Ethics, Law and Nursing

An introduction to the ethical and legal dilemmas in nursing practice, this text is designed to provoke the nurse to reflect on the nature of his or her professional obligations and future practice. The authors firstly familiarise the reader with the basic principles of ethical debate and the overall structure of the legal system as it effects nurses. They then address the fundamental dilemmas of nursing practice, such as whether or not paternalism can ever be justified, if patients have the right to die, and what a nurse's response should be to poor professional practice by colleagues. The book aims to enhance the reader's understanding of the issues, and to educate nurses to develop their own skills of reasoning and judgement.