Legal and Ethical Issues in Columbus Hospital Corporation Essay

Legal and Ethical Issues in Columbus Hospital Corporation - Essay Example There are several federal laws that protect the rights of individuals who are interviewing for a job. Being federal, of course, means that they apply across all the states. The first law to be discussed is the Civil Rights act 1991 and the Age Discrimination in Employment act of 1967. Both of these are crucial to the secure the individual rights of the interviewees. The Civil Rights Act, 1991 prohibits employment discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex or nationality. The United States is a melting pot and so this law is crucial. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, on the other hand, seeks to protect individuals who are 40 years old and above. Employers must give them an equal opportunity just like their younger colleagues. Passing the NCLEX exams is the launching pad to a successful career as a registered nurse or RN. The most important practices that lead to malpractice lawsuits are not strictly adhering to standards of care and failure to communicate (Guido, 2001). Failure to follow standards of care ranges from routine tasks like wearing antithrombotic stockings to more serious ones like using medical equipment for a purpose other than that it is intended for. Either way, if misuse or negligence harms the patient, the nurse is in legal jeopardy. Failure to communicate or poor communication is also important. This might be between a nurse and a physician, a nurse and other caregivers to whom she has delegated responsibilities e.t.c This can be difficult to trace in the case of injury and so it should be followed to the letter (Guido, 2001). Several ethical principles are key in nursing. However, non-maleficence is top of this pile. It states that nurses take a medical oath. The import of that oath is that they do everything in the best interests of the patient (Guido, 2001). Many important lessons have been acquired that shall be an influence on me as a PN.