Health Law and Ethics in Nursing: Case Study Analysis and Reflection

This report presents an analysis of health law and ethics through three case studies involving student nurses. The cases explore various ethical breaches, including patient mistreatment, substance abuse, and theft. Each case study examines the legal requirements for student nurses, the implications for healthcare facilities, and the author's personal reflection on their ethical stance. The report draws on relevant legislation, professional codes, and ethical principles such as justice, accountability, beneficence, and non-malfeasance to provide a comprehensive understanding of the ethical and legal responsibilities of health professionals. The author reflects on personal experiences and the impact of unethical behavior on patient care and the healthcare environment. The report emphasizes the importance of adhering to ethical guidelines and policies to ensure patient safety and maintain professional integrity.

Health Law and
Ethics

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
CASE STUDY 1..............................................................................................................................1
Legal requirement for student nurse regarding this case........................................................1
Implication for health facility relevant to the case.................................................................2
Reflection on life experience of ethical stance.......................................................................2
CASE STUDY 2..............................................................................................................................3
Legal requirement for student nurse regarding this case........................................................3
Implication for health facility relevant to the case.................................................................3
Reflection on life experience of ethical stance.......................................................................4
CASE STUDY 3..............................................................................................................................5
Legal requirement for student nurse regarding this case........................................................5
Implication for health facility relevant to the case.................................................................5
Reflection on life experience of ethical stance.......................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Health law and ethics is the body of laws concerned with rights of medical professionals as
well as their patients Hall and et.al., (2018). This present study is based on different cases which
all are related to unethical behaviours of nurse students which affect health of patients and
overall healthcare services which they provide to patients. It will also show roles and
implications of health facilities in order to protect rights of patients. Some legislations, principles
and policies like principle of justice, accountability, beneficence all plays an important role
which will be shown in this study.
CASE STUDY 1
Legal requirement for student nurse regarding this case
In the context of legal requirement and ethical consideration it can be said that it plays an
important role and for nursing students it is important for all to have knowledge about the
difference between the right conduct and ethics. There is a case study in which as a nursing
student I was taking my patient back to his bed and on the way my colleague or other nurse
student was also doing the same job but the patient of my colleague shouted at my colleague and
in the hit of the moment other nurse student slap that patient and walk away Voorhoeve and
et.al., (2017). So, in this case I want to say that it was all unethical behaviour of nursing student
because it is the duty of nursing students of being calm in every situation and try to understand
feelings of patients and making them feel comfortable and valuable.
Principles in nursing As per the principles of nursing there is a principle of health
maximization and non malfeasance according to which nurse students require respecting human
behaviour of patients and understanding their feelings. Some codes of conducts make nurse
students able to understand the difference between the right and wrong. So by following
principles like providing all details to patients, taking extra care by being calm, better treatment
can be provided accordingly (Nursing Ethical Consideration, 2020).
Implication for health facility relevant to the case
There is a duty of health care system and facility design for patients safety and by linking
with this case, it is important for health care system of making sure that nurse are following all
guidelines and policies developed and implemented at workplace. As per all implications of
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health care system, it is important for system to punish that student because of their unethical
behaviour to patients as it can d-motivate other patients and if action is not being taken by the
system then it may hurt feelings of patients and also may encourage to other nurse students for
doing such acts Impact of Facility design of patient Safety, (2016).
There are some codes of ethics under ICN which required to be followed by student nurse
include:
Respecting of human rights: It is one of the main code of ethics according to which nurse
students require protecting and respecting human rights of patients. There is right of patient to
get better treatment and respect from nurses. But in this case it is found that nurse student scold
on patient and it was against this code of ethic. So, it can be said that by implementing and
making it compulsory for all nurse student of following codes of ethics such situations and
unethical behaviours for nurse students can be changed.
Reflection on life experience of ethical stance
In the context of my personal experience I want to share my feelings where I faced the same
type of situation, while working in health care organization as a nurse student I was dealing with
patients and one of my colleagues was also dealing with patients of mental health and due to
work load he was tensed from few day. One day while dealing with patients, one of his patients
resisted to take medication and scolded on nurse student. Due to work load, he became
aggressive and gave a threat to their family members of breaching personal information and also
treated badly with them. It was one of the main unethical behaviour which made shaken to all
other patients. In this regards I companied of that colleague to senior authority. He got to know
that as per the principles of ethics in nursing we all are responsible for providing special care to
patients with mental health and improving their health as well Haahr and et.al., (2020). I learned
from this incident that we should always remain calm while dealing with patients and for making
them feel comfortable by understanding their pain.
