Ethics describe what nurses “should” or “ought to do” when facing conflicting issues. Laws, on the other hand, are rules that are enforced by society. These laws however can also impact nursing practice.
In this assignment, you will examine the relationship between laws regulating or affecting nursing practice when dealing with ethical issues in healthcare in general and in nursing specifically.
Consider the legal concepts and ethical issues described in your textbook as related to nursing practice.
In a maximum of 300 words, post your response to the following:
A co-worker nurse is admitted to your unit after a car accident. While caring for the nurse you discover she is addicted to narcotics. When you question her, she admits to taking many of her drugs from the hospital.
- What is your responsibility as the nurse providing care?
- What are your responsibilities, if any, in reporting the addicted nurse to the Board of Nursing, hospital administration, and authorities?
- Provide the rationale for your response.
- In addition to the legal issue involved are there ethical issues involved?
Consider sharing your own experiences and interpretation of the research needs with their chosen cultural groups. Support your findings with examples and scholarly references. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.