Relevant Professional, Legal and Ethical Aspects of the Nurse’s Role.
Ethical, legal, and professional values have a significant role to play in the nursing profession. Nurses have the responsibility to take good care of patients and the general public. In so doing, they need to observe the aforementioned values at all times. Therefore, nurses must not only understand, but also need to follow the various ethical, legal, and professional issues that they are likely to face as they offer their services to their patients. In the health profession, nurses have three major duties that they must fulfil: the duty of confidentiality, duty of care, and that of autonomy. Markedly, nurses cannot deliver these duties alone; they need to be supported by the ethical principles of beneficence that promote the interests of the patients (Hagger et al., 2016, p.51). Non-maleficence ensures that nurses do not harm their patients they come into contact with.
In the case of Florence, the nurses have a role to play in taking good care of their patient. Having been diagnosed with a chronic disease, the nurses should practise non-maleficence where they have to ensure that Florence takes her medication without failure or jumping a day without taking medication. In regards to professional conduct, nurses must ensure that they have sufficient professional training to enable them to identify the appropriate ethical principles that they will apply in the case of Florence. With professional education, they can provide mental guidance to Florence to overcome the loss of her husband. The nurses can also assist Jane, the daughter, after her mother as she runs her errands. Additionally, the nurses can also offer legal advice on the necessary steps that they can take to handle the person working at the house of Florence (Hagger et al., 2016, p.51). Since Florence feels like she should lend her money, focusing on appropriate legal issues can help in resolving the case.
The Relevance of Multi-Professional Working
Multi-professional working refers to a situation in which workers from different professions work together or in consultation with one another to solve issues at hand. In healthcare, doctors can work closely with the nurses to help the patients to recover. Nevertheless, nurses can also seek the support of physiotherapists and psychological chancellors to assist them in making sure the patients get well. According to the literature on effective working relationships, it is noteworthy that working relationships can only be achieved by specifying the roles and responsibilities of the workers involved (Gadolin &Wikstrom, 2016, p. 60). According to the authors, respecting other professions will also help in improving multi-professional work relationships. Having commitment at every level of the profession will make it easier to share skills, expertise, and resources among the professionals. Joint training and recognition of expertise can also help in building an effective multi-agency relationship.
In the case of Florence, multi-professional working will be very relevant in different aspects. Multi-professional working will help in improving the services that Florence will receive. For example, nurses can work together with chancellors in supporting Florence to overcome their conditions. Nurses can ensure that she sticks to her prescription daily without skipping any. On the other hand, chancellors also work with nurses to help Florence to heal from the loss of her husband. A cardiologist can have a working relationship with a nurse to help in providing a solution to the chronic pulmonary disease that Florence is experiencing. The work relationships and partnerships in providing relevant care to Florence will help to eliminate contradictions in the interventions that the patient receives.
Multi-working relationships will also increase the level of effectiveness of the services that Florence will receive. As the multi-professionals work together, they will identify the gaps existing in patient care and find the best strategies and relevant resources which will help to resolve the case issue that Florence is experiencing.
Working with multi-working professionals such as legal chancellors together with nurses will also help Florence to make the right decisions about maintaining her house. Legal advisors can offer counsel on how Florence can make better arrangements for the person who works at her house that she no longer needs (Gadolin &Wikstrom, 2016, p. 60). Additionally, the practice will assist in increasing professional knowledge among the professionals working to assist Florence in recovering from her situation. Nurses will get a better understanding of the interdisciplinary issues that exist in different professions. As a result, they will be able to handle more duties that will help Florence to get well.
Core Values that Underpin Mental Health Nursing Practice
Mental health nursing specializes in assisting patients that have developed mental health disorders to recover from such disorders and lead a normal and quality life. Nurses in this area have in-depth knowledge in assessing, diagnosing, and treating patients with psychiatric disorders. Nurses in this area work with other specialized health professionals to ensure that they offer optimal clinical outcomes for the patients (Slemon et la., 2017, p. 114). Mental disorders can affect people of all ages or people of all socioeconomic status. It is, therefore,
that mental health nurses work with individuals from diverse backgrounds to prepare themselves with the delivery of appropriate medical care. Although nurses try to assist patients with mental issues, there exist several issues that underpin such practices.
Human Dignity
Human dignity is one of the ore factors that underpin mental health nursing practice. Human dignity entails respect to all people, families, and the community that a person with a mental health condition has come from. Dignity requires that nurses respect the patients’ beliefs as well as preserve their dignity and privacy while carrying out clinical procedures (Shahriari, et l., 2013, p.13). In the case of Florence, adhering to the issues of human dignity and respecting her needs will make it difficult to offer appropriate patient care. Florence’s condition may require disclosure of information to other professionals such as chancellors who can offer better assistance. Since human dignity entails the aspect of privacy, it may make it difficult to offer patient-based practice.
Autonomy and Decision Making
The core value of autonomy in decision making requires that patients make decisions concerning the kind of treatment that they want to receive. Autonomy in decision making provides an opportunity to get sufficient information concerning the client or the patient under health care. In healthcare, autonomy occurs when nurses and health professionals allow patients to make an informed decision on the strategies that they would like for diagnosis, treatment, and disease prevention (Shahriari, et l., 2013, p.13). However, in mental health, patients with mental disorders are not in a position to make appropriate decisions concerning their illness and the medication that they can receive. For example, in the current case of Florence, she appears withdrawn and feels lonely. With such characteristics, it can be difficult for her to make the right decisions. Florence does also not want to have any person around her house. Therefore, the attempts to provide better patient services while respecting patient autonomy underpin mental health practices.
References
Gadolin, C., and Wikström, E., 2016. Organising healthcare with multi-professional teams: activity coordination as a logistical flow. Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration, 20(4), pp.53-72.
Hagger, V., Ellis, C., and Strumidlo, L., 2016. Legal and ethical issues in neonatal nursing: a case study. Nursing Standard, 30(44), pp.48-53.
Shahriari, M., Mohammadi, E., Abbaszadeh, A., and Bahrami, M., 2013. Nursing ethical values and definitions: A literature review. Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research, 18(1), p.1.
Slemon, A., Jenkins, E., and Bungay, V., 2017. Safety in psychiatric inpatient care: The impact of risk management culture on mental health nursing practice. Nursing Inquiry, 24(4), p.e12199.