NUR 222: Legal and Ethical Responsibilities in Nursing - Case Studies

This report examines legal and ethical responsibilities in healthcare through case studies and reflections, focusing on a student nurse's challenges and ethical dilemmas. The first case explores a trainee's inability to multitask, emphasizing the importance of informing senior staff to maintain patient care quality and ethical standards. The reflection discusses the dilemma of balancing helping colleagues with ensuring patient safety. The second case involves a student under the influence of drugs, highlighting violations of narcotics and criminal laws, and the ethical considerations of reporting versus offering support. The reflection details the decision-making process, weighing legal compliance against the student's future, ultimately advocating for guidance and ethical correction while maintaining patient safety. The conclusion underscores the necessity of adhering to ethics, laws, and legislative codes in healthcare practices, emphasizing that decisions must prioritize patient well-being and ethical conduct.

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Health professionals
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Contents
Introduction.......................................................................................................................3
Case 1................................................................................................................................3
Reflection..........................................................................................................................5
Case 2................................................................................................................................6
Reflection..........................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................8
References.........................................................................................................................9
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Introduction
Legal and moral responsibility will refers to the duty of care to comply with
laws and regulations in the field of practice. This influence must comply with the legal
standards and laws that are providing healthcare services and practices to the patients. In
the field of healthcare, legal and ethical responsibilities it will related to protecting the
patients that they serve (Alle, and Oumer, (2021)) . Due to negligence the patients begin
to suffer that will also supports to provide patients with the suitable facilities. In the
following report, the ethical principles will need to be followed in respect to have better
deliver when complying with laws and ethical standards that are discussed as in respect
to make better decisions for the benefit of the patients. In this report, it has been
discussed that a student nurse who is in an internship is not able to multitask to provide
better nursing facilities, and the student will require help to complete the task. As there
are legal and ethical situations and it is legally necessary to follow the code of conduct
and ethical laws as effectively and efficiently. It has been also discussed the code of
conduct and ethical dilemmas that require to follow the standards and the safety of
patients as health professionals and the legislation of the Narcotics Act of 1967. It
require to follow professional standards for the nurses and midwifery. As there are also
discussions about reflections on decision making in this situation.
Case 1
This case study will refers to the situation where trainees might not effectively
offers medical care facilities to patients (Howes, Burns, and Surtees, (2021)). It has
been observed that the fact of the injury while the game that creates a situation of the
moral and the code of conduct by which the case it is important to be able to offers an
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effective health facilities to patients in terms of their care. It will have an impact by not
completing the task at the relevant time. In this case, it is required for the practice to
offers an authorized, qualitative and ethical goals that is the goals of focused activities
as per to the Norms of Registered Nurses (Ibrahim, and et.al., (2021)). In this sections, it
is essential to offers a safe and high- quality exercises to accomplish the results that
patients needed. It will also allow to concentrates on effective and timely directions that
will have an impact by the placement of the students due to the inability to complete the
task as effectively. The safety and quality that have will relevant guidelines that require
to be followed for exercising nurses. It will have an impact on the provision of
healthcare facilities to patients in respect to enhance their health. In this case, it is
essential to inform the senior nursing staff, who will help the students to maintain the
situation or find an effective manners to deal with the situation and that might not have
an impact on the quality of patient care facilities.
As an intern, they need to maintain the standard and the guidelines and other
ethical laws that might concentrates on the best delivery of the present healthcare
facilities and will might not neglect the patients care standards. As a nursing student, it
is the responsibility to comply with the laws and legal standards and to inform the
senior registered nurses of the present status of patient care by the poor health care
facilities that are offered to patients (Thomas, and et.al., (2021)). As on the other side,
another intern disrupted the values of the practice and the standards of disclosed nurses
that is essential to have better sections as effectively to offers health services to patients
and enhance the quality of the nursing practice. It is unethical to disguise the conditions
as because other student is struggling and incapable to offers effective body care that
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might have an impact on the standard patient care. They will also observed that the
placement students who had been injured and worked overtime and they did not get
better and they were even getting worse as effectively and efficiently. They faced with
this situation and the people require to rest and might not offers a medical facilities to
patients (Li, and et.al., (2021)). As because there is a risk of weakening the quality of
care that will have an impact on the improvement of the patient's health. As there are
ethical issues in supporting students with various physical tasks but it will have an
impact on the facilities that might be offered to patients to improve their health and
enhance their health.
