Nursing Ethics and Jurisprudence

1. Explain moral development and value clarification.
2. Discuss nursing code of ethics and regulation of nursing practice.
3. State rights and responsibilities in client care and legal roles of nurses.
4. Discuss legal liabilities in nursing and legal protection for the nurse.
5. Examine ethical problems and different models for ethical decision making.
6. Apply models for ethical decision making in the resolution of ethical dilemmas.

13 weeks, about 88 hours in total. Yours will differ.

1. Week 1Module 1: Ethical Concepts and Regulations that Govern Nursing Practice

   • Unit 1: Value Clarification · 3 hours

     Define value, differentiate between types of value, and understand the development of values.. Identify essential nursing values and their impact on professional behavior.. Explore the process of clarifying nurses' and clients' values..

   • Unit 2: Morality · 3 hours

     Define morality and differentiate it from law.. Describe the processes of moral development according to Kohlberg and Gilligan.. Compare different moral frameworks and explain moral principles..

2. Week 2Module 1: Ethical Concepts and Regulations that Govern Nursing Practice

   • Unit 3: Ethics of Nursing · 3 hours

     Explain the concept of ethics and its relation to nursing practice.. Distinguish between ethics and law.. Outline the purposes of professional codes of ethics and the nursing code of ethics..

   • Unit 4: Regulation of Nursing Practice · 3 hours

     Explain the issues in credentialing, including certification, registration, licensure, and accreditation.. Describe standards of practice and professional performance.. Discuss the role of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria..

3. Week 3Module 2: Legal Concepts Relevant to Nursing and Nurses' Roles

   • Unit 1: Basic Legal Concepts · 3 hours

     Define law and explain its functions in nursing.. Explain the sources and types of law.. Understand the principles of law and the civil judicial process..

   • Unit 2: Rights and Responsibilities in Client Care · 3 hours

     Explain the concept of rights and responsibilities in client care.. Outline the rights of clients in healthcare.. Show how the client's bill of rights is applied in nursing care..

4. Week 4Module 2: Legal Concepts Relevant to Nursing and Nurses' Roles

   • Unit 3: The Legal Roles of the Nurse · 3 hours

     Explain the rights and responsibilities of the nurse as a citizen.. Discuss the rights and responsibilities of the nurse as an employee or contractor.. Explain the legal responsibilities of students..

   • Unit 4: Obtaining Informed Consent · 3 hours

     Explain the concept of consent and its exceptions.. Outline the nurse's responsibilities in obtaining consent.. Describe the stages of ongoing consent to care.. Identify problems in obtaining consent and strategies to resolve them..

5. Week 5Module 3: Citizens' Right to Health and Ethics and Morality applied to Nursing Practice

   • Unit 1: Health as a citizens/patient's inalienable rights (whether health care delivery is a right?) · 4 hours

     Discuss health as a citizen's/patient's inalienable right.. Explain the nature of moral problems.. Discuss ethical theories and principles applied to nursing practice..

   • Unit 2: Morality helps us to clearly defined standards of adjudging certain behaviours, actions, and attitudes as good or wrong with clearly set guidelines for consequences. · 4 hours

     Discuss different types of morality and how morality is developed.. Apply legal principles in routine nursing practice.. Discuss the ethical theories and principles applied to the practice of nursing and the principles approach to ethics..

6. Week 6Module 3: Citizens' Right to Health and Ethics and Morality applied to Nursing Practice

   • Unit 3: The application of legal principles in routine nursing practice is quite more complex than it appears to be. · 4 hours

     Discuss the ethical theories and principles applied to the practice of nursing and the principles approach to ethics.. Understand the importance of keeping patients well and fully informed with serial updates about diagnosis, management trends, complications and prognosis..

   • Unit 4: Truth telling and white lie · 4 hours

     Discuss the importance of truth telling and white lie in nursing.. Understand the importance of keeping patients well and fully informed with serial updates about diagnosis, management trends, complications and prognosis..

7. Week 7Module 4: Legal Liability and Legal Protection in Nursing Practice

   • Unit 1: Tort of Negligence and Malpractice · 4 hours

     Learn about the basic nursing errors that result in negligence.. Understand legal doctrines related to negligence and defenses in negligence actions..

   • Unit 2: Intentional Torts that are relevant to Nursing Practice · 4 hours

     Learn about offenses such as trespass to person, invasion of privacy, defamation, and intentional harm to property.. Understand the defense in such actions..

8. Week 8Module 4: Legal Liability and Legal Protection in Nursing Practice

   • Unit 3: Legal Protections in Nursing Practice · 4 hours

     Learn about laws designed to protect health care providers.. Understand the actions nurses can take to protect themselves against liability..

9. Week 9Module 5: Abortion, Euthanasia and End of Life Issues

   • Unit 1: Abortion · 4 hours

     Discuss abortion and Foetal experimentation..

   • Unit 2: Euthanasia · 4 hours

     Discuss euthanasia or mercy killing which has different means of consideration by which health care practitioners (HCPs) justify their actions in cases that warrant such an action..

10. Week 10Module 5: Abortion, Euthanasia and End of Life Issues

    • Unit 3: Death Related-Issues · 4 hours

      Discuss death and dying, values in health and illness, indigenous and non-indigenous modes of healing, the nature of illness, life and death distinction, the right to live, the right to commit suicide..

11. Week 11Module 6: Ethical Dilemma and Decision Making in Nursing

    • Unit 1: Ethical Problems in Nursing · 4 hours

      Learn about the meaning of ethical dilemma.. Understand the sources and categories of ethical problems..

    • Unit 2: Ethical Decision Making in Nursing · 4 hours

      Learn about different models for making ethical decisions.. Understand the strategies to enhance ethical decisions and practice..

12. Week 12Module 6: Ethical Dilemma and Decision Making in Nursing

    • Unit 3: Application of Chally and Loriz Decision-Making Model in Resolving Ethical Dilemma · 4 hours

      Illustrate how Chally and Loriz model can be used to resolve an ethical dilemma..

    • Unit 4: Application of Cassells and Redman 1989 Model in Resolving Ethical Dilemma · 4 hours

      Illustrate how Cassells and Redman 1989 decision making model can be used to resolve an ethical dilemma..

13. Week 13Final Revision

    • Final Revision · 8 hours

      Review all modules and units.. Work on assignments and TMAs.. Prepare for final examination..