- abandonment
- in the context of nursing, refers to the act of a nurse leaving a patient's care without making sure another qualified nurse is ready to take over and continue providing necessary medical attention and support
- administrative law
- policies and procedures established by governments (federal, state, and local) that detail rules and procedures for statutory laws
- advocacy
- publicly lending one’s voice and/or support to a cause, person, or policy
- altruism
- working for the well-being of others
- assault
- intentionally putting another individual in fear of being hurt or touched in an offensive fashion
- autonomy
- an individual’s ability to make decisions and determine courses of actions based on being well informed, giving consent, and volunteering without coercion
- battery
- intentionally causing harm or touching an individual offensively without their consent
- beneficence
- ethical principle that underscores the obligation to do good and promote the well-being of patients
- care-based approach
- ethics that combines the actions of providing care for others with the value of caring for the individual, while recognizing their frailty and vulnerability
- civil action
- lawsuit in which one individual or group sues another for violating a social or legal contract or the rights of others
- civil law
- law dealing with people, things, and the relationships between them
- common law
- unwritten law based on principles of justice, reason, and common sense
- confidentiality
- maintaining patient privacy in terms of health and personal information
- conflict of interest
- when an individual’s personal interests could compromise their judgment, decisions, or actions at work
- conscience
- inner feeling or voice inside an individual’s head that tells them whether actions, thoughts, or behaviors are right or wrong
- conscientious objection
- to preserve integrity, refusing to perform actions that violate values, as long as the refusal is not based on personal prejudice and/or convenience
- constitutional law
- law written into the U.S. Constitution and its amendments
- credentialing
- a process that agencies use to ensure that their clinical staff (all healthcare professionals) meet the necessary and legal criteria to practice
- crime
- violating a criminal law
- criminal charge
- legal action against an individual who has allegedly perpetrated a crime by acting against a specific statute or common law principle in a way that is harmful
- criminal law
- law that defines crimes and the punishments for people perpetrating them
- defendant
- the party against whom a legal action is brought
- deontology
- a theoretical perspective that assumes that ethical decisions or actions are right or wrong because they meet a moral law or principle
- dilemma
- a choice between two or more potentially correct answers
- ethical conduct
- behaving in a manner aligned with the Code of Ethics for Nurses, nursing values and virtues, and nursing ethical principles
- ethical consideration
- an issue that causes a nurse to stop to think through the ethics of a situation
- ethical dilemma
- a choice between two or more actions that must be made, both of which are equally good, both of which are equally bad, or for which the benefits of both actions are unknown
- ethical principle
- fundamental concept that guides individuals and professionals in determining what is right or wrong in a given situation
- ethics
- a branch of philosophy and a set of moral principles, virtues, or ideals that guide behavior and help determine what is right and wrong
- ethics committee
- a group that works together on a regular basis to address ethical issues within the organization
- expert witness
- an individual whose job is to describe the applicable standards and their opinion of whether a nurse in each situation would have been reasonably expected to behave/perform in a particular way
- false imprisonment
- restraining another person or causing them to be restricted to a specific area
- felony
- more serious criminal act for which perpetrators are generally fined more than $1,000 and/or jailed for more than one year
- fidelity
- faithfulness and loyalty
- fraud
- deceiving an individual or group for personal gain
- Good Samaritan law
- law that protects healthcare professionals from civil liability in emergency situations as long as they are acting in a way that is expected, reasonable, and prudent from someone with the same background
- human dignity
- every individual has worth on account of being human
- informed consent
- a requirement that healthcare providers inform a patient or their surrogate of the potential benefits, risks, and alternative treatments for a procedure or treatment that is being offered
- injunction
- prevents or requires defendants from particular actions or procedures in the future
- integrity
- being honest and morally constant, supporting what is right even when not popular, and meeting commitments
- intentional tort
- action that an individual knew or should have known was incorrect or inappropriate
- justice
- treating all people equally and judging them on the same criteria
- laws
