Analysis of Ethical and Legal Complexities in Nursing Practice

This reflective essay examines the ethical and legal complexities encountered by a nursing student during a clinical placement. The student uses Driscoll's reflective model to analyze a situation involving a needle-stick injury and the ethical implications of a registered nurse's actions. The essay explores key ethical principles such as self-determination, competence, confidentiality, beneficence, non-maleficence, fairness, and honesty. It highlights the violation of ethical codes by the registered nurse and the potential risks of the situation. The student reflects on the experience, considering the importance of ethical awareness, self-reflection, and the need for adherence to nursing ethics in practice. The essay emphasizes the vulnerability of students and patients and the importance of ethical conduct in the healthcare setting. References to relevant literature are included to support the analysis.

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ETHICAL AND LEGAL COMPLEXITIES
Name
Course
Professor
University
Date

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Solving Nursing Ethical and Legal Complexities using Driscoll’s Reflective
Framework
What?
In this reflective essay on how to find out the ethical and legal complexities in my
case scenario, I will describe my nursing experience at my practice placement and my
encounter with a critical nurse who is nerve wrecking when things are not done her way as
she has ordered. Using the Driscoll’s reflective model, I will demonstrate my
understanding and familiarity with the fundamental concepts of ethical practice in the
nursing field. The key ethical practice in nursing which is a medical field requires thinking
and incorporation of ethics to handle ethical dilemmas like the one I was confronted with
in during practice placement. First, as a medic practitioner, I should have had these several
key ethical concepts of medical thinking such as self- determination which is the ability to
act and decide for oneself (Quinn, 2013, p. 33). Therefore, in my scenario at the hospital
ward when the confrontation with the registered nurse rose, I was able to stand my ground
and refused to recap the needle.
According to Driscoll’s reflective model, the ethical and legal complexities take
three processes that I should reflect on my practice as a nursing student in practice
(Engelbrekt & Nergelius, 2013, p. 78). It helps me tackle the first bit of the complex nature
of what? Here is where I get to explain what happened that is when the registered nurse
requested me to give an insulin injection to a patient. When I went to the patient, I
administered her injection and realised that I had not brought the kidney dish with me
Therefore, stranded beside the patient, I see the registered nurse looking at me I panicked
for I could not trace the sharps container in the room.

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The registered nurse having noticed my panic instructs me to recap the needle
which I refused knowing very well the dangers associated with recapping of a needle. She
repeated the order which I ignored, and for a third time, she shouts at me causing me to be
distressed and become anxious hence I obey her command. When trying to recap the
needle, the needle pierces me on my left thumb, and the nurse jubilantly tells the patient
that she wants to take a blood sample from her to know the disease I had contracted from
the patient (Driscoll, 2016, p. 90).
So What?
The second part Driscoll's model seeks to answer so what? It explains what I was
feeling which is I was feeling anxious and distressed, what was right or wrong about the
experience in which there was nothing good about the experience but bad as there was a
higher risk of contracting a serious blood borne disease from the patient.
The other key concept that I should be able to demonstrate is competence in my
field of speciality which is nursing. I was able to show that I have the capacity to what it
takes to be a nurse since I had been trained fully as a nurse and well equipped with the
nursing skills and knowledge. Therefore, I was be able to show that am competent, I knew
what I was doing, and it was the right thing to be done. Confidentiality is the other concept
as a nurse I was be able to demonstrate. Being ethically confidential means that patients
can trust you with their medical condition.. As a medic, I should maintain privacy and also
have confidence in what I am doing for my patients. My nursing practice should not be
based on trial and errors.
Benefit or harm is also another of the key concepts a medic practitioner should be
able to demonstrate and I being a nurse in practice; I should have the skills to know that
whatever I am doing will either harm or benefit the patient. The beneficence indicates that

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nurse should do well and the non-maleficence principle shows that I should not hurt my
capacity as a nurse (Delany & Molloy, 2014, p. 67). The nurses’ main ethical rule is to take
care and nurture the patients rather than cure them as the doctor. Therefore, it is important
that I should always do whatever is in my capacity to take care and benefit the sick person
in my custody.
I should be guided by fairness and equity are whereby I will be treating all patients
justly without discrimination of any kind, and I should give them my best part as a nurse
promoting justice in health issues. Honesty, truth-telling and truthfulness should also be
embraced in which I should tell my patients what medication am administering to them,
where they are ailing and the side effects of the drug. As a nurse in practice, I should also
let my patients know their rights, and I should understand my rights as well in matters of
medical practices.
The ethical and legal complexities according to my scenario and my understanding
of nursing ethics and the medical ethical principles was both ethically and legally wrong to
order me to recap the needle. Also, it was wrong for the registered nurse to go ahead in a
jubilant mood to tell the patient that she will continue to remove blood from her in a view
to know the infection I had contracted. The act by the nurse in itself shows that the
registered has no good morals hence she is not guided by the code of ethics of nurses
(Roth, Boelens & Zwarteveen, 2015, p. 43). The nurse violated the principle of nursing of
non-maleficence by intentionally forcing me to harm myself while she should have
embraced the beneficence concept which urges all medical personnel to do good at all
times to their patients, colleagues and visiting persons in the hospital or medical facility
(Palmirani, 2012, p. 56).

