Legal and Ethico Moral Practice of Nurses

Nurses are facing many legal or ethical dilemmas in their career. It is very essential to know what kind of dilemmas nurses may face during their profession and how they have been dealt with in the past. Nurses should combine knowledge of ethical and legal aspects of health care and professional values into nursing practice. It is very essential for the nurses to know the difference between law and ethics.

Ethics observes the values and actions of people. On the other hand, laws are necessary rules of conduct. A nurse may be faced with an act that may be ethical but not legal. The purpose of this study was to look into the level of compliance to the Legal and Ethico-Moral responsibilities of Staff Nurses of Selected Tertiary Hospitals in Lucena City and the assessment of their head nurses.

To achieve this purpose, the researcher determined the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of age, gender, employment status, educational attainment and length of service; the analysis of the level of compliance in terms to the legal responsibilities and ethico-moral responsibilities and in determining the significant difference between the head nurse assessment of their staff nurse followed and then the significant relationship between the demographic profile and the assessment made by the staff nurses.

Using the descriptive correlational and descriptive comparative method of research, the study presented the demographic profile on the level of compliance of staff nurses and head nurses based on the gathered data. The study adapted the questionnaire utilizing the Core Competency Standards for Nursing Practice in the Philippines, PRC-BON Resolution No. 112, s. 2005 and the National Competencies in the Context Entry-Level Registered Nurse by the College of Nurses of Ontario.

Simple percentage, weighted mean, t-test and chi-square, and were used in the treatment of the data. The findings of the study revealed that on the profile of respondents, most of the staff nurses belong to 21-30 years old age range, majority were female who were regular or permanent, Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree holder with more than two years of working experience. It was found out that staff nurses complied at all times to the legal responsibility and ethico-moral responsibility.

Furthermore, it was drawn that there is significant relationship between the demographic profile of the staff nurse (age, gender, employment status, educational attainment and length of service) and the Level of Compliance to the Legal and Ethico-Moral responsibility. The researcher recommends to the hospital administrator that the result of this study be used to support the conduct of professional and continuing education for staff nurses and to provide adequate, resources, training and development and a more supportive work environment.

To the Head Nurses that they do strict monitoring on the clinical area to ensure the compliance of staff nurses to the legal and ethico – moral responsibilities. That the staff nurse should be encouraged to continue their nursing education and by participates in the research team of the hospital. . For future researcher, it is recommended to conduct or replicate this study on a larger scale in the public/private tertiary hospitals in other regions of the country, considering the eleven (11) competency standards.