concepts that are related to ethics and laws that influence nursing and the practices involved in it

concepts that are related to ethics and laws that influence nursing and the practices involved in it

This paper looks into five concepts that are related to ethics and laws that influence nursing and the practices involved in it. Consequently, their impacts on nursing practices get tackled. Their effects on the operation of agencies get addressed too. These concepts then get evaluated to determine significances, problems, and matters from legal and ethical points of view. The essay goes on to look at how agencies interfere with patients’ rights and the ethics of employees. It also gets to look at policy proposals, subsequent measures, and recommendations. Finally, it closes on useful applications of laws and ethics.

Concepts

There are concepts of both legal and ethical issues that determine practices in nursing. First, there is the vicarious liability that transfers liability from nurses to their employers. Corporate liability dictates nursing as well. It renders the hospital corporation directly liable for taking care of the patient (Guido, 2014). The ostensible authority also influences nursing. It makes hospitals responsible for errors and actions by an independent contractor.

The concept of independent liability also impacts nursing practices. It ensures that individuals are always held responsible for whatever they do. Finally, the laws governing equal opportunities of employment regulate nursing practices. They speak against discrimination based on gender, religion, age, nationality, race, pregnancy, and physical disability (Guido, 2014). In this way, terminations, hiring, and promotion happen to only those that deserve.

Concepts Explanation

Vicarious liability improves the quality of healthcare as employees strive to ensure the nurses are competent. Ultimately, the services offered tend to be better than if the concept was not in place. Resultantly, agencies get to make revenue that ensures they continue operating. If liabilities were to be high, they might go bankrupt. With corporate liability, caring of the patient depends on the duties that hospital corporates perform. For instance, they ensure that their staff is adequate (Pozgar, 2019). They also make sure that the staff members get trained and educated. Besides availing providing equipment that works well, the corporate ensure that their buildings are safe enough. Finally, they adhere to standards of care set nationally, making their operation viable.

Onto ostensible authority, the hospital clearly outlines its primary functions. Therefore independent contractors facilitate quality services as per the specifications so that the hospital remains liable for their duties. The agency strives to stay viable by setting out controls that they have on the contractor (Guido, 2014). Contractors are responsible if they operate under circumstances that the hospital does not control.

Independent liability improves service quality. The nurses strive to avoid intentional torts as well as negligent torts as they are fully liable. The viability of the hospital stands because if they can institute lawsuits to get back the amount that they incurred due to the negligence of the employee (Pozgar, 2019). Finally, the laws that govern equal opportunity ensure the best talent serve, thus improving health care quality. Successively, the agency is viable because they benefit from employees’ work.

Concept Review and Analysis

Notably, the concepts share two commonalities. Hence they are priorities. First, practitioners strive to deliver quality services. Getting proper treatment is a right in the law. Similarly, ethical principles require workers to choose options that work best towards their customers. The other priority is the regular operation of an agency without incurring avoidable losses that may end their viability. The law justifies because they are not entirely liable for all activities of employees. From an ethical perspective, corporates have to treat workers fairly and accommodate their needs, such as disabilities (Guido, 2014).

However, it is not a smooth ride as there are challenges along the way. There are times when nurses make decisions based on their ethics. It may not be the best for all the stakeholders because ethical considerations vary between individuals. Among the legal issues that come up are the rights of employees (Pozgar, 2019). The duties of the organization also get considered. Ethically speaking, nonmaleficence, and ethical codes of profession bear weight in these concepts.

Ethical Violations and Responsibilities

Often, there are decisions made by the healthcare provider that end up going past the ethical framework of the nurse. Element of corporate negligence may include duty breach, causation, and care duty (Pozgar, 2019). A case in point is whereby the hospital reduces the quality of healthcare provision due to scarce resources. In doing such rationing, principles of justice, autonomy, and beneficence get compromised. The moment that the funds are limited, the nurses may find themselves in positions that make them prioritize the patient to serve. Consequently, the aspect of justice as an ethical principle gets disregarded.

When giving patients the details of a medical condition, their autonomy gets on the verge of getting lost. In terms of scarcity of staff, the nurses may get assigned to duties that violate their ethics. Not all nurses are comfortable participating in elective abortion or disconnecting a patient’s resuscitator (Pozgar, 2019). There are scenarios where resources put the lives of patients at risk. The principle of nonmaleficence is bound to get broken due to such settings. Similarly, when corporates participate in fraudulent activities, the trustworthiness becomes an ethical violation of nurses.

Prevention of violations

To curb the rampant abuse of both the law and ethics, coming up with policies addressing them is crucial. There should be a proposal to rectify them and measures to gauge their efficient working (Guido, 2014). Finally, recommendations address the gray areas for future developments. The public policy states that causing harm to people is unlawful.

An example is one that requires the services provided in medical care. To attain it, one may propose that incompetent practitioners get exposed no matter where they go to procure their services. Automatically, beneficence and maleficence get promoted. The former gets achieved because the interest of both the corporate and the patient revolves around it as the intentions are good (Guido, 2014). The latter tries to protect hospitals and their clients from getting harmed.

Furthermore, agencies would know better to keep away from the predictable liabilities as well as taking hugely unnecessary risks. Nonetheless, such a proposal has the potential of getting rectified. This rectification comes about because of exceptions depending on the conditions. The implication here is that there are disciplinary actions that get dished to physicians on unfair grounds (Pozgar, 2019). A recommendation would be to look into the roots of the matter from different perspectives. The technological advances should get considerations in that process.

Interventions

The legal and ethical theories are beneficial to the nursing community. Therefore, there arises the need to make them practical in the work environment. Through nursing, one can intervene for their effective practice. First, the ethical codes should comprise of conducts that accomplish the values, missions, and visions of a corporate (Pozgar, 2019). They should also make the staff well aware of their conditions. Besides strengthening trust and assisting in making choices, the codes should motivate staff members to alert the corporate on misconduct.

Subsequently, the hospitals are to deal with their employees honestly and fairly. Both the management team and the employees must not take sides when their interests are contrary to others. Treating patients should be a respectful endeavor that upholds their respect and rights. For the physically disabled, the hospital ought to provide the paramount services needed (Guido, 2014). The patients get supplied with a bill of their rights. Even so, there are conducts to scrutinize. For example, writing up false records, using erroneous data, and denying patients of insurance benefit prompt investigation.

In conclusion, laws regarding employment and liability issues affect nursing. They try to change the work environment for the better. They also have their downs. On occasions, agencies make decisions that are detrimental to employees and patients. The need to revise policies arises. Fortunately, there are actions that nurses can take to ensure the laws and ethics become practical in their field.