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The code of conduct and ethics for nurses does not allow the nurse to play part to
evil which the registered nurse did by forcing me to recap the needle and also having me
accidentally inject myself with the same needle had used on the patient. The registered
nurse failed to put into consideration the risks associated with recapping of the needle such
as increasing the likelihood of needle-stick injury which can potentially transfer dangerous
blood borne diseases.
Now What?
The third process seeks to answer the now what question which I think would be
wise for me to take laboratory tests on myself and know how I could have affected. This
should have followed by undertaking respective vaccination to protect my health (Lynch,
2015, p. 34). About what I would do if it happens again and if I would do it differently is a
yes for I would not allow the nurse to scare me to do wrong again.
The evidence of developing ethical awareness and how self- reflection may inform
my practice and relations with others can be demonstrated in my next interaction with the
patients, colleagues and the general public (Butts & Rich, 2016, p, 78). However, it is
important to note that the registered nurse was morally wrong, her code of conduct and
ethics as well as her public relations are of low quality. The evidence of ethical awareness
can be evident by how I got the motivation to search and read widely on nursing ethics and
code of conduct.
The self-reflection helped me get more practical experience that makes me always
to remember the risks I was exposed to and how I am a living testimony to my friends and
college students who had different experiences in their practical. Therefore, it is important
for students, patients and nurses to be reminded the ethical and legal perspectives of ethical
dilemmas they are faced with in the nursing and medical field. As a nurse after self-

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reflection, I vowed to always have the key concepts of nursing with me to guide me in my
practical and nursing duties which need to be carried out with caution (Benjamin & Curtis,
2010, p. 32).
The basic principles of nursing ethics are beneficence, non-maleficence, respect for
autonomy that promote human dignity, emphasise relationships and collaborative care
provided to patients by nurses such as myself. Virtues, morals and code of ethics go hand
in hand. This is what I have learnt from my personal experience with the ethically immoral
registered nurse. As the saying goes, experience is the best teacher in someone’s life. The
vulnerability of patients and practising students such as me can be taken advantage of by
ignorant and immoral nurses who do not value human life and dignity.

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References
Benjamin, M. & Curtis, J. (2010). Ethics in nursing: cases, principles, and reasoning.
Oxford New York: Oxford University Press.
Butts, J. & Rich, K. (2016). Nursing ethics: across the curriculum and into practice.
Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Engelbrekt, A. & Nergelius, J. (2013). New directions in comparative law. Cheltenham,
UK Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar.
Fry, S., Veatch, R. & Taylor, C. (2011). Case studies in nursing ethics. Sudbury, MA:
Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Palmirani, M. (2012). AI approaches to the complexity of legal systems: models and
ethical
Challenges for legal systems, legal language and legal ontologies, argumentation and
Software agents: International Workshop AICOL-III, held as Part of the 25th IVR
Congress, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and August 15-16, 2011: revised selected papers.
\Berlin New York: Springer.
Romeu, P. (2010). AI approaches to the complexity of legal systems: complex systems, the
Semantic web, ontologies, argumentation, and dialogue: international workshops AICOL
I/IVR-XXIV Beijing, China, September 19, 2009 and AICOL-II/JURIX 2009, Rotterdam,
The Netherlands, December 16, 2009: revised selected papers. Berlin: Springer.
Roth, D., Boelens, R. & Zwarteveen, M. (2015). Liquid relations: contested water rights
And legal complexity. New Brunswick, N.J. London: Rutgers University Press.
Thompson, I. (2016). Nursing ethics. Edinburgh New York: Churchill Livingstone
Elsevier.
Ulrich, C. (2013). Nursing ethics in everyday practice. Indianapolis, Ind: Sigma Theta Tau
International
Delany, C. & Molloy, E. (2014). Clinical education in the health professions. Chatswood,
N.S.W: Elsevier Australia.
Driscoll, J. (2016). Practising clinical supervision: a reflective approach for healthcare
Professionals. Edinburgh New York: Baillière Tindall.
Johns, C. (2014). Becoming a reflective practitioner. Chichester, U.K. Ames, Iowa: Wiley
Blackwell.
Lynch, L. (2015). Clinical supervision for nurses. Oxford Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Quinn, F. (2013). The principles and practice of nurse education. Cheltenham, U.K

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