The other placement student might not pay the placement fee again in the future
that is a moral issue and standard. It will have an impact on the further studies, but since
there is no better condition to offers health care facilities and will have an attention that
should be paid to this point. Students need to be well guided then they need to provide
relief for a few days or they need to provide reimbursement on the job. By participation
in the nursing and midwifery decision- making framework. It will allows them to work
as an intern with not having an impact on the quality of care that might be offered to
patients in respect to enhance their health (Tran, and et.al., (2021)). It will meet the
quality needs of the patients as well as present continuous placement that require to
create a better career future.
Reflection
At the time, I was working in an emergency hospital that I have observed that
other students were misbehaving and unable to provide quality facilities to patients. I
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also observed that they was not actively participating in physical term of the exercise.
When I asked them about it, they told me that their back leg that was injured from the
practices. They also asked me to help them with some tasks as because they could not
take the initiative to complete the tasks (Halls, Murray, and Sellar, (2021)). I was also
asked not to notify the main nurse as because I was afraid of leaving the internship due
to health issues. I am trapped in an ethical dilemma, that is about following ethics or the
following standards and legislation and when there is a compromise in the quality of
patient care that will notify the higher authorities of this situation. It is difficult to help
another student as because I have yet to complete my homework and the process of
helping another student that will have an impact on my homework or facilities delivery
that will have an impact on the quality of patient care. As there are ethical issues, as
their condition that has deteriorated over time, so it is essential to inform the higher
specialists of the student's present situation. If I do not notify then they will conduct
self- observation by any higher authority due to the current situation that will lead to
legal action to cover up the situation and compromise the superiority of the patient care.
Case 2
This case study will involves a nursing student in a healthcare professional and a
member of the student's family. As a student who works in the guidance of a health
professional as because of his behavior that might feel neglected when offering his
facilities (Smit, and et.al., (2021)). After asking the students to acknowledge that they
took drugs last night that his body was still have an impacted and their behavior was
affected. As the students will disrupted several laws and legislations with professional
standards and practical standards that will include the Narcotics Law with the Criminal
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Law of 1995 and the Therapeutics Law that are codes of conduct that will produce
moral issues that are based on the circumstances of the students .
Students who use prescription drugs in violation of the law that might only take
them according to the instructions of the patient and others cannot take them. As there is
also a concern that medical staff should not take medication while providing facilities.
In this case, legal action is essential in the field (Moth, and Binderup, (2021)). When
this code of ethics is disrupted, it is a destruction of the code of ethics and the code of
conduct that is an illegal act. It is an ethical and legal situation, there is a require to
comply with laws and legislation as there is an effective require to comply with ethical
standards and the authorities that might be notified and the Narcotics Act of 1967 must
be complied with it. Drugs that are not prescribed by any doctor is considered in
criminal law and specifies a secure sentence of approximately 24 years. To fulfil with
the law it is essential to include the national police or legal institutions in the
management of their activities. However, by having a future and thinking ethically then
the health professional that can help the student to get rid of such criminal activities and
focus on normal life to make it effective and it is an ethical dilemma (Gaffney,
Bereznicki, and Bereznicki, (2021)). It is difficult to decide whether to follow the
standards or the law and notify the relevant agencies about this activity or give students
another opportunity to stay in good form and work for a better life without taking drugs.
In this case, it is essential to stand by the code of conduct but for moral reasons as there
is a moral dilemma, even if they are immune to any legal influence, their life is made
worse by prescription drugs that makes their life worse by using of illegal drugs.
