Legal and Professional Issues

Assessment task 1

Task Description

PART A

Each student is required to post a discussion (400-500 words) on how they feel professional codes and guidelines impact on the way in which they provide nursing care.

Students are to post their answers in the forum labelled ‘Assessment 1: Part A' on the Moodle site for this subject. This part of the assessment is not weighted (it is not ‘marked'), but is compulsory. Other students are encouraged to provide brief feedback to their fellow student's posted answers if they wish to do so.

PART B

Each student is to choose another student's posted answer to Part A (from the forum) and provide a written commentary reflecting on that answer (1500 words), worth 20% of your total mark for the subject. This commentary is to build on the answer provided by the chosen student in Part A.

For example, if the student mentioned the Code of Ethics for nurses and the Code of Professional Conduct for nurses in their discussion, you would expand on how these codes guide nurses in their everyday nursing activities.

This part of the assessment is to be supported by contemporary and scholarly references.

Part B of this assessment is to be submitted and marked through Turnitin located in Assessment Task Information & Submission Dropboxes section of the SNPG923 Moodle site. You will have the opportunity to review and re-submit your assignment up to the due date and time.

Assessment task 2

Task Description

Task Description As health care professionals we have a responsibility to protect our patients from being placed at risk of harm from others in the community.

Choose one, two or all three of child abuse, domestic violence and elder abuse and discuss, explaining the legal and professional issues that occur when a health care worker comes into contact with a person who has disclosed that they have been harmed.

Include in your answer the relevant codes, legislation and documentation governing the requirement to report such issues. Consider the implications for the health care worker and the delivery of patient care.

Your assessment is to be set out in essay format (introduction, body, and conclusion) and be referenced by contemporary, scholarly materials found in the library databases and reputable web-based sources. See marking guide below for further information on how marks are allocated for this assessment.

Assessment task 3

Task Description

Case study: Observations are Critical in Patient Safety (23/8/17).

A complaint alleging unsatisfactory professional conduct was made against a Registered Nurse (RN) who it was claimed failed in his obligations during a night shift when he was in charge of an Acute Mental Health Ward at a public hospital. During the night shift, one patient sharing a room with another, killed the other patient residing in the room. A complaint made was about the nurses' observations of the patient's on the night. It was alleged that the practitioner: failed to conduct or ensure the required observations, altered the frequency of observations to less than instructed by the medical practitioner, and falsely entered records of observations, including not completing them in the manner required.

A Professional Standards Committee (PSC) held in May 2016, upheld the allegations and their findings determined that the RN did not undertake care level observations demonstrating the knowledge, skills, care and judgements expected of a nurse to his level, training and experience under s139B(1)(a) of the National Law. A finding of unsatisfactory professional conduct was concluded (and was admitted by the RN), The RN was reprimanded and conditions were placed on his registration, including 12 months of mentoring.

Critically analyse the above case study with regards to the legal and professional issues raised.

Your discussion is to be supported by references to contemporary, scholarly literature. You are to include reference to specific governing nursing codes, policies and documents in your report.