Essay Sample on Legal Issues in Nursing: Critical Thinking and Respect for Human Dignity

Introduction

In the nursing sector legal issues is a deep-seated issue that calls for critical understanding before handling patients. Nursing is classified as both science and an art and also mind and a heart. In this, the heart entails the vital admiration for human self-respect and sensitivity for patient's wants. Every nurse is expected to possess a particular set of passion and strengths due to complexity and specialty in nursing. Nursing advocates for critical thinking rather than just following the test results as one will be forced to encounter patients from different walks of life. Critical thinking and code of ethics in the nursing sector ensures everyone receives quality care regardless of originality or who they are.

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Legal Issues within the Nursing Unit

Nursing and the medical field have been surrounded by several ethical issues that protect the rights of the patients either in public, private, or home-based medical practitioners or the family doctors. The medics and the public health workers have to uphold the rights of their patients as they can be sued if, by any chance, they violate the patients' rights. Legal concerns in nursing ensure a safe environment in nursing, and this determines how documents are kept and shared (Neuhaus, Lutnaes & Bergstrom, 2019).

Legal issues in the nursing sector entail all the authoritative declarations of the obligations that a registered nurse, irrespective of the role, specialty, or population, is anticipated to carry out. Also, advocates that the standards can change as the subtleties of professional nursing advance and too precise clinical situations can affect the use of the rules at any time. Legal aspects impact the way care is delivered to patients in the nursing sector. Legal issues outline the conditions in which nursing is accomplished and govern how patient's documents are shared or kept.

Legal systems vary worldwide depending on the code of ethics the nurses' work. Nursing, just like any other job, is governed by legal aspects to avoid mistakes that may occur in the process and come up with ways on how to deal with the occurred error (Morley & Cashell, 2017). Many practitioners lack legal and ethical knowhow encountered in the health care surrounding. Nurses are guided by several ethical issues that guide them in making ethical decisions. A nurse has to make moral choices about care delivery, patient support, and caring in giving safe patient care.

Leadership into the Professional Nursing Role

Nursing leadership entails rational thinking, action, and encouragement, and it occurs in all roles of nursing practice. The command exists across all domains of nursing clinical, administration, academic, policy, or research in each setting and at numerous stages. Leadership can happen in official, selected positions, or in casual roles that nurses undertake (Morley & Cashell, 2017). Nurse leaders oversee and impact the specialized practice of the vast number of nurses, and by that, the first sets of care providers in the health system.

Leaders should work by example, and leaders that give directions without showing efforts and expect them to be followed and done in this environment do not succeed (Borthwick & Galbally, 2001). In such a situation, leadership is established when the leader works with others as a full partner with mutual respect and full collaboration (Morley & Cashell, 2017). Leaders in nursing incorporate new research into action and implement it in the day to day activities. Leaders are accountable for recognizing and evolving evidence-based enhancements to health care, and they must go through tests and incorporated through policy changes in all health systems. Leadership involves taking accountability and responsibility for detecting problems and employing plans for improvement, monitoring the development, and making modifications to reach set goals (Borthwick & Galbally, 2001). Problems arise regularly, and so leaders need to be on the lookout for interventions before the problems escalate. According to Morley and Cashell (2017), leaders in the nursing sector must be able to understand the legal issues and also be able to differentiate between administrative, legal, and criminal law and how they affect the legal accountability in a particular environment.

Civil law entails lawsuits by organizations or private individuals. It translates to agreements or offenses well-defined as an obligation for harm or injury to a person by omission or action. The most common lawsuits in the nursing sector include malpractice and professional negligence. Professional negligence occurs when the practitioner does not follow the standards of care and practice, as stated in the organization's policies or those established by the specialty or profession (Morley & Cashell, 2017).

Administrative laws are principles created by the central government, and government agencies and consequences include license revocation and fines. Leaders should be knowledgeable about their national nurse practice act and the room of practice for specialized collaborations from other health care fields. Leaders are accountable for assessing, observing, documenting, and giving feedback on behaviors that disrupt the ethics of practice and organizational prospects. Practitioners follow procedures for employee training, as shown by accreditation and regulatory agencies (Borthwick & Galbally, 2001). Criminal law is based on common law forbids behaviors not condoned in society. Leaders may commit crimes punishable by loss of license and position, incarceration, and punitive act through administrative law strategies (Morley & Cashell, 2017). Practitioners must be aware of potential crimes in the environment like backdating documentation and fraudulent use of patient data, which are punishable by suspension, probation, and even termination.

Teamwork Concerning the Health Care

Team work involves the delivery of health care facilities to families or individuals. Health care teams can be grouped into coordinating teams, core teams, ancillary teams, support teams and contingency teams. When patients live are at stake, teamwork techniques must be employed in health care systems to integrate different ideas over a short period (Neuhaus, Lutnaes & Bergstrom, 2019). Everyone in the team brings a new set of understanding, experience, resources, and skills that lead to the better general care of the patients.

According to Neuhaus, Lutnaes and Bergstrom, (2019), before any team gets tasked to perform, the leader is tasked to stipulate any legal aspects for each member to understand the consequences that might follow in case of breaching the law. With this in mind, any team player will be responsible enough not to be caught on the wrong side of the law. Caregivers are mandated by the law confidentiality of patient information, which should not be disclosed to anybody.

Practical teamwork in this sector can positively and effectively affect the outcomes of patient safety. An increase in specialized patient care is changing the need for more effective collaboration. The vast changing health care and worldwide want for provision of excellent patient care demand for a professional advance with great focus on patient-focused teamwork methodology. For this to be attained, it involves the patient being the main focus in care and by the distribution of an extensive base of the culture of values and principles (Neuhaus, Lutnaes & Bergstrom, 2019). In the provision of adequate and patient-centered health care, a capable team is a necessity and an essential unit.

Teamwork allows learning to continue throughout one's career since there is a regular exchange of ideas, and new improvements in the medical industry are regularly changing over time (Neuhaus, Lutnaes & Bergstrom, 2019). People in teamwork are better exposed to communication, which is very vital too in caregiving. Communication enables one to express their views to the rest of the team on the patient's condition. Teamwork is also necessary for integrating the legal aspects in the health sector since laws can be discussed and understood by the vast majority over a short period (Neuhaus, Lutnaes & Bergstrom, 2019). Teamwork creates a platform where the leader of the team is responsible for explaining any newly set standards or the laws to his squad after any developments have occurred.

Conclusion

In conclusion, legal aspects in the health sector are a vital necessity in making sure patients' lives are not lost due to the negligence of the caregiver. Leaders should be able to understand the legal entities and be able to integrate them into their teams for quality provision of services to their patients. Teams should also be able to work closely and improve communication with their leaders to be on the lookout for improved or changed laws.

References

Borthwick, C., & Galbally, R. (2001). Nursing leadership and health sector reform. Nursing Inquiry, 8(2), 75-81. doi: 10.1046/j.1440-1800.2001.00096.

Morley, L., & Cashell, A. (2017). Collaboration in Health Care. Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, 48(2), 207-216. doi: 10.1016/j.jmir.2017.02.071

Neuhaus, C., Lutnaes, D., & Bergstrom, J. (2019). Medical teamwork and the evolution of safety science: a critical review. Cognition, Technology & Work, 22(1), 13-27. doi: 10.1007/s10111-019-00545-8