Case Study: Ethical Breaches by Jamie, Nursing Student, Sturt Hospital

This case study examines a nursing student, Jamie, who breached the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) Code of Conduct and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) Code of Ethics. Jamie took and posted a photo of a patient's wound on social media without consent, adding a disparaging caption. The analysis details specific breaches of the NMBA standards, including those related to patient privacy, sharing information without consent, and maintaining respectful relationships. It also highlights violations of the ICN Code of Ethics, particularly regarding the nurse's responsibility to protect patient information, maintain patient confidentiality, and promote the patient's well-being. The case underscores the importance of ethical conduct, patient confidentiality, and adherence to professional standards in nursing practice. The assignment includes references to relevant literature and guidelines, emphasizing the serious consequences of ethical violations in healthcare.

CASE TASK

TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUESTION ONE............................................................................................................................3
Describing the ways in which Jamie’s action have breached the Nursing and Midwifery board
of Australia Code of Conduct for nurses....................................................................................3
QUESTION TWO...........................................................................................................................4
Describing the way in which Jamie’s action have breached the International Council of
Nurses Code of Ethics for nurses................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

QUESTION ONE
Describing the ways in which Jamie’s action have breached the Nursing and Midwifery board of
Australia Code of Conduct for nurses
In the present case of Jamie action have breached the Nursing and Midwifery Board of
Australia’s (NMBA) Code of Conduct for nurses (2018). this is particularly because of the
reason that Jamie has posted the picture of wound without asking John and seeking his
permission. Jamie has just asked to take the picture for analysing the healing of the wound so
that it can be recorded within the working. but she has posted it on social media (Stievano and
Tschudin, 2019). the posting was not enough she also wrote the caption which stated like “This
is the grossest thing I have ever seen” #csunursing #sturthospital #WPL, #poornursingcare
#hotpatients”. The standard which is being breached in accordance to NMBA is the 3.2.3 which
deals with the sharing of the information with others only after the consultation with the person
who is receiving the care. This is very necessary for the reason that when the nurse or the
midwife is sharing the personal information with others without the permission of the patient
then it is breach of NMBA.
In the present case of john and Jamie, Jamie has shared the information with the general
public by posting the picture of wound on the social media and that to by adding the caption as
well. also Jamie told to use the picture for keeping as the record for the wound for analysing the
fact that whether the wound has been healed or not. But she uploaded it on Instagram without
seeking the permission of John. Moreover, Jamie has also written some personal things relating
to the patient and with hospital as well (Oguisso and et.al., 2019). this is not at all good because
of the reason that without seeking permission any person cannot use the personal information or
can comment on the person or any other company. This is because of the reason that proper
information and permission must be seek from the related party before commenting on it.
In addition to this there is also a breach of section 3.2.8 as well. This section relates to the
management of the relationship on the basis of the mutual trust and respect and collaboration.
But in the present case Jamie did not worked on the mutual trust as John allowed to keep the
photo as the record for tracking the healing of the wound (Nurse practitioner standards for
practice - Effective from 1 March 2021, 2022). But she did not keep it and posted the photos on
Instagram with the caption relating to personal comment on the hospital and John as well. Jamie

