Informed consent involves the legal requirement of a patient, or their surrogates, to be informed of the benefits, risks, and alternatives involving surgical procedures, treatment plans, and medical procedures, which physicians obtain from the patients in writing, before the commencement of medical operations (FindLaw, 2020). As a practicing nurse, determining the nurse’s role in obtaining informed consent is critical. Also, how a nurse manager can handle informed consent differently will be explored, as well as analysis on healthcare organizations view on informed consent in the work environment.
The nurse’s role in obtaining informed consent is based on the complications arising when a patient accepts, supports, refuses, or withdraws consent. Also, the consent process is complex, with the need to understand the information, when the treatment is emergent or elective. Therefore, a nurse fundamentally needs to make the patient understand why they agree to consent and not merely to sign a form. Nurses are responsible for offering patient teaching, for enhancing patient understanding, particularly developing an approach that makes the patient understand better. Significantly, a nurse can enhance consenting in an environment that is calm, and quiet, to minimize the scares patients may have during the treatment (Nursing Times, 2018). A nurse plays a critical role in obtaining informed consent.
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A nurse manager would handle consent differently, when they deem the consent process unfeasible, such as when a life-saving operation is needed to be done, especially when a patient is in an unconscious state. Therefore, during emergency situations, there is limited time to obtain a patient’s informed consent. Besides, there are other situations which usually are routine in nature or non-invasive, where informed consent may not necessarily be a matter to consider (FindLaw, 2020).
Healthcare organizations’ view on informed consent in the work environment, are based on medical decisions that sometimes associated with life and death. Therefore, as a way of fostering integrity in nursing professionalism, nurses have an ethical obligation to consider Human Rights when navigating life and death decisions (Ethics, 2020). Informed consent is fundamental in ethics and law. As a consideration, patients have a right to ask or receive information about recommended treatments, to make well-considered decisions about care.
References
Understanding Informed Consent and Your Rights as a Patient - FindLaw. (2020). Retrieved 25 February 2020, from https://healthcare.findlaw.com/patient-rights/understanding-informed-consent-a-primer.html
