Ethical Boundaries In Nursing

The Francis report is clear confirmation that when the 6C’s, a therapeutic relationship and ethical boundaries are ignored in patient care it becomes a major barrier that leads poor healthcare. (Department of Health, 2013). It is evident that a therapeutic relationship and effective communication underpins good healthcare (Brown & Bylund, 2008). Communication is therapeutic and building relationships is the cornerstone of nursing work, particularly with patients who have learning disabilities or mental health issues (Clarke, 2012). With such patients, nurses have to consider emotional factors as the patients may find it hard to listen, concentrate and communicate if they are emotionally, scared, anxious or maybe just do not understand the

Working in partnership means that nurses must pay attention to the ethical and legal issues that govern nursing. Ethics regards standards of moral judgment and professional conduct (NMC, 2015). Nurses are highly accountable to their patients, the public, employers, and the entire profession. Therefore, nurses have a duty of care to their patients. Nurses ought to respect the right of patients to make their own decisions. This means the nurse allows the patient to autonomously have a say in how they are treated, ensuring their care is centred around them and the decisions they make if they are deemed to have capacity to make the decision (Griffiths &Tengah,

This is malpractice in nursing care hence they were called to the fitness to practice board where they were removed from the nursing register. Nurse should always stay objective and have clear professional boundaries at all times with people in their care their families and carers (NMC, 2015). However, social media and digital communication can be beneficial to share vital information about health issues rapidly and efficiently; this has been demonstrated through its use by the Centres for Disease Control for example the dissemination of guidance about H1N1 (Swine Flu) in 2009 (Thomas, 2013). This means that social media and digital communication can be used to create a platform where healthcare professionals and their patients can share information (Thomas,