Week 8-Legal Issues
Page 7 Learning Objectives:
Apply legal concepts pertinent to nursing.
Identify nurses' legal responsibilities and obligations.
Outline sources for nursing standards of care.
Define legal aspects of nurse-patient and nurse-physician relationships.
Explore nurse-nurse and nurse-employer relationships.
Page 8 Legal Limits of Nursing:
Nurses have a fiduciary relationship with patients regarding:
Constitution of Canada
Civil law (Quebec) and common law (rest of Canada)
Statute law, enacted by legislative bodies
Precedent in legal cases
Public law and private law sources.
Page 9 Professional Regulation:
Nursing regulatory bodies established by provincial/territorial legislation.
Accountability to ensure safe, competent, and ethical care for:
Registered Nurses
Practical Nurses
Registered Psychiatric Nurses (in some provinces).
Page 10 Standards of Care:
Legal guidelines for nursing practice.
Ensure safe and appropriate patient care through:
Nursing practice acts
Provincial/territorial healthcare laws
Professional nursing organizations' policies.
Page 11 Legal Liability Issues in Nursing Practice:
Tort: A civil wrong against individuals or property.
Intentional tort: Willful acts infringing on personal rights.
Page 12 Examples of Intentional Torts:
Assault: Threats (physical/verbal).
Battery: Non-consensual physical contact.
Invasion of privacy: Intrusion into personal affairs.
False imprisonment: Violation of individual liberty.
Page 13 Unintentional Torts:
Negligence: Failure to provide standard care leading to patient harm.
Importance of communication and documentation in preventing negligence.
Criminal liability: May involve both civil suits and criminal charges.
Page 14 Consent:
Informed Consent: Requirements include:
Signed forms for treatment.
Patient's legal and mental capacity.
Voluntary and informed decision making regarding treatment risks and benefits.
Special provisions for potentially disadvantaged patient populations.
Page 15 Nursing Students and Legal Liability:
Students must operate within their competencies.
Liability for students extends to instructors and healthcare institutions.
Separate nursing roles from non-regulated care duties.
Page 16 Professional Liability Protection:
Malpractice insurance may be held by the employer.
Not applicable for acts outside typical job scope.
Protects nurses against negligence lawsuits.
Canadian Nurses Protective Society provides further support.
Page 17 Abandonment, Assignment, and Contract Issues:
Short Staffing: Can lead to complications in care delivery.
Floating: Based on patient load and severity of conditions.
Prescriber’s Orders: Obligations to follow unless erroneous or harmful.
Page 18 Advice Dispensation:
Providing medical advice remotely is legally accountable.
Nurses must adhere to agency protocols in contractual agreements.
Page 19 Legal Issues in Nursing Practice:
Topics include:
Abortion
Prescription medications
Communicable diseases
End-of-life care
Advance directives
Organ donation
Mental health issues
Public health responsibilities.
Page 20 Prescription Medications:
Nurses cannot prescribe but must administer medications as per prescriber's orders.
Responsibilities include understanding medications' effects and questioning unsafe orders.
Nursing negligence can occur if unclear orders are followed.
Page 21 Communicable Diseases:
Nurses obligated to care for all patients, including during pandemics.
Employers must ensure protective equipment availability.
Important balance between personal and patient rights.
Page 22 End-of-Life Issues:
Legal rights exist for assisted death and refusal of life-prolonging treatment.
Page 23 Case Study: