Legal Aspect of Nursing Law

Legal and Ethical Principles in Nursing

• Failure to secure consent before touching, examining, or treating a patient can result in liability for the person performing the procedure.

Safe Nursing Practice

• A nurse who raises the side rails of a confused and disoriented patient demonstrates the quality of beneficence.
• Raising the side rails is not a requirement for safe nursing practice.

Licensure and Professional Development

• A nurse should renew their current professional license periodically (no specific frequency mentioned).

Ethical Principles

• Unintentional harm and non-maleficence principle are exemplified when a healthcare provider unintentionally causes harm to a patient while trying to provide care.
• A nurse promising a client to find out more about their medication is practicing the ethical principle of fidelity.

Legal Consequences

• Conviction for practicing nursing without a license, incompetence, or gross negligence, falsification of client records, and illegally obtaining, using, or possessing controlled substances is termed "disciplinary action."

Patient Consent and Communication

• A patient who is mentally incapacitated or under the influence of substances cannot give consent for a surgical procedure.
• When a nurse receives a telephone order, the most appropriate action is to clarify the order with the healthcare provider and request that the order be written and signed.

Regulation of Nursing Practice

• In the Philippines, the practice of nursing is regulated by the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002.

Types of Law

• The main purpose of the Constitution is to provide the framework for governance and the organization of the state.
• Natural law is described as coming directly from God.
• The four elements of negligence are duty, breach, proximate cause, and damage.
• The main difference between affirmative and negative laws is that affirmative laws impose duties, while negative laws prohibit actions.
• The key difference between natural law and positive law is that natural law is based on moral principles, while positive law is based on human legislation.
• Negligence entails the failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in a similar situation.
• The primary role of administrative agencies in relation to statutory laws is to implement and enforce them.

Positive Laws and Standards

• Positive laws are enacted through human legislation and are specific to a particular jurisdiction.
• Standards in nursing serve the primary purpose of providing guidelines for practice and evaluation.
• Positive laws are temporarily affected by human laws themselves.