Professional Bodies & Legal Issues

What is TWU Nursing vision statement?

Equipping nurses who think deeply, act justly, and care generously

What is the TWU Nursing mission statement?

• Excellence in nursing practice

• Covenantal caring

• Fosters a spirit of inquiry

• Contributes to the good of the world and the glory of God

What are standards of care?

Legal guidelines for nursing practice & are the expectations set up by the regulatory body

What are the values that the TWU School of Nursing have?

1. Covenantal caring

2. Collaboration

3. Culture of Inquiry

4. Transformation

5. Equity

Summary of the philosophy of the TWU School of Nursing

• Supports holistic student development

• Christian perspectives regarding:

  • Nature of people

  • Health

  • Environment

  • Nursing (scholarship + education)

BCCNM Professional Standards promise

Service to the public & competent nurses to provide safe & ethical care

What is a standard?

An expected and achievable level of performance which can be compared to actual performance

What are the BCCNM Professional Standards?

1. Professional Responsibility & Accountability

2. Knowledge-based Practice

3. Client-focused Provision of Service

4. Ethical Practice

What are the BCCNM Practice Standards?

• Boundaries in Nurse-Client Relationship

• Communicable Diseases: Preventing Nurse-Client Transmission

• Conflict of Interest

• Documentation

• Duty to Provide Care

• Employed Student Registrants

• Indigenous Cultural Safety, Cultural Humility, & Anti-Racism

• Use of Title

TWU Student Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge & its Application

• Cognitive Complexity

• Aesthetic Expression & Interpretation

• Inter/Intra-personal Wellness

• Spiritual Formation

• Social Responsibility & Global Engagement

• Leadership

Describe the BCCNM

• Professional Regulation under authority of Health Professions Act

• Accountable to the public to ensure safe, competent, & ethical care

• Nurses in Canada must be registered in their practicing province

• ESN’s in BC must be student members of BCCNM

What are the responsibilities of the BCCNM?

• Protect the public

• Registration

• Investigating complaints & disciplining members

• Develop Code of Ethics

• Setting Standards of Practice

• Approving nursing education programs

How are the standards of care used in a negligence lawsuit?

Used to determine if the nurse acted like any reasonable nurse in a similar setting with the same credentials

What is the responsibility of the NNPBC (Nurses & Nurse Practitioners of BC)?

• Represents all nursing associations (RNs, LPNs, NPs, RPNs)

• Advocates for health public policy, excellence in nursing practice, & nurses’ contribution to shaping the heath system

What is the responsibility of the CNA?

• Advocate for a publicly funded, not-for-profit healthcare system

• Act in the public interest for nurses

• Promoting profession-led regulation

What is the mission of the CNA?

To make nursing better — for nurses, patients, & public health systems

What is the responsibility of the CASN (Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing)?

• National voice for nursing education, research, & scholarship

• Promotes advancement of nursing knowledge in research & practice

• Establishes & promotes excellence in nursing education

What is the responsibility of the CNSA (Canadian Nursing Students’ Association)?

• National voice for Canadian nursing students

• To increase the legal, ethical, professional, & educational aspects of nursing

What is the responsibility of the BCNU (BC Nurses’ Union)?

• Bargaining for wages and work conditions

• Social change

• Protecting the health, safety, and social being of nurses

What is the responsibility of ICN (International Council of Nurses)?

Advance nursing, promote their well-being, and advocate for health in all policies

How does the ICN wish to improve Global Health?

1. Professional Practice

2. Regulation

3. Social-Economic Welfare

What is a fiduciary relationship?

The recipient is placing their trust and confidence in the professional to act in their best interests

Constitution of Canada deals with

Federal & Provincial responsibilities, civil & common law

Civil Rights law deals with

Private relationships between people

Common law is

Unwritten law that arises from precedence (judge decides based on past situations)

Statute law deals with

Federal & provincial, created by legislation

What are the responsibilities of HPA?

• Gives BCCNM its mandate & powers

• Protects title of professions

• Approves regulation amendments

Define a tort

Civil wrong committed against a person or property

What are intentional torts regarding nursing?

Assault, battery, invasion of privacy, false imprisonment

Example of false imprisonment

Preventing patient from leaving the facility

Example of invasion of privacy

Publicly releasing a patient’s medical record

What is assault?

Conduct that creates anxiety or fear of imminent harm

Example of assault

Threatening to perform an injection that causes fear in the patient

What is battery?

Intentional physical contact with a person without a person’s consent

Example of battery

Patient not consenting to a treatment, but the worker’s do it anyways

What is are unintentional tort regarding nursing?

Negligence

What is negligence?

Conduct that does not meet a standard of care

How can nurses prevent negligence?

• Follow standards of care

• Insist on appropriate orientation, education, & staffing

• Communicate with other healthcare providers

• Document

• Develop rapport with patients

Nursing Students Legal Liabilities

• Must know your own capabilities and competencies

• Held to the same standards as an RN

• Must not refer to themselves as a nurse

• Only perform tasks within their job description

How is consent legally valid?

1. Patient must have legal & mental capacity to make decision

2. Consent must be done voluntarily

3. Patient must understand the risks & benefits of procedure

4. Patient must know risks of not undergoing procedure & any alternatives

What is the nurses’ job when obtaining consent?

Only witnessing that the signing of consent is authentic & patient is competent

What is the nurse not allowed to do when obtaining consent?

Does not have the duty to obtain the informed consent

What does informed consent need?

• Explanation of procedure

• Names & qualifications of people performing & assisting

• Description of possible harm

• Explanation of alternatives, risk of doing nothing, right to refuse, & right to withdraw consent

What two acts are there to protect confidentiality?

PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection & Electronic Documents Act)
FOIPPA (Freedom of Information & Protection of Privacy Act)

The patient’s spouse & family know all of the patient’s history T/F

False, do not assume the patient’s spouse & family know all of their medical history

Privacy Act Guidelines

• Maintain confidentiality

• Do not leave papers/notes lying around with patient information

• Only discuss patient situation with closed doors

• Do not post patient information on social media