Duty of Care in Nursing: What It Is and Why It Matters

If you have plans to pursue a career in nursing, you should have a thorough understanding of the term “duty of care.” Duty of care pertains to many situations and industries, but within the healthcare field, it holds particular importance and refers to your legal duty to your patient.

What is duty of care?

Duty of care is defined as the legal obligation to act responsibly toward others. In a civil case, duty of care is a part of tort law that helps determine whether damage has occurred to a person through someone else’s actions. For example, suppose a medical professional unintentionally administers a drug that’s contraindicated, causing the patient’s condition to worsen. In that case, it may be found that they’ve not adequately discharged their duty of care. In this instance, damages may be awarded to the patient or their family.

Is everyone responsible for duty of care?

To a degree, every human has the moral and legal duty to act responsibly toward others. This means not getting behind the wheel of a car if you’ve been drinking and not overstating your medical training when assisting at the scene of an accident. If you violate your legal duty of care, you may face repercussions in court, such as paying punitive damages or restitution. Many situations involve the breach of duty of care, including:

• Assault
• Credit card fraud
• Identity theft
• Defective manufacturing of a product
• Medical malpractice

Someone found guilty of committing one or more of these acts may be vulnerable to a civil suit by the person harmed or by their survivors. As a result, if found guilty, they may face legal consequences that include punitive or compensatory damages or both. This is true regardless of whether the breach occurred intentionally or through unintentional negligence.

What is the duty of care in nursing and healthcare?

Duty of care plays a vital role in the healthcare industry. It compels a doctor, nurse, emergency medical technician, or other first responder to do all they can to preserve life. It may be the reason why a nurse who works in a nursing home administers CPR to a patient in distress or why an EMT straps a patient onto a backboard before extracting them from an accident scene. The intent behind duty of care is to prevent additional harm. It puts consequences into place for people who cause harm to others through negligence or irresponsible actions.

What are professional morals and ethics in healthcare?

To define moral and ethical issues in healthcare, it’s necessary to differentiate between them. The two terms are often used interchangeably, but they really shouldn’t be. For instance, morals refer to a pre-determined set of values considered acceptable by society. A good example would be cultural dress. While it’s typically regarded as amoral to walk around in a state of public undress in the United States, many cultures around the world consider it perfectly acceptable, including certain ethnic groups in Brazil, Venezuela, and Nigeria. This is an example of different societies adhering to different moral values.

Ethics, conversely, refers to explanations of why specific actions are considered right or wrong. Doctor-patient confidentiality falls under the umbrella of ethics, as does the age-old controversy between religious beliefs and some healthcare. Ethics are not all black and white. In fact, they usually exist in shades of gray. And the right circumstances or the right attorney can easily cast doubt on whether someone acted ethically, even if they felt they were doing so at the time.

What are the core principles of ethics in healthcare?

In a healthcare setting, ethics are defined by a set of four principles:

• Beneficence — the responsibility to act in a patient’s best interest
• Autonomy — the responsibility to allow the patient to make their own decisions regarding care
• Non-maleficence — the healthcare provider’s responsibility to do no harm to the patient
• Justice — the responsibility to be fair in how resources are used and how care is provided

It’s easy to see how one or more of these situations could counteract another. For instance, allowing a patient to die from a treatable condition because their religious beliefs forbid aggressive medical intervention is an ethical dilemma. Still, it’s one healthcare providers have encountered more than once. In this situation, it becomes unclear where the lines that separate beneficence and autonomy overlap.

What are a nurse’s legal risks and responsibilities?

The American Nurses Association has adopted the stance that all nurses must care for their patients respectfully and without discrimination. However, it also challenges nurses to thoughtfully assess responsibility versus risk in their standards of care. Doing so may help healthcare providers avoid legal issues in the future.

In nursing, duty of care, ethics, and morals all come into play, which is why nursing requires advanced and specialized training. As a student in a nursing program, you’ll learn to read the fine lines that separate each of these. And you’ll learn how to balance doing what’s best for the patient with doing what’s best for yourself, legally speaking. In healthcare, ethical issues and moral dilemmas will always arise, especially in emergency situations. By having a keen understanding of what’s required of you and when you’ll become confident in the level of care you provide. A good nursing program is the key.

Breach of duty of care

In the nursing industry, breach of duty of care happens when a nurse fails to provide the best level of care while still adhering to the principles of ethics and their own moral standards. This could result from failing to update a patient’s chart, call for a physician when needed, or adequately monitor or respond to a patient. Everybody makes mistakes, but in the field of healthcare, mistakes can have grave ramifications and may result in future legal issues.

So, if you’re studying to become a nurse or considering earning or furthering your degree in nursing, you may worry about how to perform your legal duty without treading over your patient’s core beliefs. The answer lies in the coursework you’ll take. Classes such as the following may prove beneficial:

• Nursing Issues, Leadership, and Research
• Nursing Fundamentals
• Transcultural Nursing
• Legal Aspects of Healthcare Management
• Principles of Emergency Nursing

It’s crucial to find a nursing program that’s accredited and reputable so that the credits you earn are worth the time and money you’ve invested and so you have the knowledge and wisdom needed to make sound decisions.

Grow your nursing career with Bryant & Stratton College

Bryant & Stratton College was founded in 1854 and is fully accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. We offer various degree options geared toward the nursing profession, including our RN to BSN program, Associate Degree in Nursing and a variety of addtional healthcare-related degree and diploma programs to prepare students for success in the nursing industry.

Regardless of where you are in your current career, including whether you have nursing experience, a degree from Bryant & Stratton can open previously closed doors. And our programs offer a unique flexibility that’s missing from many traditional classrooms — the ability to work online or in person. In this way, we can meet the needs of both traditional and nontraditional students interested in furthering their skills and knowledge in nursing.

Learn more about standards of care, medical negligence, ethical issues, and how to respond in emergency situations when you enroll in one of our in-demand nursing degree programs. Gain a better understanding of your legal duty as it pertains to providing care and discover the best ways to avoid legal issues in your work performance.

When you’re ready to expand your knowledge and earn your degree in nursing, our friendly and well-informed admission representatives are waiting to take your call. Request information today to schedule a campus tour or to discuss the benefits of our online study options.

At Bryant & Stratton College, we’re preparing career-ready graduates with what it takes to succeed following graduation. Learn more about our mission statement and our promise to you today.