The Legal System and Scope of Work
Question 1
The legal system is important to nurses for various reasons. To begin with, the legal system outlines the limits within which nurses should work. This includes the legislation, policies, and other statutes that are aimed at defining the setting and standards of professional practice (Lakehead University, 2020). Additionally, the nursing practice rights and obligations are defined by the legal system especially in relevance to the interaction of patients, families, and other healthcare practitioners. The increasing role of nursing practice also means that the legal system has a greater level of scope of engaging nursing practice. This is due to increased exposure to lawsuits.
The legal system provides for avenues by which nurses can engage their decision-making processes. As such, a registered nurse should respect patients, have consent from patients, practice confidentiality of information, cooperate in team-based healthcare provision, develop trust and maintain knowledge and competence, and act consistently in minimizing risk to the patient (Griffith & Tengnah, 2010). Therefore, the legal system has a great influence on the nursing process. Additionally, the legal system sets precedence for nursing cases. Previously decided cases by the court determine the engagement of nurses in various processes. This works by using the stare decisis principle where court decisions have to be let to stand. As such, nursing cases are decided by quoting previously decided cases along which various factors lie similar.
Finally, the legal system influences the consistency of care that is provided in a state or region. Through the provision of information, the legal system is able to engage in the provision of quality services by engaging nurses in areas of compliance with the law. As such, protocols are defined that are consistent within the jurisdiction of the law. This leads to the provision of quality standard care for all caregivers.
Question 2
There is a sure way of predicting the outcome of legal nursing cases. As such, the best strategy is avoiding or preventing them. One of the strategies is by ensuring there is an adequate follow-up of medical records (Raveesh et al., 2016). In periods of the high insurgence of medical cases such as the current COVID-19 epidemic, there is likely to be delays and storage of medical files before physician review. Nurses should ensure that there is an adequate follow-up of the medical records and findings are relayed to the patient.
To this extent, there is a need to ensure there are adequate communication strategies. Nurses should communicate clearly and consistently that meets efficacy standards. As such, nurses should ensure that they seek to measure the level of understanding of patients by using the teach-back technique. This technique requires nurses to have patients explain in their understanding the concepts explained to them. By this strategy, instructions can be carefully followed and minimize the risk of development of complications leading to legal cases.
Finally, where there is a bad outcome, there is a need to have compassionate and truthful communication with patients and relatives. Avoidance may seem like the easiest option but it may lead to defensive medicine which is medical malpractice (Raveesh et al., 2016). As such, there is a need to use compassionate gestures in addressing the patient and their relatives and making it clear that their worries are clearly understood. The use of comforting touch and eye-contact can be beneficial.
References
Griffith, R., Tengnah, C. (2010). Law and Professional Issues in Nursing. Transforming Nursing Practice Series. Learning Matters; Second edition. ISBN-13: 978-1844453726
Lakehead University (2020). Why Legal Knowledge is Important for Nurses. Retrieved from https://www.lakeheadu.ca/research-and-innovation/innovation/researchers/seminars/nursing/why
Raveesh, N. B., Nayak, R. B., Kumbar, S. F. (2016). Preventing medico-legal issues in clinical practice. Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology. 19(Suppl 1): S15-S20