Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing
University of Phoenix
Nursing
391

Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing
Marianne, the 79-year old woman who presented with a hemorrhagic stroke in a recent case study, brings up thought for ethical debate. Her outlook is poor, with or without surgery, and she has no advanced directive. Her husband and children cannot come to an agreement on whether life support should end or if all resuscitative measures should be attempted. The following paper will discuss how the American Nurse’s Association Code of Nursing Ethics would influence a final decision, how personal and societal values can influence ethical decision making, the fundamental legal aspects of each case study, and the legal …show more content…

The responsibility of the healthcare provided and patient advocate is to provide the family information and recourses to allow them to make the most appropriate informed decision regarding their family member’s care.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health (2011), if there is no advanced directive and the patient cannot make decisions for themselves a health care “surrogate” is chosen. The priority by law is as follows: guardian of the person, spouse, any adult children, either parent, any adult brother or sister, and adult grandchild, a close friend, or guardian of the estate.
As an employee of a healthcare institution involved in a malpractice case, the nurse’s primary obligation is to tell the truth about the case in question. The nurse’s responsibility to their employer is to keep all personal feelings to themself, and answer questions asked of them without volunteering information about unrelated incidents. Responsibility to the nurse being sued should always be fulfilled prior to litigation. Management and the nurse involved should be informed of all negligence and an unsafe standard of care when an incident occurs. A nurse’s responsibility to the patient in question and the institutions involved is to be truthful and offer and honest testimony. By remaining honest, integrity and respect within the nursing profession is