Patient rights and healthcare protections

Nursing respect for patient's common and legal rights- One of the principles of modern nursing is the idea of using certain ethical philosophies to guide behaviors. Several of these principles speak directly to the idea of patient rights. Autonomy, for instance, is a concept that allows rational individuals to make un-coerced decisions. An individual must be allowed to be responsible for his/her own actions, and those decisions must be respected by the medical community, and advocated by the nurse. After some of the atrocities uncovered during the post-World War II era, this idea ensures that the patient understands procedures, tests and all manner of medical care, and if not, is able to be adequately represented by a family member (Rai, 2009). In addition, the concept of justice in medical ethics focuses on both the fairness and equity in allocating healthcare. It requires that the nurse (in this case) advocate healthcare and procedures based on the patient's individual needs, not on class, wealth, social standing, race, age, or entitlement -- all factors which are completely outside the purview of their illness. Of course, modern societal values reflect, at times, how decisions are made regarding triage during emergency situations, but it is the thinking process that is involved that ensures the patient receives fair care based on medical need and necessity (Edwards, et.al., 2003, p. 156).

Strategies to Protect Group Individual and Group Rights -- Using the principles of ethical behavior within the paradigm of healthcare is a perfect start to protecting group and individual rights. Protection of rights goes further than respect for rights, and ensures that the medical / ethical principles from both the profession and the institution are accounted for at all costs. Fidelity, for instance, refers to a truthful connection between medical personnel and individual, and in the broad sense is a strategy to protect the patient's needs and expand as well to colleagues, the organization, and to society. It is strategic in that it allows for the medical person to utilize the organizational paradigm as well as the core values of the profession to protect individual and group rights -minitorities, women, immigrants, the poor and indigent, etc. As well, the core ethical value of paternalism allows for the healthcare professional to engender the appropriate rights of others by respecting the individual or group rights, privacy, choice, or opportunities. Some degree of paternalism is expected, of course, and provides for a way to manage both the advocate nature of the profession with the professional value systems set up to protect group rights (Veatch, 2000).

Advocate for Patients when rights are overlooked or compromised -- Based on many of the nursing theories of the past several decades, the idea of nurses as an advocacy role is even more critical in the contemporary paradigm. Nurses, actually have a dual role, sometimes triple: they work to advocate (navigate) the healthcare system for the patient's interests, particularly in the complex world of modern HMOs and healthcare, they teach patients how to advocate for themselves, and the act to intercede with families to allow the family to understand how the patient might need to be helped. In most ways, nurses give voice to the patient's Bill of Rights, at least as one means to communicate the patients' rights within the healthcare institute, or even when working with an insurance company. A patient may be denied certain rights and the advocate must speak up, a patient may need to negotiate the system in different ways -- providing healthcare information, allowing for sensitive information to be shared, and interpreting medical terms. The modern nurse must then be willing to move beyond a simple catch-all of medical jargon and bureaucracy and become someone who is both supportive and critical of the system. This may seem dichotomous, but in reality is not. The system is designed with beneficence in mind -- to help the patient at all costs. It is thus up to the nurse advocate to ensure that that actually happens (Sheldon, 2009).

Undertake assessments which are sensitive to the needs of the patient- Assessment is one of the key factors in management of clinical medicine. The nurse is often at the forefront of that process simply due to the logistical nature of the situation -- taking vitals, preparing the patient for blood work, etc. However, it is in two particular areas that the nurse can be most effective when assessing the actual needs of the patient; culturally and when questions are of a sensitive of private nature, yet information remains crucial. For instance, a patient's sexual history may be of vital importance when assessing STDs and/or infections; the sensitivity of the nurse during this time should be designed to make the patient feel comfortable, at ease, and with the use of rephrasing and appropriate empathy, honest in their response. In the same way, the holistic nursing model, recipient care should be sensitive to the cultural needs and bias of individuals, families, groups and communities. Some cultures have gender bias when talking about certain conditions; if the nurse is sensitive to this, they may try to mitigate that portion of the interview; if no other nurse is available, then simply rephrasing or allowing the patient to understand the confidentiality promise of modern medical care along with an empathetic understanding of the situation will help (Miller, 2009).