behaviors in health care
system. Some of the values of professionalism in health care include accountability, integrity and
responsibility. Professional behavior is an indication of professional conduct which is based on
legislation and standards as outlined by the regulatory bodies (Giordano-Mulligan, 2017). In this
scenario, professionalism was used whereby every person is responsible and accountable for any
action that is against the code of ethics of nurses. According to professional behavior, competent,
ethical and safe nursing practice is advocated. Professional conduct is manner of an individual’s
behavior while demonstrating professional capacity in his or her actions. Generally, it is
acceptable that all professionals should uphold the standards of conduct when performing duties
or affairs (Melnyk et al, 2014).
Accountability is one of the values that is related to patient-professional relationship. A
helping relationship is formed based on this fundamental relationship. An individual in health
care profession should demonstrate accountability for the actions of another person such as a
colleague. Basically, there should exists a helping relationship whereby a professionals advice
each other and find solutions in case a problem arises. Essentially, professionalism should show
familiarity with the values and faith of the patient as well as to decide what is best for the patient.
Apart from that, a professional should be in a position to motivate and empower patient
regarding an ongoing treatment process which requires one to be psychologically skilled and
knowledgeable (Lachman, 2012)
As far as professionalism is concerned, self-improvement is very key substance in health
care practice. A professional should be able to rationally evaluate himself or herself every time
based on their efficiency, attitudes and interest in their particular fields of practice without
making any presumptions (Maister, Galford & Green, 2012). With regards to this, all

Running head: NURSING PROFESSION 9
professionals are expected to continue educating other people in order update their level of skills
and knowledge. In addition to this, professionals should be involved in health discussions with
colleagues, consultations and professional training. This will help them improve on their level of
knowledge and skills in order to practice based on code of ethics and standards (Evetts, 2013).
Another important component applied in professionalism is collegiality which refers to a
relationship which exists between colleagues who seek to have requirements such as mutual
respect, acknowledgement of individual knowledge and cooperation among themselves. It is the
role of the health care professionals to maintain a healthy relationship to avoid adverse effects on
the wellbeing of patients. In case of a conflict, team mates should be in a position to discuss the
issues without influence of personal prejudice to come up with a suitable and effective solution.
With this in professionalism, patients are guaranteed of getting a holistic and standard care
(Evetts, 2013).
Lastly, confidentiality is another important cornerstone in professionalism.
Confidentiality entails responsibility of keeping patient's data and information private and
confidential to avoid access to colleagues or other unauthorized society members. These
information is very sensitive since it comprises of the discussions, feelings and feedbacks from
medical records and professionals (Lachman, 2012). The chief elements involved in
confidentiality are truthfulness, trust and fidelity which should be fully rooted in both patients
and professionals. In a client-professional relationship, clients disclose shameful, embarrassing
and agonizing data and information to the professional with great expectations and trust that the
professional will safeguard it. If a problem emerges, like in the case scenario, it is the

Running head: NURSING PROFESSION 10
responsibility of the professional to take appropriate actions based on ethics and legal regulations
(Cherry & Jacob, 2016).
Some of the legal and future implications of this behavior would be failure to adhere to
ethical standards and regulations of practice due to malpractice, negligence and violation of other
people’s rights in health care system. This may lead to litigation by the omissions and
commissions act. These acts may professionally review his or her license which may possibly
lead to loss of it and denial of practice in health care (Lachman, 2012)
CONCLUSION
Nursing practice as a profession is governed by various bodies and associations which
outline various regulations and standards. The standards are used to guide nursing practice. The
code of ethics for nurses are used in nursing profession to protect that rights of other people
especially clients. Professionalism has very important values and characteristics such as
responsibility, confidentiality, self-improvement, collegiality and accountability. Code of ethics,
ethics and legal issues and standards for Registered Nurses are very vital in nursing profession.

Running head: NURSING PROFESSION 11
References
Brennan, M. D., & Monson, V. (2014, May). Professionalism: good for patients and health care
organizations. In Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Vol. 89, No. 5, pp. 644-652). Elsevier.
Brown, D., Edwards, H., Seaton, L., & Buckley, T. (2017). Lewis's Medical-Surgical Nursing:
Assessment and Management of Clinical Problems. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Cherry, B., & Jacob, S. R. (2016). Contemporary nursing: Issues, trends, & management.
Elsevier Health Sciences.
Council, S. A. N. (2013). Code of ethics for nursing practitioners in South Africa. Pretoria:
South African Nursing Council, 3-5.
Curtis, K., Horton, K., & Smith, P. (2012). Student nurse socialisation in compassionate practice:
a grounded theory study. Nurse education today, 32(7), 790-795.
Dignam, D., Duffield, C., Stasa, H., Gray, J., Jackson, D., & Daly, J. (2012). Management and
leadership in nursing: an Australian educational perspective. Journal of nursing
management, 20(1), 65-71.
El Haddad, M., Moxham, L., & Broadbent, M. (2013). Graduate registered nurse practice
readiness in the Australian context: an issue worthy of discussion. Collegian, 20(4), 233-
238.

Running head: NURSING PROFESSION 12
Epstein, B., & Turner, M. (2015). The nursing code of ethics: Its value, its history. OJIN: The
Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 20(2).
Evetts, J. (2013). Professionalism: Value and ideology. Current Sociology, 61(5-6), 778-796.
Giordano-Mulligan, M. (2017). Developing and Validating an Instrument to Measure Perceived
Authentic Nurse Leadership(Doctoral dissertation, Adelphi University).
Kalaitzidis, E., & Schmitz, K. (2012). A study of an ethics education topic for undergraduate
nursing students. Nurse Education Today, 32(1), 111-115.
Lachman, V. D. (2012). Applying the ethics of care to your nursing practice. Medsurg
Nursing, 21(2), 112. Rogers, B. (2012). Occupational and environmental health nursing:
Ethics and professionalism. Workplace health & safety, 60(4), 177-181.
Maister, D. H., Galford, R., & Green, C. (2012). True Professionalism: The Courage To Care
About Your Clients & Career. Simon and Schuster.
Melnyk, B. M., Gallagher‐Ford, L., Long, L. E., & Fineout‐Overholt, E. (2014). The
establishment of evidence‐based practice competencies for practicing registered nurses
and advanced practice nurses in real‐world clinical settings: proficiencies to improve
healthcare quality, reliability, patient outcomes, and costs. Worldviews on Evidence
‐
Based Nursing, 11(1), 5-15.
Morton, P. G., Fontaine, D., Hudak, C. M., & Gallo, B. M. (2017). Critical care nursing: a
holistic approach (p. 1056). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Zahedi, F., Sanjari, M., Aala, M., Peymani, M., Aramesh, K., Parsapour, A., ... & Dastgerdi, M.
V. (2013). The code of ethics for nurses. Iranian journal of public health, 42(Supple1), 1.