Reference no: EM133038404

HLTENN008 Apply legal and ethical parameters to nursing practice

This includes the ability to:
1. Perform within scope of professional nursing practice.
2. Apply knowledge of the legal framework to nursing practice.
3. Apply ethical concepts to clinical practice.
4. Support the rights, interests and needs of the person and their family.
5. Apply open disclosure processes.

Assessment task 1 - Knowledge questions

Question 1. Briefly explain how the following legal and ethical considerations relevant to the nursing profession are applied in nursing practice in your State/Territory.

a) Children in the workplace:

b) International Council of Nurses (ICN) Code of Ethics for Nurses (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia):

c) Code of Conduct for Nurses including professional boundaries (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia):

d) Codes of practice (e.g. workplace health and safety, codes of practice or compliance codes)

e) Continuing professional education opportunities and mandatory CPD requirements for nurses:

f) Direct and indirect discrimination and its implications in nursing practice:

g) Duty of care of an enrolled nurse:

h) Equal employment opportunity (EEO):

i) Human rights including access to healthcare:

j) Informed consent:

k) Professional indemnity insurance arrangements for enrolled nurses:

l) Public liability insurance arrangements for enrolled nurses:

m) Life and death issues:

• Power of attorney:

• Living wills and advanced directives (advanced care plan):

• Guardianship (guardian of property and person):

n) Mandatory reporting (provide examples from a nursing context):

o) Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia nursing practice guidelines, standards and fact sheets:

• Enrolled nurse standards for practice:

• Professional practice guidelines (by NMBA):

• Decision-making framework (DMF) including the nursing flowchart (Reference: National framework for the development of decision-making tools for nursing and midwifery practice):

• Re-entry to practice:

• Recency of practice fact sheet:

p) Privacy and confidentiality:

q) Disclosure of health information:

r) Policy frameworks for nursing practice (NMBA policies):

s) Social media policy (Include in your response the potential implications this has on ethics, professionalism and nursing in the health care environment):

t) Ethical decision-making models (identify and discuss two (2) models):

u) Contemporary ethical concepts and principles in nursing such as:

• Autonomy:

• Beneficence:

• Non-maleficence:

• Justice:

• Rights:

• Veracity:

Question 2. Describe how the following pieces of legislation and regulation impact your nursing practice:

a) Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth):

b) My Health Records Act 2012 (Commonwealth):

c) Aged Care Act 1997 (Commonwealth):

d) Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Commonwealth):

e) Criminal Code Act 1995 (Commonwealth):

f) Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 (Commonwealth):

Question 3. Various pieces of legislation are enacted in each State/Territory underpinning nursing practice. Identify the legislation relevant to your State/Territory relating to the following and describe how these pieces of legislation impact your nursing practice:

a) Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act:

b) Health (drugs and poisons) legislation:

c) Mental health legislation:

d) Carers recognition legislation or official policies:

e) Anti-discrimination legislation:

f) Children and young people legislation:

g) Working with children legislation:

h) Workplace health and safety (WHS) legislation:

Question 4. You noticed that the nurse allocated to take care of patients in the treatment room of your facility is not attending to the call bell requests made by people receiving care. You asked the nurse why the call bells are not answered. The nurse asked you to ignore the call bells as she thought that in most cases the clients didn't have a proper care need. You entered the treatment room and noticed that a client had fallen. Describe three (3) professional concepts relevant to or breached by the nurse in this scenario

Question 5. The registered nurse asked a candidate nurse to assist a client with shaving. The candidate nurse is asked to perform the task without anyone supervising her. Applying the concept of vicarious liability, explain who will be held responsible for the actions or omissions of the candidate nurse? Will that be the candidate nurse herself or the registered nurse? Why?

Question 6. You are asked by the registered nurse to provide oral care to a client. When should you obtain consent from the client to proceed with the care? How should consent be obtained?

Question 7. Identify and outline two (2) legal requirements you must apply when writing nursing reports.