Reflection
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I have been observed that the student feels uncomfortable during the provision
of health care facilities that seems to be unable to concentrates on work and is
constantly restless while offering health care facilities to the patient that is not good for
the patient. I perceived the student's conditions and took them aside to talk about his
situation and they agreed that they had taken drugs last night until there will not have an
impact on their body (Cahill, and et.al., (2021)). As a healthcare professional, I must
take action but this can change their future and it can damage their future. Therefore, I
decided to let them understand their crimes and instruct them not to commit such crimes
in the future as otherwise severe legal action that will be taken. I was caught in an
ethical dilemma that is whether to comply with the agreement and inform my superiors
to take action against it. I have the opportunity to let them understand and present their
some ethics and give them another chance as because I ask them not to offer facilities to
patients as because they might lead to wrong practices and may harm patients or will
have an impact on the standard and the quality. By looking to the future that I will focus
on complying with the ethical code of the workplace that will should ensure that such
activities are not repeated. I will also follow guidelines and make difficult decisions in
terms of providing quality patient facilities.
Conclusion
From the above mentioned report it has been concluded that, it is necessary to
comply with ethics, laws and legislative codes in respect to carry out all activities
smoothly as effectively and efficiently. Sometimes decisions need to be made to help
comply with the code of conduct in the field of the area. It is necessary to provide
quality facilities to patients and there should be no compromises in medical situations.
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As there are many laws, legislations and codes of conduct that an ongoing facilities
delivery process that must follow. As sometimes it is necessary to make ethical
decisions that can evade the laws in order to make ethical decisions that are better
followed in the field. It need to ensure that quality of the facilities that are provided to
patients.
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References
Alle, Y.F. and Oumer, K.E., (2021). Attitude and associated factors of COVID-19
vaccine acceptance among health professionals in Debre Tabor Comprehensive
Specialized Hospital, North Central Ethiopia; 2021: cross-sectional
study. VirusDisease, pp.1-7.
Howes, A.E., Burns, M.E. and Surtees, A.D., (2021). Barriers, facilitators, and
experiences of the autism assessment process: A systematic review of
qualitative research with health professionals. Professional Psychology:
Research and Practice.
Ibrahim, N., and et.al., (2021). Perspectives on mental health recovery from Egyptian
mental health professionals: A qualitative study. Journal of Psychiatric and
Mental Health Nursing.
Thomas, J., and et.al., (2021). Rural placements during undergraduate training promote
future rural work by nurses, midwives and allied health
professionals. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 29(2), pp.253-258.
Li, J., and et.al., (2021). A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative literature on
health professionals' experiences communicating with Chinese
immigrants. International Journal of Nursing Practice, p.e12960.
Tran, B.X., and et.al., (2021). Gaps in awareness of climate variability and its impacts
on society among health professionals and community workers in Vietnam:
Implications for COVID-19 and other epidemic response
systems. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 59, p.102212.
Halls, D., Murray, C. and Sellar, B., (2021). Why allied health professionals use
evidence-based clinical guidelines in stroke rehabilitation: A systematic review
and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies. Clinical Rehabilitation,
p.02692155211012324.
Smit, A.K., and et.al., (2021). Knowledge, views and expectations for cancer polygenic
risk testing in clinical practice: A cross‐sectional survey of health
professionals. Clinical Genetics.
Moth, G. and Binderup, A.T., (2021). Community‐based homecare nursing in Denmark:
exploring factors related to substitution of nurses by ancillary health
professionals. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 35(2), pp.559-566.
Gaffney, G.R., Bereznicki, L.R. and Bereznicki, B.J., (2021). Knowledge, beliefs and
management of childhood fever among nurses and other health professionals:
A cross-sectional survey. Nurse Education Today, 97, p.104731.
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Cahill, L.S., and et.al., (2021). Factors influencing allied health professionals’
implementation of upper limb sensory rehabilitation for stroke survivors: a
qualitative study to inform knowledge translation. BMJ open, 11(2),
p.e042879.
Stokar, Y.N. and Pat-Horenczyk, R., (2021). Effects of end-of-life care on medical
health professionals: A dialectical approach. Palliative & Supportive Care,
pp.1-8.
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