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Ethics and Law in Nursing Assignment Example
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It is not unethical, unprofessional or unlawful to administer medication covertly in certain circumstance. As long as guidelines have been followed in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2008) and The Mental Capacity Act (2005). In this essay I shall look at the importance of being accountable for one’s actions and then demonstrate how to possibly establish if an action is unethical, unprofessional or unlawful. I will then define the theories and principles of ethics and then explore the NMC (2004) A-Z advice sheet on administering medicine covertly.
Furthermore I shall argue how the nurse could justify her action encompassing two of the ethical principles. Equally I will consider Mrs Reid’s possible reaction, if she discovered her medication was being administered covertly and the implications of this. Finally I will explore the legal aspects of this case study and then conclude. According to Handy (1997) as cited in Cuthbert and Quallington (2008) working in teams and small groups can cause individuals to follow the actions and behaviours of the team, because everyone else is doing it.
Mrs Reid is an elderly women who is possibly vulnerable and although other nurses have been crushing the medication in a glass of orange juice without her consent. It is imperative as a Nurse to be accountable for ones actions and not do anything that undermines ones ethical and professional values or is unlawful. Because it could lead to being struck off the NMC register and could also result in legal action being taken against the Nurse. So how does a Nurse establish if an action is unethical, unprofessional or unlawful? According to Hope et al (2008) Ethics is about how a person should act or think.
However, according to Tschudin (2003) this can be based on ones social, religious and cultural beliefs and these beliefs can vary, depending on what group one belongs to. For example a Nurse that is a Catholic may believe it is unethical to have an abortion. But the law states this procedure can be performed under certain circumstances, which means the law overrides ethical decisions. Therefore if individuals have different belief systems, and what may be right to one individual may be wrong to another, consequently there has to be a regulatory body that can be consulted to help determine that an action contemplated is ethical.
The NMC code of conduct provides a guideline to ethical decision making and the standards of professionalism that are required by nurses. Also the Nurse’s contract of employment, the hospitals policies and procedures or consulting a legal advisor can help when determining if an action is ethical, professional or indeed unlawful (Mayberry 2003). There are also theories of ethics such as Deontology, Consequentialism and Virtues. According to Herring (2006) Deontologist believes actions to be right or wrong based on duties or obligations regardless of the consequence.
Consequentialism considers that an action is ethically right or wrong based on the outcome. Virtue based ethics emphasises the individuals moral character such as honesty and integrity rather than actions based on duty or the consequences of an action. Some of the underlining principles of these theories according to Fry and Johnstone (2008) are; autonomy – the right to be independent and make choices. Veracity – truthfulness. Justice – treating everybody equally according to there individual needs. Beneficence – to do good and non-maleficence to prevent harm.
According to Beauchamp and Childress (2009) no matter what cultural, religious or social group an individual belongs to they can commit to these principles. The ethical principles will be discussed in relation to the case study later. The main issues in this case study is; should Mrs Reid’s right to autonomy and consent to treatment be respected? According to the NMC code of conduct (2008) informed consent should be ascertained before performing any form of treatment and the patient’s right to accept or refuse treatment should be respected.
This is also echoed in the NHS 2000 plan on consent where it states that a patient with capacity has a right to refuse treatment (Department of Health 2009). If Mrs Reid is competent and has all the necessary information on the side effects of the medication and the benefits, then the ethical principle of autonomy applies because a decision to make a choice with regards to one’s own healthcare should be supported and respected. (Schwartz et al 2002). However, The NMC (2004) A-Z advice sheet on covert administration of medication states there may be exceptional circumstances when covert medication can be contemplated.
But it should only be done with the best interest of Mrs Reid and the medication must be necessary for her health or the protection of others. An open risk assessment needs to be carried out by the multi-disciplinary team which should include Mrs Reid’s relatives/carers. The decision should be agreed by all and the names of all involved recorded in the care plan. The route and method of administering the medication should be discussed with the pharmacist. The decision to administer covert medication should not be made by one person. Did the Nurse follow this guideline before administering medication covertly?
What justification could she have for not following the NMC A-Z advice sheet or respecting Mrs Reid’s right to autonomy and consent? The Nurse could argue that if Mrs Reid does not have her medication she might try to get out of bed and cause her injury (fracture to neck of femur) to worsen and take longer to heal. Or the Nurse could think that if Mrs Reid does not have the anti-psychotic medication she could become confused and cause harm to herself or other patients. The nurse might think she is acting in the best interest of the patient and the principle of non-maleficence applies with regards to preventing harm.
The ethical principle of beneficence can also be considered, because the nurse could believe she is doing good by ensuring Mrs Reid takes her medication. At the time the nurse made the decision the disciplinary team might not have been available because of staff shortages.
The nurse could beli………………………..
Ethics and Law in Nursing Assignment Example
