Consent In Nursing Essay

According to Beauchamp and Childress, the principle of autonomy asserts that a capable and competent individual is free to determine, and to act in accordance with, a self-chosen plan (Beauchamp and Childress as cited in Keating and Smith, 2010). Determining a patient's competence is critical in striking a proper balance between respecting the autonomy of patients who are capable of making informed decisions and protecting those who are not fully capable (Appelbaum, 2007). Tagging children incompetent solely on the basis of their age and not involving them in decision making regarding their health is violation of children's human right. Obtaining consent from parents, rather than children, negates one of the most important principles of medical ethics, which is patient autonomy. Nurses are obligated to promote the health of children by embracing children's right. Nurses' duties which stem out of respect for autonomy include both duties to ensure children's self determination is respected and to refrain from practices that interfere with the children's right of decision making (CARNA,

According to sense two, legal or institutional effectiveness takes precedence. In other words, a subject’s consent is limited to the scope of the rules of the institution. Faden and Beauchamp illustrate that even if a patient autonomously gives her consent, it does not follow that effective consent is given if the requirements of the institution are not met. Consequently, the authors propose that sense one and sense two should both contribute in defining informed consent. Using Jay Katz’s argument, Faden and Beauchamp argue that sense two should satisfy sense one for there to be some type of balance between the two.

When working with an individual it is important to uphold their rights to be fully involved in their own care, whilst adhering to legal requirements. It is also the individuals right to refuse any care, support or treatment they do not want. It is also essential that people not only give you their consent but also that they understand what they are consenting to and the implications of this. Gaining consent protects not just the career but the individual receiving the care and support as-well. If no consent is given then you cannot proceed with the care. It is illegal to pressure anyone into

Nurses have to respect the dignity of patient’s rights. Patients have the right to refuse

In this assignment I will be discussing Adult Nursing and Mental Health Nursing and issues regarding consent. Consent is important within all fields of nursing as it is essential to conduct any medical procedures. The Nursing and Midwifery Council Code of Conduct (NMC,2008) states that all healthcare professionals must presume that all patients have the mental capacity to accept or deny medical treatments after being given all information which may be needed. However there may be some instances where consent cannot be obtained. An example of this is if the patient is in a medical emergency and may be unconscious or if the patient lacks the mental capacity to make a knowledgeable choice. In this situation treatment would be

Consent – Consent is required in written form from the parent or main care provider of any child before medication will be administered within the setting. This consent includes a signed and completed medication form detailing the type of medication, dose, route and when the medication must be administered. Where the child is able, they must also consent to receive the medication. Where the child is not willing to provide consent staff members may explain the need for taking such medication. If the child still

For the purpose of this assignment I have chosen to reflect the care given to a middle aged gentlemen in a hospice setting. In compliance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) code of conduct (2008) it is increasingly important to receive full consent to use a patient for this case study. As non-verbal consent was used I will reflect later how this was obtained. Therefore I will go ahead in using this patient however, I will ensure that the patient and place of practice remains anonymous due to confidentiality. Maintaining confidentiality is a significant part to a nurse’s role as stated in the NMC Code of Conduct (2008):

Patient informed consent refers to the situation where the patient is fully informed on the consequences of their health care decision after which the patient gives the decision. For there to be informed consent, there are five elements that must be discussed. The first is the nature of the patient's decision then the applicable alternatives to the proposed intervention. Third are the risks, benefits and uncertainties associated with each of the alternatives. Fourth is the assessment of the patient's understanding and last is the acceptance of the intervention or an alternative by the patient. Before the patient's consent is considered to be valid, the patient's competency to make the decision must be addressed. The criteria for evaluating the patient's competency is clearly stated in section 3 of the 2005 Mental Capacity Act which states that provided the person is able to understand, retain and use information provided and to communicate their decision in any way such as talking or sign language, they are competent to make a decision. If a patient is treated against their refusal to consent, it amounts to the tort of battery or can also be considered the crime of assault. In addition to this, laws that touch on human rights reinforce the importance of the protection of the physical integrity of the individual in terms of their right to respect of their private life. Therefore, refusal of medical treatment is a human right.

