Essay Question:“ The Importance of acting lawfully when working as a nurse.”

By Rainah Herring
Student number: 17038485

When working within the nursing profession, it is of great importance for a nurse to act lawfully within their roles and responsibilities. It is imperative for nurses to comprehend legal aspects such as negligence, duty of care, documentation and confidentiality. As such acting lawfully will protect and reduce the risk of becoming deregistered and provide a high standard of care for the patients.

I choose to study nursing for various reasons. My family suggested becoming a nurse because of the opportunities that nurses have in a career sense and that I would never be without a job. Working as an endorsed …show more content…

Documentation is important for many reasons as nurses have a legal responsibility to document their nursing care (clinical progress notes, nursing care plan), any changes, documentation of events and legal procedures (incidents, nursing procedures, obtaining consent) and communicating information with the team. “Record keeping is an integral part of nursing and midwifery practice. It is a tool of professional practice and one that should help the care process.” -(Nursing & Midwifery Council April 2002). Good quality documentation promotes an elevated standard of clinical care and continuity of care; healthier communication and propagation of information; the ability to detect problems at an early stage and furthermore truthful account of treatment, care planning and delivery of care. It is expected of a registered nurse to fabricate quality in record keeping as a reflection of professional practice in addition as a mark of a skilled and safe practitioner.

Without successful documentation poses a threat of deregistration within legal proceedings. “Documentation is the same across the country: to provide a clear and accurate picture of the patient while under the care of the healthcare team” -(Nikki K. Campos JD, 2010). When it comes to legal matters nursing records are used in: the court of law by the health service; to inspect a patient complaint; a complaint of misconduct. “A