Question 8. Imagine a situation where you observe an incidence of abuse or neglect in your workplace. What should you do when you suspect that abuse and/or neglect is occurring with one of your patients?

Question 9. Whom would you seek clarification from for concerns relating to requests for tests and referrals for the clients in the workplace? Identify two (2) personnel who could assist you. How should you clarify these concerns?

Question 10. Define the following terms:

a) Ethics:

b) Bioethics:

c) Nursing ethics:

Question 11. You must use correct common legal terms associated with nursing practice, and correctly interpret their meaning irrespective of the area in which you are working. Describe the following legal terms and types of law:

a) Civil law:

b) Common law:

c) Statute law:

d) Precedent:

e) Law of torts:

f) Negligence:

g) Trespass:

h) Assault:

k) Intellectual capacity:

l) Clinical incapacity:

m) False imprisonment:

n) Defamation:

o) Vicarious liability:

p) Defendant:

q) Plaintiff:

r) Harassment:

s) Expert witness:

t) Coronial inquests:

Question 12. The National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards are being applied across a wide variety of health care services in all States/Territories in Australia. Describe the application of these standards.

Question 13. Briefly explain the role of Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia.

Question 14. Different ethical theories exist and theories can be applied to different situations to inform our thinking and support decision making. Describe the following theoretical concepts related to ethical conduct and give an example:

a) Consequentialism:

b) Deontological (duty-based) ethics:

Question 15. Various clinical situations will leave you in an ethical dilemma. Discuss the ethical issues you might come across in relation to the following situations:

a) Abortion:

b) Tissue transplantation and organ donation:

c) Reproductive technology:

d) Euthanasia and assisted suicide:

e) Restraint:

f) Open disclosure (Research the appropriate framework relating to open disclosure and reflect on the practice of open disclosure):

g) Mandatory reporting:

h) Quality of life:

i) Conscientious objection:

j) Abuse, e.g. elder abuse:

k) Consent:

m) Refusal and withdrawal of treatment:

n) Stem cell research, e.g. embryonic stem cell research:

o) ‘Not for resuscitation' orders:

p) Cultural and religious matters:

Question 16. The Australian court hierarchy consists of a variety of courts and tribunals. Describe the court system in Australia (Australian court hierarchy).

Question 17. Identify and describe (2) sources you could refer to in accessing information related to Australian legislation and supporting documentation.

Question 18. For a patient's consent to be valid a number of criteria will need to be met. Briefly describe two (2) requirements of obtaining a valid consent.

Question 19. Explain the difference between implied consent and expressed consent:

Question 20. Briefly describe the functions of the coroner in relation to a healthcare event:

Question 21. When is it required to give evidence to the coroner and what types of evidence could you provide?

Question 22. The owner of an aged care facility released the photos and videos of a resident who had dementia without prior consent. The resident's family filed a petition in court against the organisation asking for compensation. Could this attract a penalty against the organisation? Why?

Question 23. Provide an example of a potential conflict of interest that may impact your nursing practice.

Assessment task 2 - Simulation Based Assessments

Simulation Based Assessment Task 1:

Mr Henry McGrath, 60-years-old, was scheduled for surgery on his right knee. After having checked the patient's medical record and confirming the site with the patient, the surgeon used a permanent marking pen to mark the surgical site on the right knee.

You were Mr Henry's nurse and you were having a busy shift. You prepared Mr Henry for the procedure scheduled for 14:00 yesterday.

The surgeon arrived in the operating room and observed that the left knee has been prepped and draped. However, the problem was caught in time and the correct knee was operated on after performing the required preparations in the operating theatre.

You were notified of this near miss incident by the registered nurse who asked you to take necessary actions to address the incident. A meeting is scheduled today with you, the registered nurse, Mr Henry (who remains painless with good management after surgery), Mr Henry's next of kin and the surgeon to take place in the patient's room to discuss necessary actions. You are asked to lead/facilitate this team meeting under the supervision of the registered nurse.