stated that John as hot patient which is a personal comment on the person without the permission
of the person. Hence, in this present case, she has also breached the relation with the employee.
This is because of the reason that when the person is employed within any company then they
are obliged to take care of the company and its reputation knowingly and unknowingly. hence,
for this it is very necessary for Jamie that they must not conduct negative publicity of the
hospital. But within the caption she mentioned that #poornursingcare which affects the
marketing and reputation of the hospital to a great extent.
hence, in the end it is stated that Jamie has breached the wide range of NMBA standard
which is not good. This is because of the reason that being a health care practitioner it is very
necessary for her to implement the working in better manner and in accordance to all the
standards being provided by the government. for better working it is necessary that they comply
to the NMBA and work in proper and ethical manner.
QUESTION TWO
Describing the way in which Jamie’s action have breached the International Council of Nurses
Code of Ethics for nurses
The International Council of Nurses Code of Ethics for nurses is type of guide which
involves the action based on social values and needs of the patient which need to be taken care
by the nurses and heath care practitioner. for every nurse and midwife, it is very necessary to
comply with all the guidelines of the ICN code of ethics. in case any standard or the principle is
being missed then it is not good for the nurse and they have to face the different consequences
(Kalaitzidis and Jewell, 2020). In the present case of Jamie and John, Jamie has breached the
first code #2 that is Nurses and patients or people requiring care or services. the breach of
principle or the standard relating to ICN is developing appropriate relation with patient and
colleagues. This is very necessary for the reason that in case good relation will be managed with
the patient and the colleague then this will be resulting in compliance with the standard.
But in the present case Jamie has not maintained good relation with both the patient and
the other workers as well. this is seen in the fact that Jamie has uploaded the picture of John
without seeking the permission of John. Also she has commented on the picture by stating John
as the hot patient. this is not at all good for the reason that it is affecting the working efficiency
and work ethics and the standards to be followed (McDermott-Levy, Leffers and Mayaka, 2018).

Also, she has commented on the working capability of the hospital as well and this is also not
correct. The reason underlying this fact is that when the person is employed with the company
then it is their inherent duty is to promote the company and cannot do negative publicity. Thus,
because of this Jamie has breached this standard.
With the help of the above analysis and the case of Jamie also breached the code of ethics
relating to the 1.4 that is nurses have to hold the personal information safe and secure. This is
because of the reason that when the nurse shares the personal information with others then this is
against the ethical principle of the company and the standards as well. The reason underlying this
fact is that in the present case Jamie shares the picture of John and also the personality
information of him that is hot patient. this is not at all good because this involves sharing of the
personal information to others and without seeking the permission of patient (THE ICN CODE
OF ETHICS FOR NURSES, 2021). in addition to this Jamie also shared some information
relating to the hospital as well and that to without the permission of hospital authorities. thus, this
is against of the ICN standard and not good for Jamie and the hospital as well. this is very
necessary for the reason that when the working and behaviour of the nurses and midwifes will
not be according to these standard then this will be affecting the performance and career in this
field.
Thus for the effective working of the person as a nurse or the medical practitioner it is
very essential that proper compliance with the standard is being done (Davidson and et.al.,
2018). This involves both the NMBA and ICN standard being made by regulatory bodies for
governing the working pattern and standard of nurses and to provide good care services to the
patient.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Davidson, P., Rushton, C. H., Kurtz, M., Wise, B., Jackson, D., Beaman, A., & Broome, M.
(2018). A social–ecological framework: A model for addressing ethical practice in
nursing. Journal of clinical nursing. 27(5-6). e1233-e1241.
Kalaitzidis, E., & Jewell, P. (2020). The concept of advocacy in nursing: a critical analysis. The
health care manager. 39(2). 77-84.
McDermott-Levy, R., Leffers, J., & Mayaka, J. (2018). Ethical principles and guidelines of
global health nursing practice. Nursing Outlook. 66(5). 473-481.
Oguisso, T., Takashi, M.H., Freitas, G.F.D., Bonini, B.B. and Silva, T.A.D., 2019. First
international code of ethics for nurses. Texto & Contexto-Enfermagem. 28.
Stievano, A., & Tschudin, V. (2019). The ICN code of ethics for nurses: a time for
revision. International nursing review. 66(2). 154-156.
Online
Nurse practitioner standards for practice - Effective from 1 March 2021. 2022. [Online].
Available through: < https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-
Statements/Professional-standards/nurse-practitioner-standards-of-practice.aspx>
THE ICN CODE OF ETHICS FOR NURSES. 2021. [Online]. Available through: <
https://www.icn.ch/system/files/2021-10/ICN_Code-of-Ethics_EN_Web_0.pdf>