CASE STUDY 2
Legal requirement for student nurse regarding this case
In the case study it is found that unethical behaviours is not only related to talking angrily,
shouting on patients, breach of information’s of patients but it is also taking personal matters into
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professional which can hurt and affect health of patients. In the given case, one of my room-mate
or newly registered nurse I found some changes in behaviour because of relationship breakup. It
hurts him and due to this he started drinking heavily and after drinking he used to go to treat
patients. I was so concerned for him and patients as well. After consuming alcohol we do not be
in conscious and in this situation we can commit mistakes in providing treatment and also lead to
unethical behaviours. He asked me to not to talk regarding this to anyone.
So, in this regard I want to make him aware about principles and policies of ethics which
is safety of patients. As per the safety of patients, nurse students require following all policies
and do not conduct any act which can hurt them and can affect their health.
Implication for health facility relevant to the case
As per the health care policy of Australia this problem can be solved out because The
Australian healthcare system mainly deals with 2 main problems such as: resource allocation and
improving patients outcomes. There is an interdisciplinary approach which is being developed
for using by nursing staff as a new performance measurement model and becoming responsible
for improving quality of health care system without hurting patients. A Review of the Australian
Healthcare System, (2018).
As a friend I was concerned and can understand his feeling but I knew that it is an unethical
behaviour which was not intentionally but still can affect health of patients Rogers, (2018).
There are several codes of ethics which needs to be considered by nurse students in order to get
effective outcomes and improving health of them such as:
There are some codes of ethics such as: integrity, objectivity, confidentiality, professional
competencies and professional behaviour. Process improvement is other main duty and codes
of ethics according to which nurse student is liable for improving quality of healthcare and
improving overall performance. Healthcare quality professionals engaged in work of
performance improvement employ science based practices which have developed within quality
framework.
In addition, as per the safety code of ethics, nurse students are also liable for managing
safety and providing effective working environment to them. Minimizing defects is one of the
effective codes of ethics and it is relevant to this case by which nurse student requires providing
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treatment to patient in an effective manner and think about their safety by keeping personal
matters aside and focusing on only professional matters.
The Australian healthcare system is a hybrid model under which citizens, permanent
residents and refugees can buy private insurance coverage and gain access to better healthcare
services and also as per the health and safety act they can complain against staff member if they
found them guilty and performing unethical act.
Reflection on life experience of ethical stance
I want to share my experience of having similar case scenario in which one of my colleagues
or registered nurse was addicted to drugs due to some financial crisis and personal family
problem. It affected his health and one day when he was dealing with patients and supporting
senior professionals in operation theatre he fainted which affected healthcare services to patient
but it was prevented by keeping that patient under observation. But it may have affected patients’
health and also caused to severe problem and it all happened only because of side effects of
drugs Klaeson, Berglund and Gustavsson, (2017). So, I believe that for treating others nursing
students and staff should require taking care of them and if they face any critical problems then
they require talking to senior authority and keeping personal matters aside is important in this
field.
CASE STUDY 3
Legal requirement for student nurse regarding this case
In this case of theft of valuables of patients as an registered nurse I feel that theft of
valuables and other things of patients at hospital by nursing students and other is an unethical
behaviour. In this case as a RN I was facilitating students on clinical placement and while
working with student in an early shift I got a case where I required to admit a female patient i
theatre and while preparing her I asked her to put the necklace and watch in drawer and after
getting admission done valuables will be kept safe on locker with her name. After getting
admission done I found that necklace were missing and watch was there and by asking that
student about necklace he owned up to taking this and hand it back. But he was going to steal
necklace so, I found this act as an unethical because it may hurt patient and also reputation of
hospital Kaplin and et.al., (2019).
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Any person who found committing fraudulent or dishonest conduct is responsible for
penalty. It is a legal duty of providing under the quality standards for healthcare quality
commission safe environment to patient and taking actions if anyone found guilty.