Demonstrate how you would apply the principles and processes of open disclosure as an enrolled nurse to address the issue under discussion. Your communication skills and interaction with the participants at the meeting, including acknowledging their individual roles, will be assessed during the demonstration. Address privacy and confidentiality requirements appropriate for the scenario.

Your assessor will play the role of the registered nurse. You could request your classmates to play the roles of Mr Henry, his next of kin and the surgeon.

Simulation Based Assessment Task 2:

Assume that you are working as an enrolled nurse in an aged care facility. The registered nurse is the nurse in-charge. You receive a phone call from the relative of a resident who recently got discharged from hospital after treatment for pneumonia. The relative is asking for your resident's current health status and what treatment he underwent in the hospital.

Identify the caller and demonstrate how you would respond to this phone call. Your assessor will play the role of the in-charge registered nurse, if required.

Simulation Based Assessment Task 3:

Assume that you are working as an enrolled nurse in an aged care facility. Freddy, one of your residents, is at high risk of falls. Freddy attempts to reach for items kept on his bed side table and often fall over. He tries to get up from bed by himself and had two falls last week. In the team meeting, suggestions were put forward by carers and nurses to apply restraints when Freddy is on the bed so that the risk of falls could be prevented.

Today, Mrs Elena James, Freddy's daughter is in your residential care facility to discuss different options and sign the approval form for using appropriate restraints. Elena is concerned about restraining her father.

You are required to perform the following activities as part of this task:
• Research and develop a strategy for using physical restraints such as lo-lo bed with crash mats (these physical restraints are used as a means of physical restraint in an aged care setting to ensure a resident's safety).
• Provide appropriate information to Elena based on information you gathered and the strategy you developed and clarify her concerns by appropriately demonstrating the use of restraints.
• Research and demonstrate what safety measures you would undertake when using these restraints.

Your assessor will play the role of Elena. You must apply appropriate ethical concepts when demonstrating the activities.

Assessment task 3 - Professional Practice Assessment

Professional practice assessment task 1:

When working in a primary health care setting, you will come across several ethical issues that could include, but not be limited to the following:
• Refusal of treatment
• Abuse
• Cultural and religious beliefs
• Issues related to consent.
You are required to undertake the following activities as part of task 1:
• Identify any two (2) issues and appropriately respond to them. Complete the following report template related to the identified ethical issues.
• Report the identified issues to your Host Facilitator or EQUALS' Clinical Facilitator and implement appropriate strategies to address the issue.

The Host Facilitator or EQUALS' Clinical Facilitator will observe your performance and/or verify documentation you completed in relation to responding to ethical issues in the workplace and complete the observation checklist (provided in the logbook) and assessment outcome sections.

Activity 1 - report on ethical issue one (1)
Identify a potential ethical issue in your current work place.
How would the identified ethical issue impact the nursing practice?
What strategies did you implement to resolve the identified ethical issue within your scope of practice?

Activity 2 - report on ethical issue two (2)
Identify a potential ethical issue in your current work place.
How would the identified ethical issue impact the nursing practice?
What strategies did you implement to resolve the identified ethical issue within your scope of practice?

Professional practice assessment task 2:

Your Host Facilitator or EQUALS' Clinical Facilitator will assist you in accessing the following documents from the case notes of the people receiving care in your primary health care setting:
• Referral requests; and
• Requests for diagnostic tests.

You are required to demonstrate the following activities to your Host Facilitator or EQUALS' Clinical Facilitator:
• Correctly identify the nature and requirements of the requested test(s);
• Purpose of the referral request;
• Seek clarification from the registered nurse, if required.

Your Host Facilitator or EQUALS' Clinical Facilitator will play the role of the registered nurse.
Complete the following report template after your discussion with the Host Facilitator or EQUALS' Clinical Facilitator.

