Legal/ethical issue in nursind education - Research Paper Example

Legal/Ethical Issues in Nursing Education of the Nursing of the Concerned June 2, Legal/Ethical Issues in Nursing Education There is no denying the fact that in the nursing profession, an individual is required to make decisions on a daily basis that must take into consideration the legal and ethical dilemmas associated with them (Ruch, 2012, p. 175). This influx of legal and ethical ramifications into the nursing profession indeed makes it utterly challenging. Though in the nursing profession an individual’s duties are mostly of a professional nature, yet there stand to be legal and ethical implications if there is a breach of such professional conduct (Ruch, 2012).

No wonder this onus brings in an immense pressure and stress into the nursing profession. Thereby, one of the primary challenges before the nursing education is to make the aspiring nurses conversant with the legal and ethical issues associated with this profession so that they could render their services in the real life environment in a professional and informed manner. The nurses are not only required to be cognizant of the legal and ethical implications associated with their profession, but going by the sensitive nature of healthcare, they also need to know as to when it is appropriate to side step these implications in the interest of the patient care (Ruch 2012, p. 176). For in the nursing profession, one of the salient duties of a nurse is to facilitate and safeguard the interests of a patient.

The patients under nursing care do also have rights and these rights stand to be sacrosanct and important. These rights may include within their ambit a range of imminent and expectations. For instance it is the right of a patient to be informed of all the treatment possibilities accessible to one, so that one could make an informed choice in the light of one’s emotional, spiritual and financial circumstances. Besides, a nurse and patient relationship ought to be based on mutual respect and trust and any breach of this relationship is governed by legal and ethical implications (Park, 2009).

Nurses do have an ethical and legal duty to assure that the patient under their care do well understands the nature and impact of the treatment one is undergoing and the possible pragmatic outcomes of this treatment (Park, 2009). No wonder though the nursing profession had been bound by ethical implications since years, yet the more contemporary statutory provisions have brought in a legal element into the nursing care. This influx of legal implications has further complicated the nature and scope of the nursing profession (Park, 2009).

Now, the nurses are required to balance the discharge of their professional duties with the dictates of the evidence based practice, with the mandates of the recent legislations and with the associated ethical dilemmas. Thereby the nurses must know as to what they are required to do so as to be in control of their professional environment and to be the best advocates of their patients’ interests. The nurses need to be able to read and understand the nursing related laws. Going by the augmenting legal and ethical nature of the nursing profession, the challenge before the nursing profession is to train the future nurses in the light of such recent developments.

ReferencesPark, M. (2009). The Legal Basis of Nursing Ethics Education. Journal of Nursing Law, 13(4), 106-113. Ruch, S. (2012). Primary Nursing: A Call for Clarity, Empowerment and Accountability. Creative Nursing, 18(4), 145-146.