Nurses have the responsibility of ensuring that their practices promote patient safety. Nurses must identify all potential adverse aspects of care given to patients. Standards of care encompass all the principles that guide how nurses should discharge their professional duties. According to Adams et al. (2014), nurses should always be mindful of the standards of care that are important in promoting patients’ safety. The nursing standards of care cover an extensive scope ranging from education through to safety and handoff, among others. Although nurses are required to adhere to the stipulated standards of care, there are some exceptions to this requirement.
Nursing standards of care are designed to ensure professionalism on the part of a nurse. A nurse can, however, withdraw from giving care to a specific patient and refusing to provide the required care and attention (“ Standard Nursing Obligations for Care” ). In ordinary circumstances, a nurse is required to use resources at their disposal to offer care to the patient as guided by the standards of care. A nurse can nevertheless refuse care or even remove themselves from advancing help if they feel that their attention may result in an undesirable level of exposure to risk. For example, a patient who is critically ill may request the nurse in charge of their care to conduct euthanasia. The nurse may refuse to execute such a request if the laws of the country do not support such an action. Also, the nurse may employ delay tactics to have enough time to engage the hospital's management.
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For a nurse to arrive at such a decision, they must first evaluate the specific circumstance, their responsibilities to the hospital, and any legal issues that might arise (“ Standard Nursing Obligations for Care” ). If a nurse has to make such a decision, they must, therefore, inform the hospital's management with clear reasons for their resolution. In case the nurse in the above example conducts euthanasia on the patient contrary to available regulation, they risk lengthy court battles that might jeopardize their career. A nurse must thus act based on the ethics and guidelines of a healthcare facility.
References
Adams, M., Holland, N., & Urban, C. (2014). Pharmacology for nurses: A pathophysiologic approach (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
Standard Nursing Obligations for Care . Hg.org Legal Resources . Retrieved 26 February 2020, from www.hg.org/legal-articles/standard-nursing-obligations-for-care-45620 .