The Host Facilitator or EQUALS' Clinical Facilitator will observe your performance in relation to interpreting referrals or requests for tests in the workplace and complete the observation checklist (provided in the logbook) and assessment outcome sections.

What was the nature of the requested test(s)?
What were the requirements of the requested test(s), e.g. preparing the person for the test and contacting concerned laboratory or technician?
What was the purpose of the referral request,
e.g. reason for referral?

Professional practice assessment task 3:

Activity 1:

Write a progress note for one person after providing holistic care during your shift. Complete the progress note in accordance with the organisational policy and procedures underpinning documentation. You must comply with relevant State/Territory legislation when writing the progress notes.

Activity 2:

Complete any two (2) of the following charts after providing appropriate nursing care to a person. The charts include, but are not limited to:
• Obs chart;
• Bowel chart;
• Care plan;
• Wound chart;
• Behaviour chart; and
• Pain assessment.

These charts could be computer-based or paper based depending on the health care facility. Your Host Facilitator or EQUALS' Clinical Facilitator will observe and assess your skills in completing the documentation in accordance with State/Territory legislation and organisational policy and procedures and complete an observation checklist (provided in the logbook) and assessment outcome sections.

Professional practice assessment task 4

Assume that a client is unhappy with the way the receptionist addressed their needs and requests in your clinical facility. The client is planning to lodge a complaint against the receptionist.

• Explore and briefly outline the complaint resolution procedure of your current clinical placement venue.

• Demonstrate to your Host Facilitator or EQUALS' Clinical Facilitator how you would respond to this complaint. Your Host Facilitator or EQUALS' Clinical Facilitator will play the role of the complainer. You must comply with the scope of practice requirements and organisational complaint resolution procedures when attending to this task and be an advocate for the client.

Your Host Facilitator or EQUALS' Clinical Facilitator will observe and assess your skills in resolving a complaint in accordance with the organisational policy and procedures and complete an observation checklist (provided in the logbook) and assessment outcome sections.
You should familiarise yourself with the observation checklist prior to undertaking the assessment.

Professional practice assessment task 5:

Assume that you have observed that a casual staff member at your workplace has abused a client. The client noticed one of the staff stealing one of his possessions. When asked, the staff member pushed the person away and used inappropriate words.

Refer to the organisational policies and procedures on mandatory reporting.

• Briefly outline the procedure on mandatory reporting appropriate for this scenario.

• Demonstrate to your Host Facilitator or EQUALS' Clinical Facilitator how you would apply mandatory reporting processes for this scenario.

Your Host Facilitator or EQUALS' Clinical Facilitator will observe and assess your skills on mandatory reporting in accordance with the organisational policy and procedures and complete an observation checklist (provided in the logbook) and assessment outcome sections.
You should familiarise yourself with the observation checklist prior to undertaking the assessment

Professional practice assessment task 6: Overall ability to apply legal and ethical parameters to enrolled nursing practice

You must apply skills and knowledge to work within legal and ethical parameters in professional nursing practice, including:
• Perform within the scope of professional nursing practice.
• Apply knowledge of the legal framework to nursing practice.
• Apply ethical concepts to clinical practice.
• Support the rights, interests and needs of the person and their family.
• Meet duty of care requirements etcetera.

There is no specific activity you are expected to complete as part of this task. Your Host Facilitator or EQUALS' Clinical Facilitator will observe your overall nursing practices and complete the checklist (provided in the logbook) in relation to your ability to apply legal and ethical parameters. You are required to familiarise yourself with the benchmark observable behaviours appropriately referring to the checklist.

These observations can occur while you undertake a range of activities including, but not limited to:
• Communicating with clients, colleagues and the interdisciplinary team.
• Providing nursing care to clients.
• Providing information relating to nursing procedures, workplace policies and practices to clients and significant others.
• Working in a team.
• Completing documentation relevant to nursing practice.

Attachment:- Apply legal and ethical parameters to nursing practice.rar