Ethical and Legal Implications of Prescribing Drugs in Nursing Practice
Overview
This paper examines the ethical and legal responsibilities nurses face when prescribing medications, using a case scenario involving an unresponsive stroke patient and family disagreement over treatment decisions. It analyzes relevant legal frameworks such as Maryland state law and HIPAA regulations, while applying the American Nurses Code of Ethics to resolve conflicts between patient autonomy, family wishes, and medical decision-making.
What this coursework covers
- Introduction addressing ethics and legal implications in nursing practice
- Case scenario analysis involving ICU patient, advanced directives, and family conflict
- Strategies for managing disclosure and nondisclosure using HIPAA and nursing ethics
- Decision-making frameworks considering patient needs and financial status
Preview
Nursing: Ethical and Legal Implications of Prescribing Drugs
Student’s Name
Institution affiliation
Course Name
Instructor’s Name
Date
Ethical and Legal Implications of Prescribing Drugs
Every profession has ethics that guide its operations. Under nursing professions, ethics dictate the character of nurses and provide a guideline on how to serve people. Most importantly, ethics and legal laws play an integral role in nursing since it helps in setting strategies to counter nursing challenges and implications (Arcangelo, Peterson, Wilbur, & Reinhold, 2017). Nursing practitioners usually have varying directives in the medical field; therefore, it is critical to understand the ethical and legal implications of drug prescriptions. The first phase in observing the legal laws under the nursing discipline is education, and knowledge is critical in medicine (Fastovsky, n.d.). Extensive knowledge will help nurses contact correct patient interviews and direct them on the correct diagnosis. This paper will examine the ethical and legal implications of prescribing drugs using a case scenario.
Case Scenario and Analysis
The case scenario involves a 72-year-old male who is in ICU and unresponsive. He has undergone a stroke, and his wife and daughter are keeping him company in the hospital. The wife has informed me that she does not have advanced directives. Advanced directives are an expression of taking action in case of an unprecedented event. If something occurs, advanced directives help the involved stakeholders take action according to the wishes made. There is a conflict between his wife and daughter. For example, the patient's daughter is optimistic that his father will come out of the comma.