Report on Law and Ethics in Healthcare: Assessment Items 1 & 2

This report comprehensively addresses key aspects of law and ethics within the healthcare field, analyzing the code of conduct, discrimination, dignity, and duty of care. It explores informed consent, protection of health information, and workplace safety, while also examining organizational policies, procedures, and compliance requirements. The report details the risks associated with non-compliance, review points for protocols, and the rights of residents receiving services. It outlines ethical principles, the empowerment of employees through policies, and signs of abuse in the workplace. Furthermore, it discusses mandatory reporting, the importance of compliance, and opportunities for ethical knowledge. The report concludes with a discussion of privacy principles and an in-depth analysis of advance care directives, including their purpose, types, and implications for future medical treatment, making it a valuable resource for understanding the legal and ethical landscape of healthcare.

RUNNING HEAD: Law and Ethics 0
Work Legally
and Ethically

Law and Ethics 1
Assessment Item 1
1.A)
Code of conduct is a dynamic tool for health care service. Code provides ethical principles,
responsibilities and duties to the nursing occupation1. It is often updated to imitate changes in
the structure of nursing, without make any changes in foundational values of nursing. It
serves the non-negotiable standard of ethics in profession and expresses the understanding of
commitments.
B)
Treating unfair to a person in compare to another or one group of people to the other is
known as discrimination. It is harmful in any way for the society and for the values of the
nursing occupation. Discrimination in nursing is found basically in race, religion, gender and
disability2. It disturbs the human rights, self-esteem and unique qualities of an individual or
all.
C)
Dignity is associated with the collaboration among the conditions and proficiencies. In
reference to nursing it is important to consider dignity as palliative care. In the form of
personal attribute, it can value the individual, unless a person can feel low and vulnerable.
Valuation of the ethics, maintaining self-respect and self-esteem are the essential
attributes of dignity in nursing profession3.
D)
Duty of care includes a professional, legal and ethical duty in the profession of nursing. It is
an action, basically includes the care of a patient as a part of clinical role of nurses. The
standard of care in nursing is higher than non-medical organisation4. Any kind of negligence
in care of a patient can bring danger to a life of that person and it can arise legal issues.

Law and Ethics 2
Nurses should ensure about their ethics, as there are many guidelines and codes in their
profession.
E)
Informed consent is a task, assigned to the nurses, to obtain the written consent for the
treatment of the patient5. It includes the information of risks and benefits of a treatment and
also autonomy of the patient. It can affect by the treatment, understanding ability and
condition of the patient. It should be cooperative among patient, nurse and the physician.
F)
Protection of health information is the trustful relationship between the nursing profession
and the patients6. If the privacy and confidentiality of health information of a patient reveal
then it can have serious reputational consequences. It can affect the economic and
professional impression of the patients and providers. In maintaining the security of the
information, some major challenges are faced, like retrieval technologies, recording and the
hasty progress of communication.
G)
One of the basic rights of human is the right to safety and health. A workplace should be safe
and healthy in the nursing profession. If the working environment of the nurses will be safe,
then they can work more effectively7. The productivity of the organisation depends on the
safety and health environment. Unhealthy workplace affects the quality and quantity of the
work.
2.)
Policies and procedures play a vital role in defining the functionality of an organisation.
These create discipline in the workplace and promote the cooperative environment8. Policies
and procedures must be specified in an organization so that the work can be performed

Law and Ethics 3
smoothly and properly. These are the ideals, which should be complied by the managers and
the workers at the workplace. It maintains the sincerity among the workers. It will help to
increase the productivity and growth of the organization. The compliance of policy helps to
achieve the goal of the organization.
3.)
Evaluation of work practices and routines creates awareness of the responsibilities of an
individual towards the organisation. One can evaluate the work practices with the awareness
of work schedules, timelines and expected performance of the work. Guidelines related to
operations and organisation with systems and safeguards can also help in evaluating the work
practices. Compliance requirements include the management investigation, regular
development, risks related to assessment, standards of compliance, oversight, testing,
monitoring and management issues9.
4.)
Two risks of non-compliance are that it can bring legal impact and reputational impact.
 In legal impact, an organisation can face some legal action like product seizers,
charges, imprisoning or penalties.
 In reputational impact, social media or news press can damage the reputation of the
organisation by spreading the bad things about it. It can lose the trust of customers.
Two types of penalties for non-compliance are prosecution and disciplinary action. In
prosecution, there will be a fine of maximum $13,345, and in disciplinary action, fines can be
extended to the licence cancellation10.
5.)
Amendment, consultation and implementation are the leading review points of the protocols,
policies and procedures, which can improve them11.

