Legal and Ethical Responsibility in Patient Care

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LEGAL AND ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY
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Introduction
Ethics is defined as moral principles that govern the behavior of a person or group of
persons(Holland, 2010). It can also be defined as a written code of conduct that
governs the expression of a people in a particular organization or country. Morality is
defined as the unwritten principles concerning the distinction between right and
wrong and wrong or good(Pease, Vreugdenhil, and Stanford, n.d.). Ethics and
morality are fundamental in patient care. This is because ethics and morality govern
the conduct of carers as well as their decision making on their day to day activities of
taking care of the patient. This essay discusses general ethical and moral principles
that should be adhered by anyone in society taking care of a patient like Nancy. The
objective of this paper is to identify ethical issues in the case study provided and
suggest what could have been done differently. Some of the ethical and legal
principles that are relevant in nursing practice include; autonomy,
confidentiality,Beneficence and discernment. The other moral principles that are
relevant in this case include; Love and compassion, protection, and being there for
one another. The paper discusses instances in which nursing ethical standards could

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have been applied in taking care of Nancy if she was admitted in a nursing home
where I work. The paper discusses my legal and ethical responsibility towards the
patient by the name Nancy.
Q1.
An ethical issue is a problem or situation that requires a person or organization to
choose between alternatives that must be evaluated as either being right or wrong
(Pozgar, 2012). Several ethical issues can be identified in the case study of Arthur and
his wife, Nancy. One of the ethical issues in the case is that Nancy does not want to be
taken to a nursing home to receive professional care and she wants her husband to
care for her from home. Nancy is suffering from several medical conditions such as
Alzheimer's Disease which results in memory loss and difficulties in communicating.
Arthur is faced with an ethical dilemma on whether is it right for his wife Nancy to
stay with him at home or is it right for the patient to receive care at a nursing home?
Another ethical principle that guides carers is that of respect for the right of the
patient to make decisions regarding their health (Then & McDonald, 2014). A person
caring for a patient must ensure that they respect the universal right of a person and
uphold the moral responsibility of safeguarding the inherent dignity and equal worth
of every person. This principle requires that care giver should allow the patient the
right to make their own decisions concerning their health. The carer should not limit
the basic rights of the patient, and they should not make decisions without the consent
of the patient or close family member in case the patient is not of sound mind. In our
case, Arthur made the right choice of allowing his wife to receive care at work just
like she wanted. This principle was chosen because it relates to the right that a patient
has to make decisions concerning their treatment.

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Another crucial ethical principal for a carer is the principle of Love and kindness. It is
essential that a person given the responsibility to care for a patient should show the
person a lot of love and compassion to the patient who could be undergoing a lot of
suffering (Fry, Veatch, & Taylor, 2011). Love is the feeling of affection and
adoration towards someone. When a career shows love to a patient, they develop a
strong bond which makes it easy to take care of the patient. Love can be shown to a
patient by ensuring that one is there whenever needed and providing a listening ear to
the patient. The person receiving care then develops confidence towards the carer and
hence making it easy to take care of the patient. Showing love also means
understanding the patient and assisting them in performing activities that they struggle
to perform ( Aitken, In Marshall, In Chaboyer, W., & Australian College of Critical
Care Nurses, 2015). Arthur has been kind and loving to his wife in every situation
during her sickness. He has taken care of her when she is suffering and assisted her to
even go to the toilet. Arthur does not get enough sleep because his wife never sleeps
and she keeps moving around at night. The fact that Arthur has agreed to take care of
his wife at home despite the difficulties he faces in doing this shows that he is very
kind and loving.
Another ethical issue that can be identified in this case is familism. Familism is
described as the subordination of personal interests, rights, and privileges to the
values of the family. This involves sacrificing your time, effort, friendship, and even
fun to care for the person who is dear to you. Mr. Arthur demonstrated familism
because he sacrificed sleep every night to ensure that his wife is comfortable and safe.
Arthur also used to clean his wife who was doubly incontinent and clean up when he