The Role of Registered Nurses in Patient Consent and Ethical Practices

This essay examines the crucial role of Registered Nurses (RNs) in healthcare, particularly concerning patient consent, ethical practices, and adherence to nursing standards as defined by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). The essay emphasizes the importance of RNs in obtaining informed consent, especially for minors, and highlights the ethical considerations nurses must navigate. It delves into the legal framework governing nursing practices in Australia, including the RN's accountability to the NMBA and the standards of practice that guide their actions. The essay uses the case of a four-year-old boy with asthma and a peanut allergy to illustrate how RNs apply ethical frameworks, conduct assessments, develop care plans, and manage mandatory reporting requirements. The essay also references literature reviews and research to support the RN's role in providing safe, responsive, and appropriate nursing care, fostering therapeutic relationships, and collaborating with other healthcare professionals. The essay concludes by underscoring the significance of mandatory reporting in protecting public safety and the specific legal requirements in Queensland, Australia.

Nursing essay

Table of Contents
Essay.......................................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

Essay
The registered nurse play an important role in order to take consent of the patient or the
patient's family in treatment process. It is required on behalf of nurse to understand the ethical
practices to be performed while nursing practices. There is a legal constituent in Australia which
controls and accounts for practices of registered nurse and ensure the safety of public interest
which is NMBA(Masters, 2018). There is a nursing standard practices which guides
The legal constituent for the RN is NMBA. NMBA helps in regulating the practices of
nursing in Australia and also holds the responsibility to protect the public interest. According to
the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, RN is responsible and accountable to NMBA.
NMBA is registered nursing standard for practice. The main functions of Registered Nurse as per
NMBA is accountability, transparency, integrity, agility and relational. Therefore, the registered
nurse will be accountable for the treatment or care which she is providing to Christian Russo, RN
will ensure to take actions which is morally right.
As per the RN standards of practices a registered nurse has to follow the code of ethics.
The code constitutes of four values which are trust, partnership, respect and integrity along with
this it consist of eight primary principles. According to standard 1, The nurses should think
critically and should try to analyse the nursing practice. Therefore in case of Christian Russo the
RN will provide handover. According to standard 2, A RN nurse should try to built an
professional as well as therapeutic relationship with the patient, in order to do so RN will
communicate with the infant as well as with the patient's parents and will try to built trust and
understanding.
However as per the Standard 3, the RN should maintain capability for practice while as
per Standard 4, conduct assessment, for conducting assessment RN will gather information about
the Christian Russo psychological and physiological status which will help to find out the need
of patient care. As Christian is already suffering from Asthma and due to intake of peanut is
suffering from mild infection which has caused problem in breathing. Therefore RN will conduct
an assessment for gathering information and planning the treatment accordingly, Standard 5,
Developing plan for nursing practice, RN will create a nursing care plan which will include the
interventions as well as rationale, for example in case of Christian Russo case intervention will
be encouraging the fluid intake it will help to decrease air trapping and will help in efficient
breathing. Standard 6, to provide safe, responsive, and appropriate nursing practice, as per

