The battery is the abusive or harmful contact of any person without their express or implied consent. Many care tasks, such as administering medication or assisting a patient in the toilet, require proximity or physical contact with a patient. It is essential to know what the battery is and to ensure that you have obtained the necessary consent to perform your duties, as patients have the right to refuse help and treatment. In England, a patient is considered a minor if he or she is under 18 years of age, although in Scotland the required age is less than 16 years of age. In England and Wales, the Family Law Reform Act 1969 provides that a person aged 16 or 17 has a legal right to consent to treatment; Under article 8, a minor is considered to be an adult aged 16 and over and has statutory rights deriving from this category. Consent must be effective, and parental consent is not required, except in certain procedures such as organ donation and non-therapeutic research. xviii Consent is valid if the minor “has sufficient intelligence and understanding to appreciate information and advice about treatment and what it entails”, for example: when an adolescent consents to receive contraceptive counselling without her parents` knowledge or consent.xix Given that nurses are required by law to be confidential from adults, The Act then extends the obligation to children who are able to consent to treatment. Knowledge of these circumstances is essential for nurses to perform their duties in accordance with ethical standards. While grooming is a rewarding career, caring for others brings its own share of responsibility issues.
From malpractice to improper disclosure of information, there are legal consequences that every nurse should consider. Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN) programs often delve deeper into this topic, but ongoing independent research is also helpful. Here are some common legal issues nurses may face: Ethical issues arise when decisions have to be made, the answers may not be clear, and the options may not be ideal. This could result in a decline in the quality of patient care; problematic clinical relationships; and moral distress, which is defined as knowing what to do, but not being allowed or able to do it. Nursing managers, in particular, are vulnerable to ethical nursing issues and moral distress because of their leadership and mentoring roles. Nurses and other medical staff look to care managers to make appropriate and ethical decisions. Given the general conflict in American society and the extent to which it is seeping into the health care system, nurses must learn the intricacies of the laws that govern their profession. By understanding the ethical and legal issues of care, they can protect themselves, their patients and employers from potentially serious consequences. Here are some of the most important legal issues nurses can face: Nursing practice maintains its own code of ethics, which is governed by strict disciplinary guidelines, with the governing body having more influence over its members than medical legislative bodies.
The Ministry of Health issued Health Services Circular 219.99 which required certain requirements for a new nursing education program. The Nurses and Midwives Ordinance 2001 requires the Council of Nurses and Midwives (NMC) to establish minimum standards and requirements for professional and ethical nursing education.iv The NMC is an organisation created by Parliament to protect the public and regulates nursing medical and professional standards through the Register of Physicians (RMP). The purpose of the registry is to allow the GMC to monitor entry to the profession only by meeting the standards required to obtain an RMP and also monitoring the “fitness to practice” procedure to ensure that all practitioners maintain high and consistent standards of behaviour. The NMC provides guidance regarding expectations with respect to certain obligations such as confidentiality, medical research obligations, consent rights and autonomy. Nursing practice is expected to adhere to these guidelines on a daily basis at the individual level. Der “Code of Professional Conduct: Standards for conduct, performance and ethics” des NMC wird in diesem Beruf weitgehend eingehalten.
