Legal and Ethical Practice in Nursing and Midwifery

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering legal, statutory, ethical, and clinical governance principles for Australian nursing and midwifery practice across Modules 1 to 8.

Beneficence

The ethical bioethical principle meaning to do good and establishing an obligation to help others, categorized into specific beneficence, general beneficence, and obligatory beneficence.

Non-Maleficence

The ethical principle standing for 'above all (or first) do no harm,' requiring health professionals to avoid inflicting injury, injustice, deterioration, and rights violations, which aligns with the legal duty of care.

Autonomy

The ethical principle representing the act of self-rule or self-governance, liberty, privacy, individual choice, and the ability to exercise personal choices based on legal capacity.

Aristotle's Formal Principle of Justice

The formal ethical principle of justice asserting that equals must be treated equally and unequals must be treated unequally.

Ethical Dilemma

A clinical situation in which a choice must be made between two or more conflicting ethical values, duties, or alternatives, where choosing one inevitably compromises another and no outcome is entirely acceptable.

Deontology

An ethical theory that emphasizes moral duties, rules, and patient-centered obligations (such as truth-telling, respecting autonomy, and maintaining confidentiality) regardless of the consequences.

Utilitarianism

A consequentialist ethical theory focusing on choosing actions that produce the greatest overall benefit, save the most life-years, or achieve the greatest good for the greatest number in resource-limited situations.

Virtue Ethics

An ethical theory centered on the moral character and integrity of the practitioner, dictating that actions such as reporting clinical errors reflect honesty, accountability, and professionalism rather than adherence to rules alone.

Ethics of Care

An ethical theory emphasizing interpersonal relationships, empathy, compassion, trust, and responsive care to individual personal needs over the rigid application of abstract rules.

Rights-Based Theory

An ethical framework prioritizing the protection of fundamental individual patient rights, including bodily integrity, self-determination, informed choice, and privacy.

Social Ethics

An ethical framework emphasizing fairness, equity, and social responsibility in the distribution of healthcare resources, prioritizing community welfare and vulnerable groups over individual gain.

Doctrine of Double Effect

A fixed ethical doctrine stating that an action with both a good and a bad outcome is permissible if the intended action itself is morally good (e.g., life-saving surgery), the good effect is directly intended, and the bad effect (e.g., embryonic loss) is an unintended though foreseeable consequence.

Four Principal Elements of the ICN Code of Ethics

The four foundational elements providing the framework for ethical nursing conduct: Nurses and patients or other people requiring care or services, Nurses and practice, Nurses and the profession, and Nurses and global health.

Core Professional Virtues in Nursing

Four essential character traits required of nurses: Respect (consideration for patient interest), Compassion (empathetic, dignified care), Accountability (answerability for decisions and actions), and Integrity (maintaining standards and trustworthiness).

Mandatory Reporting

The statutory duty imposed on designated professionals to formally report suspected cases of abuse, neglect, or professional misconduct to designated regulatory or government authorities.

Section 124B of the Children and Community Services Act 2004 (WA)

The Western Australian legislative provision requiring specified persons, including nurses and midwives, to submit a mandatory report upon forming a reasonable belief that a child has been or is being subjected to sexual abuse, carrying a penalty fine of $6,000$ for non-reporting.

Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) Priority 1 Incident

An urgent aged care incident that must be reported within 24 hours, involving physical or psychological injury/assault, unexpected death, unlawful sexual conduct, theft, or unauthorized restrictive practice use.

Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) Priority 2 Incident

A reportable aged care incident that does not meet Priority 1 criteria and must be officially reported within 48 hours to 30 days.

Clinical Incident Management System (CIMS)

The reporting system in Western Australia used by healthcare providers to record, manage, and investigate clinical incidents and errors to ensure patient safety.

Severity Assessment Code 1 (SAC 1)

The highest severity classification under the Clinical Incident Management Policy in Western Australia, applied to clinical incidents resulting in serious harm or death and requiring immediate notification and rigorous investigation.

Australian Open Disclosure Framework

A nationally consistent standard established by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care for communicating openly and transparently with patients and families following a clinical incident or error.

Mature Minor Assessment Criteria (WA)

The standard where a medical practitioner determines a patient under 18 understands the nature, consequences, and risks of proposed treatment in their best interests, corroborated in writing by at least one other medical practitioner who personally examined the child.

WA Hierarchy of Treatment Decision-Makers

The statutory order for non-urgent treatment decision-making when no Advance Health Directive covers the decision: Enduring Guardian, Guardian with authority, Spouse or de facto partner, Adult son or daughter, Parent, Sibling, Primary unpaid caregiver, and Other person with close personal relationship.

My Health Record Privacy Rule for Minors

The statutory privacy threshold specifying that once a young person reaches 15 years of age, parents and legal guardians lose access to their online health record unless specifically invited by the adolescent.

Assault (Tort Law)

An intentional tort in healthcare occurring when a practitioner acts to intentionally create a reasonable apprehension in the patient of imminent harmful or offensive contact, even without physical contact.

Battery (Tort Law)

An intentional tort committed when a healthcare professional performs a physical procedure, examination, or treatment without valid consent or against the explicit refusal of a competent patient.

False Imprisonment (Healthcare Setting)

The unlawful, intentional restriction of a patient's physical freedom of movement without lawful authority or consent, such as raising bed rails without consent or removing mobility aids like walkers.

Restraint

Any physical, chemical, or environmental intervention used to restrict a patient's free movement to prevent harm to themselves or others, permitted only under strictly defined statutory conditions and clinical guidelines.

Vicarious Liability

The legal doctrine holding an employer (such as a hospital) legally responsible for the negligent acts or omissions committed by an employee (such as a nurse) within the course and scope of their employment.

Impairment (Health Practitioner Regulation National Law)

A physical or mental impairment, disability, condition, or disorder (including substance abuse or dependence) that detrimentally affects or is likely to affect a practitioner's or student's capacity to practice or undertake clinical training safely.

Common Nursing Errors (Pappa et al. 2024)

The statistical breakdown of common nursing errors identified in research: Medication errors ($45\%$), Procedural errors ($30\%$), Documentation errors ($15\%$), and Communication errors ($10\%$).

Protected Title

A legal designation under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (such as 'Registered Nurse') reserved exclusively for individuals holding active, valid registration with Ahpra and the NMBA.

Triggers for Medication Errors

Key operational and clinical factors that precipitate errors in drug administration: nurse workload, similar drug names, interruptions, lack of support staff, insufficient time to counsel patients, and illegible handwriting.

Veracity

The ethical duty of health practitioners to communicate truthfully, accurately, and openly with patients, prohibiting deceptive omissions or misleading clinical explanations.