Confidentiality In Nursing

Introduction

Breaking in confidentiality in hospital settings is one of the serious matter in the eyes of the laws. Nurses can be charged in court for doing such disgraceful act. It is part of a nurse’s responsibility to be more vigilant and wary when handling patient’s personal information. In other words, being a nurse does not just simply mean carrying out our daily orders and tasks, but also to ensure the safeguarding of patient’s information. Nurses must have the sense of responsibility to ensure that written confidential information are securely kept. Therefore in my essay, I will be focusing and explaining on the 2 different types of ethics, 1) Respecting clients’ right to confidentiality and 2) Respecting clients’ individual values

The risk for the patient will be that they would not want to go to the hospitals to get treatment, because of the inability to trust any nurses or other healthcare workers with matters relating to their health conditions. Hence, they would rather stay home and get home remedies which might worsen their condition. This matter which involves a breach of trust between nurses and clients must not be taken lightly and will result in disciplinary outcomes. Consequences of breach of confidentiality, Health WA Australia (1967, p.1) wrote that “A breach of the duty of confidence can have a number of consequences. For instance, it may lead to: 1) Disciplinary action by the employer of the person who made the disclosure. 2) An action for damages against the person who made the disclosure and/or his or her employer.3) A disciplinary proceeding under the health professional’s regulatory statute. 4) The imposition of a fine where there is a contravention of a statutory duty of

A few factors that can affect the relationship between a nurse and a patient would be the tone of voice used, the way we phrase our sentences and avoiding the use of medical terms to make the patient understand better. Besides that, communicating with patient in terms of serving their daily needs is part of our noble job too. Although language can sometimes be a communication barrier when dealing with an elderly or a foreigner, nurses are expected to try other means and ways to converse to achieve a certain level of understanding, such as via sign and body language. Other than language barrier, communicating with patient daily is essential in order to build a good rapport and instilling a sense of trust. For example, when patient asks for a favour to be showered despite odd timings or during busy hours, nurses have to obey their needs and meet their expectations. Therefore, patients will gradually feel that they are well taken care of during their stay in the hospital. Without good communication, there will not be a good healthcare service. The Importance of Good Communication between Patient and Health Professional, Journal of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology (2011), wrote that “Communication is the most important component of our work with patients. It is the cornerstone of our interaction with people. A good and an effective exchange between people helps them see what the other person