The Law and Legal Authority to Practice Nursing

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Case Study Review
Nurses face many legal and ethical issues on a daily basis and they must practice according to the standards of care in order to make the best decision for the patient and themselves. According to Furlong (2007), in making ethical decisions, three resources that are valuable for nurses are (1) the ANA Code of Ethics, (2) an understanding of ethical principles, and (3) the ethics of caring. Utilizing the information set by nursing organizations allow nurses to function as advocates for patient’s and avoid any legal issues. It is important for nurses to understand how ethics, nursing, and law intertwine. The law and legal authority to practice nursing in a state is implemented by the Nurse Practice Act, this is a core aspect every nurse should be familiar with (Furlong, 2007).
Case Study One
A nurse caring for a 12 year-old boy with cancer learns that he has accepted the fact that he is dying and wants to stop chemotherapy. His parents have consented to try a new, aggressive course of chemotherapy. The nurse goes ahead and administers the chemotherapy as ordered by the physician. Based on the situation, this case is legal, but may not be ethical.
Although the parents have the legal right to consent to the new treatment for chemotherapy, they should also take their child’s desires into consideration before subjecting him to a more aggressive therapy. Legally the nurse must administer the medication that the physician has ordered and the parents have agreed upon, otherwise this would be considered a breach of duty. According to Guido (2010), a breach of duty is failure to perform a duty, causing a disturbance in treatment or cause a threatening act. The nurse functioned according to the standards of care an...

... middle of paper ...

... treatment, healthcare providers should think on legal and ethical terms and strive to avoid treatments that can be considered abusive to the patient. What is good for one patient may not be the best treatment for others.

References
Furlong, E. (2007). Right or Wrong. Legal and Ethical Issues and Decision-Making.
Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Chapter 3: 29-45
Guido, G. W. (2010). Legal & ethical issues in nursing (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Smith, B. (2012). Inappropriate prescribing. American Psychological Association 43, 6, 36. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/06/prescribing.aspx
Treloar, A., Beck, S., & Paton, C. (2011). Administering medicines to patients with dementia and other organic cognitive syndromes. Advances in Psychiatric
Treatment 7, 444-450. Retrieved from
http://apt.rcpsych.org/content/7/6/444.full.pdf+html

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