Abstract
This chapter addresses the professional, legal and ethical issues associated with medicine management and the role of the nurse. To ensure safe practice, it is imperative that safeguards are recognised and applied; therefore pertinent legislative frameworks, policy and professional regulation are discussed. Safeguarding patients when administering prescribed medicines means the nurse must have up-to-date knowledge and skill, and a key aspect of this is to ensure consent to treatment from the service user is secured; for this reason drawing on relevant legislation, the consensual process is reviewed.
Not infrequently, medicine management provokes ethical and legal challenges for the healthcare professional; these demand reflection and careful consideration; consequently in this chapter legal and ethical parameters and professional boundaries are appraised.
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Appendices
Multiple Choice Questions
-
1.
Professional behaviour and accountability stem from standards of care and encompass what is perceived as professionalism—do these terms mean the same?
-
(a)
Yes
-
(b)
No
-
(a)
-
2.
Who do you have accountability to?
-
(a)
Your patient(s)
-
(b)
Your employer
-
(c)
The NMC
-
(d)
All of the above
-
(a)
-
3.
A medication error can be defined as:
-
(a)
An error in the prescribing, dispensing or administration of a drug
-
(b)
A preventable event that may cause or lead to an inappropriate medication use or patient harm
-
(c)
A mistake that can happen while the medication is in the control of the healthcare professional patient or consumer
-
(d)
All of the above
-
(a)
-
4.
A safe system approach to medicine management encourages routine and safety checks:
-
(a)
True
-
(b)
False
-
(a)
-
5.
What legislation below classifies medicines and provides legal controls on drugs such as morphine sulphate?
-
(a)
The Data Protection Act 1995
-
(b)
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
-
(c)
The Medicines Act 1968
-
(d)
The Health and Social Care Act
-
(a)
-
6.
What are the three criteria to satisfy the process of consent?
-
(a)
Capacity, voluntarily, informed
-
(b)
Capacity, understanding, skilled
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(c)
Informed, endorsed, enlighten
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(d)
Capacity, content, informed
-
(a)
-
7.
Does a patient have the right to reuse treatment?
-
(a)
Yes
-
(b)
No
-
(a)
-
8.
What are the four principles that guide ethical decision-making?
-
(a)
Right versus wrong, fair, justified
-
(b)
Autonomy, benefit, risk, harm
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(c)
Autonomy, beneficence, maleficence, justified
-
(d)
Autonomy, respect, fair, justified
-
(a)
Answers
1. a
2. d
3. d
4. a
5. b
6. a
7. a
8. c
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Ogston-Tuck, S. (2020). Legal and Ethical Issues Associated with Medication. In: Hood, P., Khan, E. (eds) Understanding Pharmacology in Nursing Practice . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32004-1_1
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