NUR 3826 - Legal & Ethical Aspects of Nursing

College of Nursing

Credit(s): 3
Contact Hours: 45
Effective Term Fall 2020 (580)

Requisites

Admission to Nursing (Bachelor of Science) (NURS-BS) and
Pre- or Co-requisite NUR 3805 with a minimum grade of C

Course Description

This course is an assessment of ethical and legal issues confronting nurses and other health care providers during provision of patient care and in the workplace. The course focuses on identification and application of legal and ethical concepts, and principles underlying critical thinking and ethical decision making in nursing and health care.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

  1. The student will evaluate moral concepts, ethical theories, and legal principles that affect the practice of nurses by:
    1. defining terminology and theories commonly used
    2. comparing and contrasting moral principles and ethical theories
    3. appraising personal values that influence legal and ethical decision-making
    4. differentiating between professional accountability and liability for actions taken in personal practice
    5. analyzing the role a nurse assumes, as provider of care and leader/manager, in fostering a professional work setting
  2. The student will analyze common areas of professional liability in personal practice and the workplace that require critical decision making by:
    1. reviewing the structure of state and national government, and the court system
    2. differentiating among constitutional and case laws, statutes, and regulatory standards which govern nursing practice and influence healthcare management
    3. critiquing the requisite elements to establish professional negligence or malpractice.
    4. differentiating among intentional torts and unintentional torts in nursing practice.
    5. identifying revisions considered in personal practice based on ethical principles and laws
  3. The student will generate solutions to hypothetical dilemmas nurses commonly confront during provision of care by:
    1. applying an ethical decision making framework
    2. incorporating the ethical and legal rights of the employer/agency, healthcare consumer(s), nursing leadership and the individual nurse
    3. examining current practice issues confronting health care providers such as allocation of scarce resources, futility of care, genomics, advanced directives, and death with dignity
    4. examining current workplace issues confronting care providers and managers such as corporate liability, moral distress, ethical drift, professional boundaries, the Intervention Program for Nurses (IPN), and use of social media

Criteria Performance Standard

Upon successful completion of the course the student will, with a minimum of 70% accuracy, demonstrate mastery of each of the above stated objectives through classroom measures developed by individual course instructors.

History of Changes

C&I 11/9/04, BOT 12/14/04, Effective 20051(0355). (submitted as 3819; approved as 3826). 3 Year Review 2008. Added admission to Nursing BS prereq 20092. C&I Approval: 11/09/2004, BOT Approval: 12/14/2004, Effective Term: Fall 2005 (355). C&I Approval: 11/21/2014, BOT Approval: 02/17/2015, Effective Term: Fall 2015 (505). C&I Approval: , BOT Approval: , Effective Term: Summer 2017 (530).
C&I Approval: , BOT Approval: , Effective Term: Fall 2020 (580)

Related Programs

  1. Nursing (NURS-BS) (670) (Active)