Mostly all nursing actions are an invasion of a person’s privacy and giving consent is carried out by going into the hospital or being treated at home. So one can say that consent is based on the principle of respect for a fellow human being.

`Ethics' is defined as ."..the basis on which people...decide that certain actions are right or wrong and whether one ought to do something or has a right to something"(Rumbold, 1986). In relating `ethics' to nursing care, "Nursing decisions affect people... nurses have the power to good or harm to their patients" (Bandman et al, 2002). In this essay, the author will also identify the most important ethical principles and concepts of Evan's case, will outline the different stages of one's approach to ethical decision-making by utilising the "DECIDE Model for Ethical Decision-Making" founded by Thompson et al (2000) and will make a decision on the best course of action to take as a nurse in this

Consent can be quite tricky, a legal minefield for healthcare teams, this is due to the patients who will give or refuse to give private information about themselves who is legally competent but

At a practice level, the importance and guidance of the Code of Conduct, Code of Ethics and NPA are demonstrated on a daily basis with regard to the issues of documentation, informed consent and open disclosure, and confidentiality. With respect to documentation, nurses must be able to document patient assessments and responses in an accurate, comprehensive and confidential manner and record all observations objectively. Informed consent and open disclosure are also major legal issues nurses face daily. It refers to the communication between the patient and health professional that results in the patient's agreement to undergo a specific procedure and requires that the patient has thoroughly understood the procedure, implications and risks prior to giving written consent.

Insofar as informed consent has been expounded, two main principles of bioethics have emerged as paramount; autonomy and non-maleficence. Although seemingly clear, the boundary of both respecting a person’s autonomy and doing no harm becomes blurred when the patients have disabilities that remove their ability to reason and justify soundly (e.g. total brain injuries or severe stroke patients). Although the participants in the proposed study will be fully-abled as per the exclusion criteria, understanding why cognitively impaired participants cannot give ‘informed’ consent further elaborates on higher-order-thinking required in the informed consent process. Without such a process, patients whom elect to become participants may not understand that this research is a separate entity to their regular treatment regime, and essentially will have become coerced into consenting due to a lack of clarification (Kerridge, Lowe, & Stewart, 2009; Rigg, 2012a; Rigg, 2012b).

Blackwell, w. (2014) states that we live in a society governed by an excessive extent of rules and regulations. Many of these rules apply to every individual within society for example rules relating to the use of public services; while other rules will focus and apply only to specific groups of individuals such as healthcare professionals. The aim of this assignment is to discuss the concept of consent in relation to the role of the nurse, with the purpose to demonstrate the ethical and legal implication of consent on nursing and professional practice.

The health care industry continually deals with the lives of individuals and is bound by the ethical and legal aspects that influence decisions of health care professionals in their clinical practice. This essay aims to discuss the various issues and ethical dilemmas that arise with regards to the consent of consumers. In the attempt to explore these points, different literatures are used to shed light on this topic. This paper begins by defining what consent is and the role of nurses or the health care team in being an advocate of the patient when requiring consent. It moves on with the discussion of ethical frameworks, which are recognized nationally and internationally, as these carry significant influences in health care decision-making. The essay also brings out the essence of ethical theories and its relevance to consent giving. It then tackles the similarities and differences of the Code of Ethics and ethical guidelines relevant to both nursing and midwives as both professions work closely in the care of mothers, children and families. Issues and views from experienced professionals in these fields are presented and critically compared. It then considers both ethical and legal aspects, which seeks arguments and rational implications. The last topic points to the social and spiritual factors pertinent to consent that impact the society particularly on the care of patients and concludes by summarising discussed points and arguments about consent.