NMBA these are the responsibilities of the RN, therefore RN will ensure to provide or use safe
nursing practices for infant, Standard 7, A nurse should evaluate outcomes for its nursing
practice(Nursing and Midwifery board, 2019). For evaluating outcomes in case of Christian
Russo the RN will look at the is infant is demonstrating the lip breathing, a decrease sign of
respiratory efforts etc.
As per the law of Australia a person who is of 16 years if age is eligible to take their own
decision. Therefore in treatment of person of 16 years of age a RN can take consent of patient.
While the people who are under 18 are minor. Therefore the minor has a ability to take their won
decision. But in case of people who are below the age of 14 years a consent in respect of medical
treatment has to be taken of parents and guardians. Therefore it is required by the RN to take
consent of guardians and patient regarding the type of medical treatment to be given as well as to
identify the cause behind the problem from which patient is suffering in case of
infants(Bodenheimer & Bauer, 2016). The RN in case of infant will take the consent from the
infant parent regarding the treatment which will be given to the infant.
Ruth Endacott & et.al., 2017, tries to determine the perspective of nurses as well as
registered nurse and also to identify the activities which enrolled nurse perform at their work
place. In order to do so online survey was done of enrolled nurses and registered nurses of
Australia. As a result of survey it was found that nurses play an important role and health service
providers and nursers have to work collaboratively in order to provide better treatment to patient.
As per NMBA, registered nurse plays an important role as it works in order to make
therapeutic and professional relationship with the patients as well as with their family. Nurses
practices are not restricted to only providing clinical care but it also involve non clinical
relationship with clients, administration and as well as families of patients(Hąbek & Wolniak,
2016).
However if we look at the case of Christian Russo a 4 year old boy, as the boy has eaten
peanut cake due to which a mild allergic symptoms have been seen. Therefore in such case a RN
of Queensland childcare hospital will first analyse and try to use the best available evidence by
preliminary check-up and will try to analyse the symptoms and cause behind this(Cusack, 2018).
In order to find the cause behind allergy a RN will talk to the family, in order to make decision a
nurse can use ethical framework in order to make decision. RN will give its family or parents an
adequate time to ask questions, or make decision for accepting and refusing care, investigation

and treatment. The RN will inform his parent about the benefit, risk, cost for further assessment
as well as investigation as well as treatment which the parents want to clarify before
proceedings(Ioannou & Serafeim, 2017).
Mandatory reporting or notification is one of the important step which aims at preventing
public from any type of risk and the notification should be made only with the sufficient reasons.
Or it can be defined as the state or territory legislative requirements which are imposed on
professionals in order to protect group which are at risk such as aged, children and young people.
It is the role of RN of Queensland children hospital to make the notification for the case of
Christian Russo with respect to psychologists, physiotherapists, medical practitioner etc.
As per Queensland, it is a legal requirement that a mandate has to be proposed to a
authorised officer, person who is employed in departmental care service, a public service
employee in department or to and licensed care service. Therefore RN will provide mandate to
the authorised officer. The other legal requirements are define the person who will make report,
providing a report with confidentiality, stating that when report should be made, to state that
whom the report should be made, details about what report should contain(Guidelines, 2019)
The purpose of essay was to identify the role of RN in taking consent from the infant,
children and young people. The roles and responsibilities of RN has also been covered in the
essay as per NMBA. And to highlight the role which RN plays in mandatory reporting. As well
as to know the process and requirements of making a report. A literature review has also been
used which gives an understanding of role of RN.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
APA ref
Bodenheimer, T., & Bauer, L. (2016). Rethinking the primary care workforce—an expanded role
for nurses. New England journal of medicine. 375(11). 1015-1017.
Cusack, L. (2018). Midwife standards for practice. Australian Midwifery News. 18(3). 9.
Hąbek, P., & Wolniak, R. (2016). Assessing the quality of corporate social responsibility reports:
the case of reporting practices in selected European Union member states. Quality &
Quantity. 50(1). 399-420.
Ioannou, I., & Serafeim, G. (2017). The consequences of mandatory corporate sustainability
reporting. Harvard Business School research working paper. (11-100).
Li, W. and et.al., 2019. 1148: Impact Of Bis Monitoring On Sedation And Analgesia In Patients
With Ards On Nmba. Critical Care Medicine.47(1). p.551.
Masters, K. (2018). Role development in professional nursing practice. Jones & Bartlett
Learning.
Online
Nursing and Midwifery board. 2019. [Online] Available through
<file:///home/user/Downloads/Nursing-and-Midwifery-Board---Standard---Registered-nurse-
standards-for-practice---1-June-2016.PDF>
Guidelines. 2019. [Online] Available through
<https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Statements/Policies.aspx>