Learning Outcomes
1. Analyse legal and ethical issues relevant to contemporary nursing practice
2. Apply the principles of bioethics and the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights to nursing practice and decision making
3. Apply appropriate legislation, policies, frameworks, codes, and guidelines to nursing practice
4. Analyse decision-making associated with challenges in establishing reasonable belief, identifying notifiable conduct and mandatory reporting.
Aim
This assessment is related to the legal and ethical considerations of practice requirements of a registered nurse. It is important to be familiar with a wide scope of governing requirements related to daily situations in your professional role. In this assessment, you must locate, understand, critically evaluate, and apply various legal, ethical, risk management processes, codes of conduct and guiding practices that form the framework for registered nurse’s practice. This assessment allows for the application of theory to a dynamic nursing environment.
The case study is divided into four discussion areas, and you are encouraged to use headings throughout the paper to provide structure. Discussion sections should be used as a heading.
Legal implications
Identify ONE legal concept and its associated elements relating to Mr Cooper’s situation and discuss the possible consequences for the registered nurses.
Ethical implications
Identify TWO ethical concepts and relate these to the events that occurred in the case study.
Standards and codes
Identify TWO codes or standards of practice that have not been adhered to and explain why you are making this determination.
Recommendation
Based on your previous discussion, provide ONE recommendation to improve the quality of care provided by this organisation.
Case Study:
Scenario: Battaga Bay retirement complex.
Characters:
RN Abba: RN with two years of nursing experience working in the dementia unit
RN Betta: A recent graduate RN assigned to the general section
RN Alpha: A RN working in the general unit.
Mr Roo and Mr Moo: Resident in the dementia unit
The facility and staffing: Battga Bay a residential facility with campuses Sanctuary Cove (this specific facility contains a secure unit for 20 residents with dementia and 20 medium care apartments – three RNs rostered on each shift); Mull Bay (provides 50 semi-self-contained apartments for low to medium care residents - three RNs rostered on each shift); and Hawke Point (a 100-apartment complex for low
care - independent residents - five RNs rostered on each shift). While each complex MUST have a minimum of ONE RN (team leader) on each shift, many new graduate RNs have been employed over the past few months however, not all shifts can be covered by the facility staffing recommendations of RNs, leaving EENs, PCs and AINs make up the shortfall in staff numbers. The team leader is a designated “experienced nurse”. Hawke Point is the main campus, and the senior RN on duty is thendesignated Nurse Manager and contact point covering all complexes. This nurse is available to travel between the sites as needed and is the contact person for all staffing and other issues that cannot be
addressed at the individual campus level.