- formal rules for conduct that governs behavior and is created and sanctioned by various agencies, such as Congress and states
- lay witness
- individual with knowledge of a case who is called to court to speak to the facts of the case, what they saw and did not see
- level of evidence
- an indication of how much proof is required to find a defendant liable for an event
- libel
- negative, malicious, and/or false written remarks about another person to damage their reputation
- litigation
- the process of resolving disputes or legal conflicts through the court system
- malpractice
- professional negligence
- mandated reporter
- individual required by law to report suspected or known abuse against children, older adults, people with disabilities, and between intimate partners
- medical futility
- the point at which further interventions will not improve a patient’s life expectancy
- misdemeanor
- less egregious criminal act, for which perpetrators are generally fined less than $1,000 and/or jailed for less than one year
- moral courage
- the willingness to stand up for what is moral and ethical even when it may negatively impact the nurse
- moral distress
- knowing the ethically correct action but being unable to perform it or being forced to act outside one’s personal and professional values
- moral injury
- when healthcare workers become psychologically harmed from being forced to act outside of their value system for an extended period of time
- motion to dismiss
- request to dismiss a case
- negligence
- results from an individual or organization who has a duty to act, breaches that duty, and causes damage; results from individuals not acting in a way that would be reasonably expected of someone in the same position
- nonmaleficence
- ethical principle that emphasizes the obligation to do no harm intentionally
- Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC)
- an agreement among certain U.S. states to recognize and accept a single nursing license that allows nurses to practice in multiple participating states
- nursing ethics
- a moral base from which nurses work
- nursing practice act (NPA)
- the statutory law guiding nursing practice for a state
- plaintiff
- the person who files a lawsuit against someone
- presenteeism
- coming to work but not being able to perform fully and competently due to illness or job stress
- principle-based approach (also, principlism)
- draws from deontology and assumes that ethical principles can guide all actions and decisions for nurses
- risk management
- strategies to prevent being named in a criminal or civil liability case
- self-advocacy
- the act of speaking up for oneself and one’s needs
- self-determination
- the ways individuals control their lives and surroundings and express their autonomy
- settlement
- an agreement between the parties to not go to trial but rather to have a payment to the plaintiff in exchange for no admission of guilt or liability for the defendant
- seven domains of health
- a holistic framework that encompasses various dimensions of well-being and health
- slander
- negative, malicious, and/or false oral remarks about another person to damage their reputation
- social justice
- a belief that all people deserve equal treatment and access to health care
- standards
- professionally developed criteria providing the minimal level of acceptable practice for all individuals within a profession
- Standards of Practice
- standards designed by the ANA and based on the nursing process that provides a problem-solving-focused approach to nursing practice
- Standards of Professional Nursing Practice
- statements of functions and conduct that all nurses, in every setting, are expected to execute capably
- Standards of Professional Performance
- professional nursing behaviors and mindsets, including advocacy, respect, communication, collaboration, leadership, research, and environmental health
- statutory law
- law established by legislative bodies, such as Congress, state legislatures, and local governments
- summons
- formal notice issued by a court or other authorized entity, informing an individual (defendant) that a legal action has been initiated against them
- tort
- a type of civil law focused on the rights and duties of individuals, in which an individual can sue another for damages after suffering harm because of wrongful actions on the part of the person being sued
- unintentional tort
- causing harm to someone without intending to do so
- utilitarianism (also, consequentialism)
- a theoretical perspective of ethics that focuses on doing the greatest good for the most people and the least amount of harm for others
- value
- a central, guiding principle in an individual’s life
- value system
- the sum of an individual’s or group’s values, such as codes of conduct
- veracity
- truthfulness
- verdict
- legal decision
- virtue ethics
- theory based on principle that people make decisions and perform actions based on their character
- whistleblower
- an individual reporting misconduct
- whistleblowing
- the reporting of misconduct, such as fraud, abusive patient care, or unsafe conditions to outside authorities