Week Eight Flashcards
Confidentiality
Has both MORAL and LEGAL obligations
Uphold EXCEPT when harm could come to patient or others
May have to disclose due to LEGAL or LEGISLATIVE reasons (i.e. child abuse, infectious diseases, court order)
Betrayal is PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT
The duty of a professional who has received confidential information in trust to protect that information and disclose it to others only with permission or when rules or laws authorize disclosure.
EVERYTHING is confidential unless the patient tells you otherwise
Privacy
Personal
Our RIGHT to control the intrusion of other into our lives!
To disclose or NOT to disclose that is PRIVACY.
When Nurses are Required to Disclose Information For A Particular Purpose
they disclose only the amount of information necessary for that purpose and inform only those necessary. They attempt to do so in ways that minimize any potential harm to the individual, family or community.
Ethical Responsibility of Nurses with respect to Privacy and Confidentiality
Nurses respect the right of people to have control over the collection, use, access and disclosure of their personal information.
When nurses are conversing with persons receiving care, they take reasonable measures to prevent confidential information in the conversation from being overheard.
Nurses collect, use and disclose health information on a need-to- know basis with the highest degree of anonymity possible in the circumstances and in accordance with privacy laws.
When nurses engage in any form of communication, including verbal or electronic, involving a discussion of clinical cases they…
…ensure that their discussion of persons receiving care is respectful and does not identify those persons unless appropriate.
Privacy & Confidentiality During Communication
Discussion of persons receiving care is respectful and does not identify those persons unless appropriate
Can you permit persons in your care to receive access to their health-care records?
Yes. Nurses advocate for persons in their care to receive access to their own health-care records through a timely and affordable process when such access is requested
When can a nurse access health-care records?
Nurses do not abuse their access to information. They only access information as required for professional obligations(not the records of family member or any other person for purposes not consistent with professional obligations)
Privacy, Confidentiality, Photos & Technology
Nurses do not use photo or other technology to intrude into the privacy of a person receiving care
Confidentiality and Social Media
DON’T post patient info
Avoid work related discussions
Avoid negative comments about workplace
Professional boundaries
Strict PRIVACY controls on your accounts
Accountability and Nurses
Nurses are accountable for their actions and answerable for their practice
Practice according to the Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses, keeping with professional standards, laws and regulations supporting ethical practice
Practice within the limits of their competence. Seeking additional information, knowledge, or help from supervisor or competent practitioner or request a different work assignment(remaining with the person needing care for the meantime)
Fitness to Practice
Nurses maintain their fitness to practice. If they are aware that they do not have the necessary physical, mental or emotional capacity to practice safely and competently, they withdraw from the provision of care after consulting with their employer or, if they are self-employed, arranging that someone else attend to their clients’ health-care needs. Nurses then take the necessary steps to regain their fitness to practice.
Nurses are attentive to signs that a colleague is unable, for what- ever reason, to perform his or her duties. In such a case, nurses will take the necessary steps to protect the safety of persons receiving care.
Do nurses need to disclose their identity?
Nurses clearly and accurately represent themselves with respect to their name, title, and role
What do you do when requested care conflicts with your values or beliefs?
If nursing care is requested that is in conflict with the nurse’s moral beliefs and values but in keeping with professional practice, the nurse provides safe, compassionate, competent and ethical care until alternative care arrangements are in place to meet the person’s needs or desires.
What do you do when there is a conflict of interest?
Nurses identify and address conflicts of interest. They disclose actual or potential conflicts of interest that arise in their professional roles and relationships and resolve them in the interest of persons receiving care.
