Can nurses refuse to care for a patient?

Article Abstract:

Conflicting pressures can arise in a clinical environment, according to Dartford and Gravesham National Health Service Trust Director of Legal Services Andrew Andrews. Medical professionals owe a duty of care to all patients, regardless of their background, and patient confidentiality must be protected at all times. However, employers also owe a duty of care to their staff. Nurses who have a valid reason for not wishing to care for a particular patient should be taken seriously, according to lecturer practitioner Ursula Smith. Nurses should only withdraw care as a last resort, according to UKCC Professional Officer Katrina Neal.

Interview, Andrews, Andrew, Neal, Katrina, Smith, Ursula

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Should nurses have the right to opt out of ECT treatment?

Article Abstract:

Some observers in the UK believes that nurses should not be obliged to participate in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). They argue that there is no convincing evidence for the sustained effectiveness of ECT, and feel that ECT can actually cause neurological dysfunction. Others argue that nurses should not be permitted to refuse to participate in ECT. They believe that ECT is a proven therapy and that refusing to participate would represent an abandonment of the nurse's duty to care.

Electroconvulsive therapy, Electroshock

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How nurses view emotional involvement with patients

Article Abstract:

The importance of closer relationships between nurses and their patients has been recognised since the 1960s, although there is confusion about the nature of involvement and an appropriate level of involvement is difficult to determine. Nurses must see patients as subjective individuals and be able to empathise with them, but over-involvement may lead to the nurses' professional role being relinquished.

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