Law and Ethics 4
i) In the review of the amendment, changes are identified, if they are required to
maintain or remove from the policies.
ii) Consultation increases the effectiveness of the policy and also ensure that if
proper monitoring is occurred or not. It is necessary to determine the need, goal
and purpose of the policies before implementing them.
iii) After the amendment and consultancy of the policies in an organisation, it is
important to apply them properly on all employees and manager or supervisor.
6.)
Ten rights of residents that receive services are:
 Freedom from mistreating, negligence and manipulation.
 Procedure of using responsive complaint easily.
 Privacy right.
 Communication right.
 Living environment of comfort with respect and dignity.
 Property and money safeguard.
 Right of choices and independent decisions.
 Treatment and care with non-discrimination.
 Safety in entry, transfer and release.
 Organisation and activities participation of choices12.
7.)
Ethical work is the main key to success for any organisation. A care worker must stick to the
following ethical principles:
 Justice- A care worker should be fair to all, those who need it. Nurses must be taking
care of the patients in the manner of equality.

Law and Ethics 5
 Beneficence- Doing right and good care of the patient is termed as beneficence.
 Nonmaleficence- It is an act of caring and it means not giving any harm or not doing
anything evil to anyone.
 Accountability- Responsibilities accepted for actions and care, by the nurses comes in
accountability. Nurses should accept the result of all professional or personal
significances of the actions.
 Fidelity- The act of keeping promises of someone termed as fidelity. A care worker
should be faithful and loyal to the responsibilities and promises of providing safety
and good quality of care13.
8.)
Policies and procedures empower employees and management. With clear and accurate
policies, employees can do best in the work place. It is important to communicate while
documenting the policies, it can help the people to understand them clearly. Once the
procedures are clear to the workers, they can work freely and will do their work creatively
within the parameters. There will be no need to check their work or asking them for the work
constantly after that. They can give their best to the organisation after understanding the
policies clearly.
9.)
Ten signs of abuse are:
 Ignorance, elimination and loneliness.
 Unnecessary criticism.
 Blaming and take the credits of someone.
 Make someone feel useless.
 Delivering wrong information about someone14.

Law and Ethics 6
 Intentionally delaying progress or success of someone.
 Encouraging or creating backstabbing and conflict between the employees.
 Enforcing impossible targets.
 Challenge the work of an employee without significant reasons.
 Changing guidelines of task or responsibilities of an employee with no reasons.
One should take some important steps if found someone being abused at the workplace. An
employee can note the details, including names of presented co-workers, date, time and the
place. By saving evidence one can prove the abuse. By reviewing work policies, a person can
use the documents, evidence and with the help of co-workers, present them to the concerned
authority and report the employee who is abusing.
10.)
Mandatory reporting is very important in maintaining ethics and the practices for the health
of a patient and in other services. Breaching of legal practices and ethics have very serious
results for a person who gets the services from the organisation, for the profession of workers
and also for the employing agency15. It can damage or break the trust beyond repair. It can
limit the options and opportunities, which a person needs in the receiving services. One
should approach the concerned persons like police officers, teachers working at school,
doctors, nurses and care professionals if found a situation of breaching legal practices and
ethics.
11.)
Compliance means to obey the legal laws of the company or an organisation to manage the
service qualities. It comes with some major responsibilities towards the workplace and can
save from the legal and criminal charges16. Policies and procedures should be a complaint
from the workers in any organisation, as both are a very essential part of the workplace.

Law and Ethics 7
Procedures and policies both are work as a roadmap for the betterment of an organisation and
build a positive image and trust of the customer. It grows the productivity of the working
place and satisfaction of consumers.
12.)
There are some useful opportunities which can maintain and provide knowledge about the
issues related to ethics and about legal requirements. A developed code can make a strategic
priority from an ethical performance. Ethical values must be followed by the senior
management in leadership then employees will themselves follow it automatically. By
measuring the efficiency of ethics, one can ensure the needs and best practices for the ethical
programme.
13.)
Four privacy principles to protect the information of a client are:
 Personal information of a patient is only accessed by individuals on request. It should
not be handed to anyone and should only use when necessary.
 Personal information must have updated and clear policy which can be used to
manage the information as required.
 Personal information must be correct and one should be aware of the accurate,
complete, relevant and leading details of the information17.
 One should only collect the required information and should delete it if not necessary
for the activity of the purpose of taking it.

