Values, Ethics, and Legalities Flashcards
Freely chosen beliefs or attitudes about the worth of something
Values
Concerned with dealing with right or wrong behavior (conduct) and character. Shaped from what you value
Morals
Values and Morals combined. Influences the nurse patient relationship.
Values System
Concern for the well being of others
Altruism
Right to self determination
Autonomy
respect for the worth and uniqueness of others
Human Dignity
acting within the code of ethics and standards of practice
Integrity
upholding moral, legal, and human principles
Social Justice
Rules or standards that govern the conduct of the person or the members of a profession
Ethics
The formal study of ethical issues which arise in the practice of nursing
Nursing Ethics
the rightness or wrongness depends on the consequence
Utilitarian
an action is right or wrong independent of its consequences
Deontologic
to avoid doing harm. First do no harm.
Nonmaleficence
Doing or promoting good. Benefit the patient.
Beneficence
the foundation for decisions about resource allocations for societies or groups. Fairness.
Justice
being faithful to one’s commitments or promises.
Fidelity
to tell the truth
Veracity
involves appropriately using patient information. Ensuring the patient’s body is properly covered. Do not engage in discussion about intimate details of the patient unless necessary for the provision of good care.
Privacy
requires that information about a patient be kept private. A professional duty and legal obligation.
Confidentiality
Provide a framework for making ethical decisions and set forth professional expectations. Inform both nurses and society of the profession’s primary goals and values.
Code of Ethics for Nurses
Protect and support another’s rights
Advocacy
The body of law that deals with relationships between private individuals.
Civil (Private) Law
type of public law that deals with the public’s safety and welfare.
Criminal Law
wrong against a person or his property as well as the public. Punishable by the state.
Crime
Subject to action in a civil court. Can be intentional or unintentional.
Tort
Assault, Battery, Defamation (slander, libel), Invasion of privacy (unnecessary exposure), Fraud, False imprisonment
Intentional Torts
Negligence (ex burns from heating pads, falls), Malpractice (ex acting outside scope of practice). Must be proved in a court of law
Unintentional Torts
the relationship between the plaintiff (person bringing suit) and the defendant (the person being sued).
Duty
the failure to conform to the standard of practice, thus creating a risk for a person that a reasonable person would have foreseen.
Breach of Duty
failure to meet standard of care that causes injury.
Causation
For a plaintiff to prevail in a malpractice suit, the plaintiff must have suffered these
Damages
define the duties and functions of the nurse. Rules and regulations
Nurse practice acts
ex: turn patient every 2 hrs., apply barrier cream
Standards of care
licensure, certification
Credentialing
informed consent, Carrying out a physician order, good samaritan acts, incident report, competent nursing care, patient bill of rights, patient education, documentation
Legal safeguards for nurses
denotes legal responsibility to pay damages
Liability
“let the master answer”
Respondeat Superior
providing the patient with the means to end his or her life but not providing the direct action that results in death.
Assisted Suicide
deliberately hastening a person’s death. Considered murder and all states and almost all countries.
Active Euthanasia
an infrequently used method of pain management provided in response to a dying patient’s persistent and unremitting pain and suffering.
Terminal sedation
should be accurate, complete, and contemporaneous with care given. Avoid pre-charting or documenting events before they occur; this is the easiest way for nurses to put themselves at risk for lawsuits.
Documentation