Implication for health facility relevant to the case
Health and social care act: This act also should be applied in health care department
according to which all staff is responsible for providing safe working environment and fair
treatment to patients. It improves their health and makes them feel safe and also if anyone found
guilty is being responsible for penalty Mason and et.al., (2020).
Maintaining patients trust is also important and it is the duty of all nursing professionals and
registered nurse to engage patients and increasing trust. It can be done by developing a safe
working environment and following all rules and policies related health and safety act.
As per some codes of ethics and rights of patient there is a right of patients of seeking
for safe environment. And as per this code and principle, working and hospital department is
liable for penalty against theft and ineffective environment. If patients and their family members
got injured and staff steal their valuables then there is a liability of hospital department to pay for
this and taking strict actions against that member because of their unethical behaviour.
Reflection on life experience of ethical stance
I have been go through same type of case in which i found someone guilty for stealing
money of patients given for keeping safe in locker. While working in healthcare department one
of my colleagues tried to steal money of patients who was being taken to theatre for operating.
One of family members of patient found him by doing so and after that he handed back to family
member of patient. After that they companied to senior authority of that nursing student and after
that he was filed a lawsuit and also snatched opportunity of practicing for around 1 year. From
this I got to know effectiveness of following rules and policies and providing safe environment
to patients and consequences of committing such unethical acts Will, (2016).
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CONCLUSION
From the above study and given scenarios it has been summarized that ethics played an
important role in nursing as it makes nursing students and staff able to understand the difference
between the right and the wrong conduct and improving health of patients. Lastly, this study has
shown importance and effectiveness of some implications of health facilities and policies which
have been developed for providing and improving health and following rules by nursing
students.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Haahr, A. and et.al., 2020. Nurses experiences of ethical dilemmas: a review. Nursing
ethics, 27(1), pp.258-272.
(https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0969733019832941)
Hall, M.A. and et.al., 2018. Health care law and ethics. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.
(https://books.google.co.in/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=mwJODwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR29&dq=Hall,+M.A.+and+et.al.,
+2018+&ots=aWKJxhzbPJ&sig=oNDlqD1XXJI2gO2aNAKv2MqALrY&redir_esc=y#
v=onepage&q=Hall%2C%20M.A.%20and%20et.al.%2C%202018&f=false)
Kaplin, W.A. and et.al., 2019. The Law of Higher Education, A Comprehensive Guide to Legal
Implications of Administrative Decision Making. John Wiley & Sons.
(https://books.google.co.in/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=MWiQDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT9&dq=Kaplin,+W.A.+and+et.al.,
+2019&ots=UrJAAmOl2B&sig=vyLC4hNjgH2u_yspQYkC7n9NJxU&redir_esc=y#v=
onepage&q&f=false)
Klaeson, K., Berglund, M. and Gustavsson, S., 2017. The character of nursing students' critical
reflection at the end of their education. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 7(5),
pp.55-61. (https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?
pid=diva2%3A1062922&dswid=-1080)
Mason, D.J. and et.al., 2020. Policy & Politics in Nursing and Health Care-E-Book. Elsevier
Health Sciences. (https://books.google.co.in/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=zjHNDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Mason,+D.J.+and+et.al.,
+2020&ots=bpq14DZ0-c&sig=VDeL-HAqpIdwlxMTzBrd_kCh-
gM&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Mason%2C%20D.J.%20and%20et.al.%2C
%202020&f=false)
Rogers, L., 2018. Ethical, legal and professional issues. Foundation Studies for Caring: Using
Student-Centred Learning, p.65. (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-
77432-9_15)
Voorhoeve, A. and et.al., 2017. Making fair choices on the path to universal health coverage:
applying principles to difficult cases. Health Systems & Reform, 3(4), pp.301-312.
(https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23288604.2017.1324938)
Will, C.I., 2016. Knowledge in nursing: Contemplating life experience. Canadian Journal of
Nursing Research Archive, 33(3).
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ONLINE
Nursing Ethical Consideration. 2020. Online Available through: <
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526054/#:~:text=These%20dilemmas%20may
%2C%20at%20times,justice%2C%20and%20non%2Dmaleficence.>
Impact of Facility design of patient Safety. 2016. Online Available through: <
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2633/>
A Review of the Australian Healthcare System. 2018. Online Available through: <
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5900819/>
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