Nursing Basics-Chapter 2: Legal & Ethical Aspects Of Nursing

Front 1

Nursing Practice: 4 Areas

Back 1

(1) Promoting Heath & Wellness
(2) Preventing Illness
(3) Restoring Health
(4) Caring for the Dying

Front 2

Accountability

Back 2

The ability & willingness to assume responsibility for one's actions & to accept the consequences of one's behavior

Front 3

Advocate

Back 3

Individual who pleads the cause of another or argues or pleads for a cause or proposal.

Front 4

Assault

Back 4

An attempt or threat to touch another person unjustifiably

Front 5

Attitudes

Back 5

Mental stance that is composed of many different beliefs; usually involving a positive or negative judgment towards a person, object or idea.

Front 6

Autonomy

Back 6

The state of being independent & self-directed without outside control, to make one's own decisions.

Front 7

Battery

Back 7

(legal) The willful or negligent touching of a person (or person's clothes or even something the person is carrying), which may harm or may not cause harm.

Front 8

Beliefs

Back 8

Interpretations or conclusion that one accepts as true.

Front 9

Beneficence

Back 9

The moral obligation to do good or to implement actions that benefit clients and their support persons.

Front 10

Breach of Duty

Back 10

A Standard of Care that is expected in the specific situation but that the nurse did not observe; this is the failure to act as a reasonable, prudent nurse under the circumstances.

Front 11

Causation

Back 11

A fact that must be proven that the harm occurred as a result o the nurses failure to follow the Standard of Care & the nurse could have (or should have) known that failure to follow the Stand of Care could result in such harm.

Front 12

Code of Ethics

Back 12

A formal statement of a group's ideals & values; a set of ethical principles shared by members of a group, reflecting their moral judgments and serving as a standard for professional actions.

Front 13

Contract

Back 13

A written or verbal agreement between 2 or more people to do or not do some lawful act.

Front 14

Coroner

Back 14

A public official, not necessarily a physician appointed or elected to inquire into the causes of death.

Front 15

Credentialing

Back 15

The process of determining & maintaining competence in practice; includes licensure, registration, certification & accreditation

Front 16

Defamation

Back 16

(legal) A communication that is false, or made with careless disregard for the truth and results in injury to the reputation of another.

Front 17

Delegation

Back 17

The transfer of responsibility for the performance of an activity from one person to another while retaining accountability for the outcome.

Front 18

Duty

Back 18

The nurse must have (or should have had) a relationship with the client that involves providing care & following an acceptable Standard of Care.

Front 19

Ethics

Back 19

The rules or principles that govern right conduct

Front 20

Express Consent

Back 20

An oral or written agreement.

Front 21

False Imprisonment

Back 21

The unlawful restraint or detention of another person against his/her wishes.

Front 22

Fidelity

Back 22

A moral principle that obligates the individual to be faithful to agreements & responsibilities one has undertaken

Front 23

Foreseeability

Back 23

A link that must exist between the nurse's act and the injury suffered

Front 24

Gross Negligence

Back 24

Involves extreme lack of knowledge, skill or decision making that the person clearly should have known would put others at risk for harm.

Front 25

Harm/Injury

Back 25

(injury) The client or plaintiff must demonstrate some type of harm or injury (physical, financial, or emotional) as a result of the breach of duty owed the client; the plaintiff will be asked to document physical injury, medical costs, loss of wages, "pain & suffering" and any other damages.

Front 26

Health Care Proxy

Back 26

A legal statement that appoints a proxy to make medical decisions for the client in the event the client is unable to do so.

Front 27

Implied Consent

Back 27

Consent that is assumed in an emergency when consent cannot be obtained from the client or a relative.

Front 28

Informed Consent

Back 28

A client's agreement to accept a course of treatment or a procedure after receiving complete information, including the risks of treatment & facts relating to it, from the physician

Front 29

Invasion of Privacy

Back 29

A direct wrong of a personal nature, it injures the feelings of the person & doesn't take into the account the effect of revealed information on the standing of the person in the community.

Front 30

Justice

Back 30

Fairness

Front 31

Law

Back 31

A rule made by humans that regulates social conduct in a formally prescribed and binding manner.

Front 32

Liability

Back 32

The quality or state of being legally responsible for one's obligations ad action and to make financial restitution for wrongful acts.

Front 33

Libel

Back 33

Defamation by means of print, writing, or pictures

Front 34

Malpractice

Back 34

The negligent acts of persons engaged in professions or occupations in which highly technical or professional skills are employed.

Front 35

Morality

Back 35

A doctrine or system denoting what is right or wrong in conduct, character, or attitude.

Front 36

Negligence

Back 36

Failure to behave in a reasonable & prudent manner; an unintentional tort

Front 37

Nonmaleficence

Back 37

The duty to do no harm

Front 38

Responsibility

Back 38

The specific accountability or liability associated with performance of duties of a particular role.

Front 39

Right

Back 39

(legal) A privilege or fundamental power to which an individual is entitled unless it is revoked by law or given up voluntarily.

Front 40

Slander

Back 40

Defamation by the spoken word, stating unprivileged (not legally protected) or false words by which a reputation is damaged.

Front 41

Standard of Care

Back 41

The skills & learning commonly possessed by members of a profession.

Front 42

Tort

Back 42

A civil wrong committed against a person or person's property.

Front 43

Unprofessional Conduct

Back 43

One of the grounds for action against nurse's license; includes incompetence or gross negligence, conviction of practicing without a license, falsification of client records, and illegally obtaining, using, or possessing controlled substances.

Front 44

Values

Back 44

Something of worth; a belief held dearly b a person

Front 45

Veracity

Back 45

A moral principle that holds that one should tell the truth & not lie.

Front 46

ANA definition of Nursing

Back 46

"Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations."

Front 47

Roles & Functions of Nurses

Back 47

Caregiver, Communicator, Teacher, Client Advocate, Counselor, Change Agent, Leader, Research

Front 48

Nurse Practice Acts (NPA)-1

Back 48

Legal acts that regulate the practice of nursing in the US & Canada.Each state in the US & province in Canada has its own act. These acts have one purpose: protect the public

Front 49

Nurse Practice Acts (NPA)-2

Back 49

Define & describe scope of nursing practice. Control practice through licensing.