Chapter 2, Legal And Ethical Aspects

Front 1

Laws

Back 1

prescribe how a person should act in society; they sanction acceptable behavior and prohibit unacceptable behavior.

Front 2

Two basic categories of law

Back 2

Criminal and civil

Front 3

Statutory law

Back 3

it is developed by federal, state, and local governments.

Front 4

Common Law or Case Law

Back 4

these laws are developed in response to specific legal questions brought before the court and usually follow precdent.

Front 5

Plaintiff

Back 5

the complaining party in the civil litigation

Front 6

complaint

Back 6

statement by a plaintiff is written and filed in the appropriate court.

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defendant

Back 7

the person alleged liable

Front 8

damages

Back 8

compensation sought by the plaintiff.

Front 9

answer

Back 9

a detailed response to the charges outlined in the complaint that will either admit to or deny any or all of the allegations made in the complaint.

Front 10

discovery

Back 10

a pretrial process allowing both sides to interview witnesses and look at documents before the trial.

Front 11

depositions

Back 11

out of court statements made by a witness under oath

Front 12

interrogatories

Back 12

written questions that must be answered in writing.

Front 13

verdict

Back 13

a decision will be rendered based on the facts of the case.

Front 14

appeal

Back 14

request a review of the decision which asks a higher court to review the lower court's decision.

Front 15

criminal trial

Back 15

defendant against People or the society. at the trial, people's attorney and the defendant's attorney present the case.

Front 16

liability

Back 16

legal responsibility

Front 17

deliberate

Back 17

decide

Front 18

accountability-being responsible for one's own actions

Back 18

is a concept that gives rise to a legal duty for a patient's care, a legal relationship is formed between a nurse and a patient.

Front 19

advocate

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is one who defends or pleads a cause or issue on behalf of another. a nurse advocate has a legal and ethical obligation to safeguard the patient's interests.

Front 20

Standards of care

Back 20

it define acts that are permitted to be performed or prohibited from being performed.

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scope of nursing practice

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what she or he can and cannot do while providing nursing interventions.

Front 22

nurse practice acts

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they have been adopted that define and limit the scope of nursing practice. they are dictated by state's board of nursing.

Front 23

interstate compact

Back 23

that allows multi-state practice of nursing. The nurse must be licensed in her or his home state, and privileges are then granted to practice in other states that have signed the interstate compact.

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malpractice (professional negligence)

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is one legal action that a nurse may be charged with for failing to meet the standards of care.

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Four elements of the malpractice

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Duty, breach of the duty, harm, proximate cause

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autonomy

Back 26

ethical principle that refers to personal freedom of choice, a right to be independent and make decisions freely.

Front 27

beneficence

Back 27

doing what is good. the nurse has an ethical duty to promote the well-being of all patients.

Front 28

nonmaleficence

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which means to PROTECT life, and do no harm. The nurse has an ethical, and legal duty to prevent harm to a patient.

Front 29

justice

Back 29

what is fair. it means that all patients have the same right to nursing interventions.

Front 30

codes of ethics

Back 30

developed by NFLPN, ANA

Front 31

abandonment of care

Back 31

wrongful termination of providing patient care

Front 32

assault

Back 32

an intentional threat to cause bodily harm to another, does not have to include actual bodily contact.

Front 33

battery

Back 33

intentional touching of another person without informed consent

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competency

Back 34

a legal presumption that a person who has reached the age of majority can make decisions for herself or himself unless proved otherwise.

Front 35

defamation

Back 35

spoken or written statements made maliciously and intentionally that may injure the subject's reputation

Front 36

harm

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injury to a person or the person's property that gives rise to a basis for a legal action against the person who caused the damage.

Front 37

libel

Back 37

a malicious or untrue writing about another person that is brought to the attention of others.

Front 38

negligence

Back 38

the commission(doing) of an act or the omission(not doing) of an act that a reasonably prudent person would have done in a similar situation.

Front 39

slander

Back 39

malicious or untrue spoken words about another person that are brought to the attention of others

Front 40

tort

Back 40

a type of civil law that involves wrongs against a person or property.torts include negligence, assault, battery, defamatio...