Law and Ethics 8
Assessment Item 2
Advanced Care Plan or Advance Care Directive
What is the advance care directive?
The advance plan is an authorised document made for the future medical treatment of an
adult person. It specifies the actions which should be practising for the care of illness if
people will not be able to make a decision. It is legally pursuing in some countries. It is an
important move in planning for the care in future. It has replaced the medical and existing
powers, like guardianship and preventive directions. This is not only for old age. People of
any age can take this plan. Even if someone is not sick in the present time, they can take an
important step and can plan for the future to get care according to their medical need18.
If someone, unfortunately, lost the ability to speak or communication, in future, the doctors or
family members can decide for the medical care of the person. Sometimes it is difficult to
take a decision for the medical care of someone, that time this directive can help to reduce the
burden of family members, friends or doctors. This care helps in the learning about different
decisions and letting know the family members of the person who is going to take it, about
the provided healthcare facilities. An advance care plan allows a person to write the
preferences, choices, instructions and wishes for the future treatment or end of life
healthcare19. The patients or people who are not ill at the present time can write the preferred
things in the directive like with whom they will like to stay, what kind of treatment they want
when there will be no recovery signs.
There are two kinds of directive available:
For taking the decisions on the behalf of a person, it also provides substitute decision-
makers, if someone not able to take one. One can permit or refuse medical treatment in the
instructional directive. In values directive there are preferences for the health treatment are

Law and Ethics 9
given and one can take decisions accordingly. Decision-making capacity is important for
taking a care plan.
a) Instructional directive:
It is important to know about the healthcare treatment, if a person wants it in the future, to
complete the instructional plan or directive. It is a statement of decision for healthcare
treatment of a person. It is affected by the consent or refusal of the treatment. It can be used
when a person has not a decision-making capacity for the treatment. Health practitioners must
find out first if someone made the advance care plan with instructions then have to start
treatment20.
b) Values directives:
Value directive includes the preferences and values for the treatment. A person should think,
talk and record the preferences and values so it can help in the process of treatment later21. It
is used when a person is not able to take a decision for the treatment. A health practitioner
will ask for the decision-maker to make a decision on behalf of that person. Decision-makers
only take the decisions when they reasonably believe that a person would take the same
decision. They must have considered values directive and the preferences expressed by the
person, if applicable.
Information contained in the document:
Advance care plan or directive is used to collect an array of information that can be useful in
the treatment and care of a seriously injured and ill persons who are not able to make critical
decisions regarding their health22. The document also includes the details of other persons
who are appointed as decision-maker. They can take medical treatment decisions on behalf of
the medical treatment of the patient. Like, who should take care of the patient and what
medication he would not prefer to take in the case of life-threatening illness or injury is also

Law and Ethics 10
included in it. This document also includes some critical questions that people can choose to
answer like, if in case of memory loss, paralysis, unable to communicate with others, and
cannot take care by self then they can either mark life survivor as bearable, unbearable, or
unsure. Besides, in the case of unsure, the appointed guardian will make a decision regarding
what can be the best medical treatment for a person.
Moreover, in the case of life-threatening diseases when it’s sure that a person will die then
one can choose to be taken care at home, hospital, other location, or let the guardian take a
decision. Also, in this section, a person can define the important cases that appointed
caretakers should check before proceeding for the next step. A person can choose to write or
can refuse to fill the different or individual sections of the directive or health care document.
In the document of the advance care plan, there are mainly five sections that are briefly
explained below.
Section 1) It comprises of personal, and caretaker or guardian details. Here, one should
mention the detailed information like, name, date of birth, address, guardian name, contact
number, and relationship with the person whose name given in the document as a caretaker.
One can legally appoint two enduring guardians or can refuse too23. In this section, if the
people are not comfortable with any option in the document, they can leave it blank and can
choose the only options they want to fill.
Section 2) It consists of personal values that cover up important things, issues that worry,
spiritual, religious, and personal care that one would like to take while undergoing treatment.
Information of values can cover all medical needs of a patient. Information about the
important things and likes or dislikes can also help the decision-maker to decide by the
choice of a patient24. A patient can describe the personal values about death in this part of
the document. A patient can choose, if wants to stay with family or stay in the hospital in the

