Legal and Ethical Considerations in Nursing: Case Study Report

This report delves into the legal and ethical considerations pertinent to nursing practices, utilizing a case study involving a 14-year-old girl's experience with binge drinking and contraception. The study examines the legal responsibilities and rights of nurses, alongside an analysis of healthcare laws and nursing ethics to enhance decision-making processes. It explores professional challenges and integrates Beauchamp and Childress' ethical principles to improve healthcare effectiveness. The report highlights the importance of ethical considerations in addressing issues such as adolescent health, sexual risks, and the impact of alcohol addiction. It also discusses relevant laws, including Australian liquor laws, and emphasizes the role of health promotion in preventing morbidity and empowering individuals to make informed decisions about their health. The report concludes by summarizing the ethical dilemmas presented in the case and the importance of parental guidance and ethical principles in mitigating negative health consequences.

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Running Head: LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Table of contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Challenges and solutions.......................................................................................................................2
Beauchamp and Childress’ Theory Based on Empirical Ethics.............................................................4
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................5
Reference list.........................................................................................................................................6

LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Introduction
It has been analysed that legal and ethical considerations play a vital role in nursing. In this study
nursing practices where some legal responsibilities along with the rights of the individual who are
practicing nursing have been discussed. The nursing and its law are also discussed to analyse the
principles of healthcare laws and nursing ethics in order to enhance the decision-making processes.
Professional issues and challenges are also discussed in order to improve productivity. The overall
case scenario of Taylah is also mentioned in this study in order to discuss the legal principle and
considerations based on nursing practices and health care. The four essential ethical principles of
Beauchamp and children are also evaluated in order to enhance the effectiveness in health care.
Challenges and solutions
According to the case scenario, it was mentioned that Taylah was a 14 years old girl, and she visited
the sexual health clinic to request contraception. It has been evaluated from the scenario that the nurse
has suggested her various techniques and ways of contraception. As per the view of Taylah, she was
encountered with sexual intercourse with two boys who were present at the party. It was mentioned
that she has a habit of binge drinking and has become addicted to alcohol and this situation leads to
increased risk to her health condition. Based on the scenario it can be stated that ethical issues are the
consequences which can cause distress among the practitioner and nurses. As per the views of Urden,
Stacy & Lough (2019), it is of utmost important to enhance the productivity of health and nursing
practices of eliminating the conflicts faced by the users. It can be stated that excessive drinking of
alcohol or huge consumption of alcohol by the young individual who is underage lead to a practice of
regular binge drinking phenomenon. It has been analysed that young people of age 14-18 years might
face difficulty as they usually are introduced to drinking and other forms of addiction at this age.
It is been evaluated that about 43% of drinkers have lost their memory power due to excessive
drinking and it has been analysed that about 40% individuals have reported that they face various
challenges due to excessive binge drinking practice; and this practice may result to raise the sexual
risks. As commented by Butts & Rich (2019), through various experiments it is been reported that
people are facing huge issues due to alcohol and drug addiction and it is a part of teenager's
psychosocial practices. Form the given case scenarios it can be stated that the development in the
adolescent period, changes the puberty along with the emotional as well as cognitive development. It
is of utmost importance to practice ethics in order to minimize these consequences.
As per the case scenario, it can be stated that there are various challenges and risks associated with the
contraception phenomenon in young girls of 14 to 15 years. In the modern world, binge drinking
becomes a common phenomenon which is practiced by the individuals of every age group. As per the
views of Lamont, Stewart & Chiarella (2019), there are various risks related to contraception such as
increasing depression, inflammatory bowel diseases along with the ovarian syndrome.

LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
It is important to gain knowledge based on the code of ethics for the binge drinkers such as equity and
it is important to get equal treatment. It is the responsibility of the care providers to follow ethics in
the workplace in order to minimize the discrimination and to provide everyone equal rights and
opportunities. With the increasing risk of violence and sexual risk, there are various long term
challenges; it might increase the burden of diseases due to excessive consumption of toxic substances.
It is evidenced that the young people might develop the risk of health as in the scenario it is
mentioned that Taylah who is a small girl of 14 years had become sexually active (Sanderson, 2018).
She had sexual intercourse with the two random boys who were present in the party. The girls have
also consulted with the sexual health nurse in order to improve their knowledge about contraceptive
procedures. It is important to promote the health condition of young people in order to raise greater
health consciousness amongst them. It is also crucial to gain knowledge regarding sexual health in
order to minimise the risk and to gain knowledge about the provision of social care. As stated by
Koskenvuori, Numminen & Suhonen (2019), it determines the root of empowering the individual who
is addicted towards alcohol and become sexually active due to excessive drinking of toxic in the
young age of 14 years.
It is important to empower the young girls in order to prevent pregnancy as well as unplanned
pregnancies of small girls. It can be stated that Taylah, who is a young girl and she is suffering from
diabetes and by gathering knowledge of health-promoting practices can prevent sexually transmitted
infections. As stated by Van Hoof et al. (2018), it is the role of health-promoting team to help the care
users in order to establish non-regretted decisions based on sexual activities. It is essential to
implement the strategies of health promotion in order to prevent further morbidity rates of young
individuals. In the nursing and health promotion practices five essential; key competencies are
identified such as risk reduction support, the building of skills, and providing effective knowledge on
the basis of health promotion activities. In this case, she is suffering from diabetes and the
development in the adolescent period helps to develop the emotional as well as cognitive
development.
It can be stated that the increasing alcoholic behaviour might result in the increasing risks of genetic
predisposition. As per the views of Wilson, Oliver & Malpas (2019), it is of utmost importance to
guide the principles of ethical decision which comprises of beneficence, justice, autonomy, along with
veracity and non maleficence. Autonomy defines the duty of the individual to make his or her
decision as it will help to minimize the conflict which generally arises when the health care refuses to
know their opinions. Another principle beneficence which determines that the person should involve
in the quality process and non maleficence refers to following ethics and this practice helps to
minimize the risks. It is important for the nurse to follow veracity principal in order to provide
quality treatment to the care users and to become truthful towards the care users (Lanzer & Thornton,
2018). The last and most important ethical principle is justice, and to minimize discrimination from
the workplace so that everyone can enjoy equal treatment and the situation becomes stable for the

LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
practitioners. The legal domain related with this case is mainly two laws; statutory law and common
law. As commented by Gilbert & Coyne (2018), it is essential to follow the law established by the
government in order to enhance the effectiveness in the health care home. As in the scenario, a small
girl of 14 years had become sexually active due to an increased rate of drinking alcohol; due to this
phenomenon, she had sexual intercourse with the two random boys who were present in the party
where she was also present.
Beauchamp and Childress’ Theory Based on Empirical Ethics
Two ethicists named Tom Beauchamp along with James Childress established an ethical domain
which comprises of four crucial ethical principles. The four essential principles of this theory are
autonomy which is defined as respecting the decision-making abilities of an individual. The next
principle is non maleficence which refers to preventing the causation of harmful acts. The third
principle named beneficence helps to provide and support the individual by balancing the risks.
Justice is the last principle which deals with the benefits and risks that are attached to the situation. As
per the views of Lall et al. (2019), this principle is crucial to enhance the moral principles and to
enhance the rights of the individual. According to both ethicists, it is of utmost importance to follow
the above-mentioned principles. In the given scenario it was evaluated that the girl is suffering from
huge challenges due to her health issues and she has become a binge drinker because of some body
image issues. It has been evaluated that the analytic hierarchy procedure is used to estimate the
importance of these medical practices in order to promote the health of individuals. It is important for
Taylah to follow the above-mentioned principles so that she can enhance productivity. As stated by
Scott et al. (2018), it is examined that ethical challenges lead to increased number of stress among the
practitioners and nurses which result in minimization of job satisfaction and increasing the turnover of
the individuals. In the present scenario, the girl has a habit of binge drinking and has become addicted
to alcohol and this situation leads to increased risk to her health condition. In order to overcome the
consequence, it is essential to implement the strategies of health promotion in order to reduce the rate
of further morbidity among young individuals (Marceta, 2018). This way awareness will increase and
people will get to know the ill effects of binge drinking.
There are two essential laws of this country which are linked with the law governing drinking such as
Australian Liquor laws along with the secondary supply laws. According to liquor law, it is illegal to
drink alcohol at the age of 14 and it has become illegal to purchase toxic substances or to consume
alcohol underage. As per the views of Blay et al. (2018), it is the responsibility of the parents to
remain aware of the consequences of alcohol for the young people and they should avoid alcohol in
the teenage party. It is the responsibility of the parents to teach children about the principles of ethics
in order to minimize the consequences of health. The girl should follow the principles to respect
everyone in order to control the behaviour of the individuals. Taylah should learn to follow the
principles of beneficence in order to eliminate bad habits and to prevent further harmful things. As

LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
commented by Hoskins, Grady & Ulrich (2018), the principle of beneficence is essential to maximize
the benefits and to minimize the challenges. As in the scenario, she is suffering from diabetes and
addicted towards alcohol which results in the minimization of potentiality; so this principle is crucial
to strengthen the health. The young individuals who are in the adolescence period become the victim
of the abuse. In the case scenario the girl is of 14 years that is; she is underage to drink alcohol
however due to excessive drinking of the toxic material result in ineffectiveness. It is essential to
enhance the laws for minimizing the conflict situation. The girls have also consulted with the sexual
health nurse in order to improve their knowledge about contraceptive procedures. It is important to
promote the health condition of young people in order to raise greater health consciousness amongst
the public. In the given scenario it has been mentioned that the 14 years old girl was a binge drinker
due to which the two boys have taken the advantage. It is the responsibility of the parents to control
their kids and banning alcohol for teenagers below 18 years.
Conclusion
This study is based on the given scenario where a 14-year-old girl is binge drinker and two boys who
are older than her; met her in the party. The girl named Taylah becomes sexually active and she
was not in a condition to decide anything and thus she had sexual intercourse with two
random boys at parties. Due to this problem, she might struggle in her life as it can impact the
health of the girl. In this study, the legal and ethical principles are discussed in order to
enhance the growth of the individuals and to minimize these practices of the and small
children below 18 years. In this study, the four essential ethical principles proposed by Beauchamp
and children are also evaluated in order to enhance the effectiveness in health care.

LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
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