NRSB331-Mental Health Nursing
- Chapters 6 & 7: Legal and Ethical Guidelines for Safe Nursing Practice, The Nursing Process and Standards of Care for Psychiatric Nursing
- Prof. Jerry Cervantes, MSN, RN
Differentiate between ethics and bioethics.
Five critical ethical principles: Autonomy, Beneficence, Nonmaleficence, Justice, Fidelity, Veracity.
Ethics: Study of philosophical beliefs regarding right and wrong in society.
Bioethics: Ethical dilemmas in healthcare.
Ethical dilemma: Conflicts between two or more actions, each with pros and cons.
Autonomy: Respecting individuals' rights to make decisions.
Beneficence: Duty to promote good.
Nonmaleficence: Commitment to do no harm.
Justice: Equity in distributing care/resources.
Fidelity: Commitment to act without wronging patients.
Veracity: Duty to communicate truthfully.
Moral Behavior: Results from critical thinking about treatment of others.
Values: Personal beliefs about the important and desirable.
Values Clarification: Process of identifying and ranking personal values.
Right to treatment and to refuse treatment.
Right to informed consent: Must be informed and obtained by physician or advanced provider.
Right to refuse medication, least restrictive treatment alternatives, confidentiality, informed consent.
Duty to warn and protect third parties, laws regarding abuse reporting, restraints, and seclusion.
Medical records are legal documents; crucial for evaluating outcomes; must accurately reflect conditions and treatment.
Compare assessment approaches for children, adolescents, and older adults.
Differentiate between the use of interpreters and translators.
Conduct mental status examinations and psychosocial assessments.
Apply the nursing process to mental health care concerns.
Assist client adaptation to stressors.
Goals focus on changing age-appropriate thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Integral member of the interdisciplinary team; requires sound knowledge of psychopathology, legal implications, and scope of practice.
Assessment: Data collection for a client database (MSE, psychosocial assessment).
Diagnosis: Analyze data, formulate diagnoses, prioritize problems.
Outcomes Identification: Use Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC) to evaluate nursing intervention effects.
Planning: Use Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) for standardized language in treatments.
Implementation: Execute selected interventions including pharmacological and integrative therapies.
Evaluation: Measure progress towards expected outcomes and assess effectiveness.
Patient with early Alzheimer’s, monitored by neighbor and sister for safety and care. Recent weight loss noted. Assessments include spiritual/religious and cultural/social evaluations.
Legal issues include nursing liability, confidentiality, and rights of involuntary patients. Laws surrounding admission procedures vary and can include involuntary commitment under certain conditions.
Important caregiving considerations include safe, appropriate, realistic, individualized, and evidence-based planning. Evaluation processes must align with Nursing Outcomes Classifications.
In psychiatric nursing, communication, relationship-building, and careful documentation are pivotal for effective patient care and legal protection.