Legal and Accountable Nursing Practice

This module will acquaint the student with the legal structures which will frame their professional practice. The module examines the regulatory and legal structures which holds a nurse to account. Particular emphasis is placed on the regulatory function of The Nursing and Midwifery Board and the Health Information and Quality Authority as well as the broader common law rules. 

1. Assess the historical development of the legal framework which governs nursing and articulate the content and significance of the statutes which now regulate the professional practice of nursing with particular reference to The Nursing and Midwifery Act, 2011 (as amended) and The Health Act, 2007 (as amended).

2. Evince the legal concept of privacy, confidentiality and data protection and evaluate the legal consequences of a breach.

3. Demonstrate knowledge of the law on consent and capacity, with particular reference to The Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act, 2015 (as amended).

4. Comprehensively describe the regulatory function of The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland; including its objectives and processes, and develop an awareness of the legal expectation of professional behaviour with reference to the statutory grounds for a compliant, and the sanctions under fitness to practise.

5. Explain and evaluate the role of the Tort of Negligence and the criminal justice system in the regulation of the nursing profession.