Abstract

After several years of teaching nursing students in trends and concepts of nursing I finally resolved to sit down and write the text I had been unable to find. Such easy resolve accompanied the task. Now, at completion, I recognize why more nurses don't write; it's arduous! Yet the satisfaction attained is well worth the task. ;Nursing continues to be faced by many difficult and complex dilemmas originating from both the legal and ethical interfaces with the practice realm. We are daily confronted with evidence of our own inability to distinguish ethical from unethical practice; to minimize our concern for malpractice litigation and to attain satisfaction from the knowledge that care rendered incorporates an eye to the future as well as the pragmatic concerns of today. An orientation towards ethical practice, a knowledge base in the legal parameters of health care, and an appreciation of the many social issues that carry significant implications for nursing, health care and society in general are all requisite concepts for preparation of nursing students for the real world of practice. The sensitization of students to these concepts is not an impossible task. In fact, without such information and skills in hand, students are poorly prepared to face-practice entry. It is the purpose of this text to permit faculty preparation of students in these content areas. The focus of the text is the significant interface of ethics and law in nursing. The basic premise underlying this focus is that ethical practice, practice framed by a developed system for judging the ethical basis of decisions, is also most often legally safe practice. The nurse capable of maintaining an ethical perspective for practice is freed from many of the legal fears that now limit nursing practice. Ethical practice, usually is safe practice