Legal and Ethical Concerns Research Assignment Paper
Can a non-health professional, i.e., school administrator/employer, direct a school nurse to implement a decision or perform an activity that is outside the scope of nursing practice or that the school nurse determines is unsafe and potentially harmful to students?
How should the school nurse respond to such a request?
The answer to this question requires an understanding of the distinction between the word supervision used in the context of employee performance and employment law and supervision used in the context of nursing practice and nursing law. In this case, the reference is to the latter.
Note: So that the school nurse stands on firm footing, it is important that he/she have a knowledge and clear understanding of the legal guidelines for school nursing practice: Nurse Practice Act, CA Ed. Code and other state laws and federal laws; and Standards of Nursing Practice. Other valuable guides are the CSNO/NASN Position Statements that reflect best practice. Important websites to know about and use: www(dot)leginfo(dot)ca(dot)us, www(dot)csno(dot)org, and www(dot)nasn(dot)org, web links for CA Nurse Practice Act and course text - Selekman.
Legal and Ethical Concerns
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School nurses need to be well aware the state laws, nursing state practices, laws and regulations associated with school nursing practice. For the registered nurses in California to understand their roles in schools, it is required to read and apply the California Practice Act, CSNO/NASN, Standards of Practice, as well as the California Education Code. There are grounds for sanction when school nurses act beyond the scope of practice or act in ways that harm students. Hence, school nurses should exercise professional judgment and refuse to put students in danger, but also explain the rationale for the decision.
The school nurse is tasked with promoting the health and wellness of the students, and this includes school safety (Selekman, 2013). When requested to perform what is beyond the scope of practice or what might harm the children, I would talk to the school board reiterating the mandate of school nurses. Face-to-face meetings would help to clarify the expectations as captured by the laws, and regulations. Planning nursing interventions requires integrating the safety and health measures in providing optimal benefits to the students, staff and parents. I ...