16th October 2024

Ethics and Legal Considerations

Today we looked at the ethical and legal aspects of nursing. Everyone in healthcare is accountable to themselves, their employer, the NMC, the public, the law and their patients. We are accountable for decisions and actions as a Nursing Associate. Some people have conscientious objection this is where they may not agree with a certain procedure for example a nurse may not agree with abortion so can refuse to take part in the procedure the nurse is covered by the Abortion Act 1967. The code states you should inform your employer to prevent a nurse being put in a situation they do not agree with.

Sometimes in healthcare there can be professional misconduct if found guilty a nurse can be suspended or removed for the NMC register.

Consent must be gained before starting treatment for a patient it is unlawful to start treatment for consent has been gained. A person can lack capacity at this point a capacity test should be carried out.

Ethical Principles:

• Autonomy- Right to individual choice
• Beneficence- Desire to do good for the patient
• Non-Maleficence- To do no harm
• Justice- Equality and fairness

In the afternoon we looked at vital signs and NEWS score. The different observations we can take for a patient and how we calculate a NEWS score then escalation route depending on the score. This will help me escalate a patients care.