Professional Practice, Ethics and Law

What this unit covers

The resources here sit in the Professional Foundations of Nursing strand of Nursing, and they focus on how nurses act, decide and answer for what they do. Ethics is the biggest theme, with several mind maps such as Code of Ethics in Nursing and Ethics in Nursing. Law runs alongside it, in decks like Revision on criminal and civil and Law and Ethics in Nursing. Consent, confidentiality, record keeping, mandatory reporting and scope of practice all have their own material.

Where to start

Begin with the codes and principles. The flashcard deck NMC CODE 2015 walks through the Code starting from Prioritise People. Then read the mind map Informed Consent, which links nursing and patient implications and the nurse's role in consent. Next, move to Ethical Theories & Principles to get the vocabulary straight before you test yourself.

Using quizzes and maps together

Quizzes here are scenario-based. Leadership Questions Ch 09 asks how ethics applies to nursing, and Exam 1 Practice asks which ethical principle is compromised when several patients need one anaesthetist. Chapter 4 looks at cultural imposition, drawing on Leininger.

1. Read a mind map on the topic first.
2. Take the matching quiz and note what you missed.
3. Return to the map for those branches.
4. Finish with a flashcard deck for quick recall.

Some material mentions ATI and NCLEX, so candidates preparing for those will find relevant practice. Others follow course weeks, such as the decks on professional conduct, complaints and mandatory reporting.

Beyond the core

Delegation and prioritisation are covered in the notes Delegation & Prioritization. Cultural competence has its own maps and quizzes, and Preventing Compassion Fatigue in acute care nurses looks at the wellbeing side of practice. Teachers can use any of these as ready-made starting points for a class.

Choose one topic today, open its map and see how much you can explain without looking.