Law and Ethics 11
last time of its life. A patient can fill the options of this section by the choice and can refuse
to fill it.
Section 3) Directions of medical care are included in this section. This section is applicable
when a person is not able to communicate about health care decisions. Patients can choose if
they want any kind of medication treatment, in the condition of dying or in a condition of not
expecting any recovery25. A person can choose if they want any CPR or other kind of
treatment in the situation of dying or can also refuse to take these kinds of care treatment.
Section 4) This section gives an opportunity to the person to help the other patient and
requested to donate any body organ or tissue in case of death. A person can choose to donate
any tissue or body organ for transplantation if there are no signs of recovery or a person is
going to die after doing all efforts of treatment26. A person can also discuss with the family
members and friends about it for aware them to the decision.
Section 5) Authorization of the document is very important in advance care and by filling this
section the patients can give authority to the hospital and caretaker to follow the terms given
by them in the previous sections27. This is a kind of agreement in which the patients agree
with the treatment for health care which will give to them in the future, in non-communicable
conditions.
This directive also gives the right to the patients, to fill the sections they want. There are
options given in this document where a person can choose to refuse to fill the options if not
comfortable with the conditions of health treatment.
Legal and ethical implications an advance care directive may have:
In modern time, patients with the help of advanced technology of medical are living longer. It
is very important to inform and educate the patients about the rights of their medical care or
treatment. It is mandatory in many hospitals to give knowledge of advance care planning to

Law and Ethics 12
the patients with their admission for current medical care, to explore the options of
treatment28. All patients do not need Advance care and it is not for all nurses too. If the
health care professionals find that the care for a patient in advance directive, is impossible
then there is no legal implication to force them to participate in the medical treatment. This is
the ethical and moral decision for the nurse or the health care professional.
There should be a responsibility to transfer an appropriate nurse on time, who can take care
of the patient concerning the care directive. Some conflicts can be rise during advance care as
in some families the family members have their own ethical and moral values and their name
might not in the document of the close person as a guardian or a decision-maker. A nurse or a
care professional bound in the duty of protecting the rights of the patient29. It includes the
concerning decisions of the treatment for critical medical care or withdrawal of it.
An advance directive is a document which is written by an adult and it is legally bound in a
health care facility which the patient wants. It is the legal right of a patient to make a decision
about its medical care and it is not dependable on the beliefs of nurses. Nurses make the
health care easy and play a role of communicator between doctors and the person who need a
health care. Nurses make the patients comfortable so they able to share all health regarding
issues easily with the doctors. It can help in good care of the patients on their terms.
An educational path can help the nurses to became a type of nurse a patient hope for. It is
mandatory for all hospitals that every nurse who is working there, must be licensed. A nurse
should know about the history and background of the health issues facing by the patient.
Assessment and actions have to be done after understand the issue of a patient and nurse
should have to support the person during the recovery. Health care practitioner should plan a
communication to the person who is in charge. Nurses should keep the record that who have
undertaking the responsibilities and risks of every person who is in care30. When any risk has

Law and Ethics 13
been identified, nurses should need to communicate to the risk management and have to
follow the strategies.
‘Quality of life’ is one of the biggest reasons of the disagreement among the family members,
in the document of the directive, as it is a question of competency and it needs witness or
consistency of decision taken through the patient. A nurse for critical care must know the
policies and procedures which can be followed or applied in such situations of conflicts, to
resolve them. Many hospitals have their policies and procedures for resolving these kinds of
conflicts. In many cases of advance care, there always a judge to make a decision with an
inquiry through the official illustrated facility of the health care, in case the conflict does not
resolve with any appropriate steps31. This is the major responsibility of any health care
practitioner to ensure that the decisions of a patient are supported by the management of the
hospital, at the admission time of care directive.
Nursing is a very splendid and important chore in a hospital for both, the patient and the
organisation. Nurses play a vital role in a treatment of a person, and work dynamically for
different patient in a day. Documentation of patient covers various issues in system
management. A nurse has a duty to identify the patients with correct information given by
them like name, sex, age, address and other personal details32. Nurses or care taker should
ask about the situation and current clinical status of the patient like if the illness is improving
or stable. Observation of a patient is including the findings of that person in particular state.

Law and Ethics 14
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