Role of Registered Nurse in Relation to Consent and Mandatory Reporting - Paper Example

Introduction

Nursing practice has increasingly complex concerns associated with it. Nurses are guided by authentic standards of practice which are put in place to ensure professionalism especially when it comes to consent and mandatory reporting. The Standards for Practice are additional assistance provided for Registered Nurses (RNs) in their complex roles of caring for patients and guide them towards making ethical decisions. Individual nurses may have their values and beliefs but the Standards for Practice outline specific measures that all nurses should adopt in practice. It is unfortunate that child abuse is common in the contemporary society. To protect the children, nurses should be knowledgeable about identifying, getting consent, reporting, and documenting the cases of suspected child abuse. Educating registered nurses on such issues is essential as it increases their ability to recognize any signs and symptoms of violence and the likelihood of reporting the suspicions (Wekerle 2013 p. 93). Knowledgeable nurses can effectively protect children who have undergone any abuse from further victimization. Despite the primary role of the Registered Nurses being to address the needs of their patients, it is also their duty to ensure they respect the patient's wishes through using ethical framework when handling cases of suspected child abuse, communicate effectively, actively engage with the profession, conduct holistic and culturally appropriate assessments, and use the data to develop a plan as well as monitor the progress. When it comes to consent, the role of the registered nurse entails the use of ethical frameworks to make decisions regarding the case of child abuse and advocate on behalf of the child in a manner that is respectful to the child's autonomy and legal capacity when it comes to mandatory reporting.

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The nurse helps to ensure patients receive the best possible medical care. By explaining the nursing and therapeutic procedures to the patient, the nurse empowers the patient to exercise his or her right to choose the care that is acceptable to them freely. Properly informing the patients about the nursing and medical treatments planned for them as well as when there is a continuance of imparting information through adequate procedures then true consent can be obtained (Lee and Kim 2018, p. 34). There is also the RNs role in mandatory reporting especially in the suspected cases of abuse of a minor. It is no doubt that accidents do happen, especially with children who get bruises almost every day. But when an injury cannot be reasonably explained, then it deserves a child abuse review.

By using ethical frameworks to make decisions, RNs can professionally handle consent and report suspected cases of child abuse. An RN should report any reasonable suspicion of child maltreatment (Porter 2013, p. 32). Nurses have the ethical and legal responsibilities to their patients which require them to base and justify their decisions on their moral principles. Besides, it is the moral obligation of any nurse to do good to their patients and not bring harm to their patients. However, children cannot consent that is why the RN should step in and put to use critical and ethical thinking on the best possible step to take. Additionally, it is particularly vital for registered nurses that work with children to understand the laws around the capacity, as well as child and parental consent which include allowing and refusing consent for any intervention or treatment.

A registered nurse is categorized as a mandated reporter which means that it is his or her duty to report abuse or suspected abuse following the guidelines of the state one is in. Children are minors and suffer from maltreatment by their parents or carers. Besides, in most of these cases, the child is quite young even to know if what he or she is experiencing is abuse or not. What's more, they do not even comprehend their rights as a child. Thus, when as an RN working in individual official capacity suspects a child has been undergoing some child abuse, it is vital to follow the proper nursing standards and report to the necessary officials. Accessing and analyzing the best available evidence is one significant role of a registered nurse in mandatory reporting. It is the ethical duty of the nurses to be attentive to indications that a patient is unable to provide such as the assessment of bruises and injuries (Wekerle 2013 p. 97). According to the nursing standards, the nurses should respond sensitively to the matters that challenge them ethically and do all they can to fulfill their moral duties as the initial caregivers. Informed consent is essential, but there are ethical issues involved in everyday practice which entail respect to confidentiality and privacy of the patients.

The question of whether to report or not is a question many registered nurses and other healthcare professionals deal with more frequently than one could imagine. Making abuse assessments is part of the healthcare interaction of every nurse. Depending on where one works as a nurse, one can easily find oneself with a child who is a victim of abuse. Incidences of violence are prevalent in today's contemporary society with a large percentage of families reporting similar cases of maltreatment. A registered nurse is a mandated reporter who faces significant ethical challenges when it comes to consent and mandatory reporting. In spite of individual nurses having their own beliefs and values, some standards outline specific behaviors which all nurses should adopt when in practice. Using ethical frameworks to make decisions and respectfully and wisely advocating on behalf of the child concerning his or her autonomy and legal capacity is just a small part of the role of the registered nurse when it comes to consent and mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse. Approval and mandatory reporting incorporate conduct not only expectations and professional behavior but also legal requirements that protect the rights of the child. Moreover, with the use of the registered nurse standards, RNs can professionally and ethically handle the suspected cases of child abuse and save the life of a child.

Reference

Lee, I. and Kim, K. (2018). Factors That Influence Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting Attitudes of Pediatric Nurses in Korea. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 14(1), pp.31-41.

Porter, R. (2013). The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics. Journal of the Dermatology Nurses' Association, 5(1), pp.31-34.

Wekerle, C. (2013). Resilience in the context of child maltreatment: Connections to the practice of mandatory reporting. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37(2-3), pp.93-101.