Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing

Nursing
Nursing care in Australia
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Nursing
Introduction
Ethical and legal values are essential for any healthcare provider. Legal and ethical values guide
nurses, and other healthcare providers to adopt practices that protect their license, reduces risks,
and, most importantly, influence the quality of health care (Badzek, Henaghan, Turner, Monsen,
2013).
The term ethics originates from a Greek word Ethos, which means character. Ethical values are
considered as recognized universal rules and standards that provide a basis for determining what
actions, motives, and intentions are right and which are wrong.
Legal issues in nursing often refer to the legal implications that are usually tied to concerns
regarding licensure, laws, the scope of practice, and federal laws, among others (Barry &
Hardiker, 2012).
This paper will look at some of the ethical issues and legal issues in nursing. The focus here will
be on the case study that has been provided. From the case scenario, some of the ethical and legal
issues in nursing will be addressed.
Ethical issues in nursing
As mentioned earlier, ethical values are essential for all healthcare workers and nurses. They are
a foundation for nurses because nurses often face ethical dilemmas when taking care of patients.
When such difficulties arise, they conflict with the code of ethics, which guides nurses in most of
their operations when dealing with patients (Hariharan, Jonnalagadda, Walrond, Moseley,
2006). It is, however, essential to note that nurses are advocates for patients and should,
therefore, try to find a balance when dealing with such cases.

Nursing
There are four main ethical principles that guide nurses and other healthcare providers. These
principles are; autonomy, justice, beneficence, and non-maleficence.
Principle of Autonomy
This principle dictates that patients have a right to make their own decisions based on their own
beliefs as well as values. In most cases, this principle conflicts with guidelines and care
suggestions that the nurse believes are best for the patient (Iacobucci, Daly, Lindell, Griffin,
2013).
According to this principle, a patient can make their own decisions regarding the medical care
being provided to them. This implies that a patient can refuse medication or other necessary
therapeutic interventions regardless of the benefits and positivity of results expected from such
medicines (Judkins-Cohn, Kielwasser-Withrow, Owen, Ward, 2013). If, in any case, a patient
decides not to receive medication based on their own beliefs, values, or whatever reasons they
have, then nurses and other healthcare providers are obligated to respect any decisions that the
nurse makes.
In the case that has been presented here, we see that Mavis wants to go home as she is due to go
to work despite the medical attention and care she was receiving. Her condition is not the same
as an hour earlier; she seems confused and anxious. After a series of events, the nurse tries to
close the door and give her some privacy because she was smearing feaces on her abdomen and
the surgical wound, and she was also bleeding from her the insertion site. Despite the nurse's
interventions, she refuses to go clean herself, and all she wants is to go home.
Based on the principle of autonomy, the nurse is supposed to respect the decision that Mavis has
made. Despite her worsening condition, there is nothing that she can do about the situation.