The nursing profession is based on fundamental values of ethics, respect for patients’ rights and professional responsibility, as framed by the Code of Ethics of Nurses, the Nurses Act and the Professional Code. These laws and regulations clearly define the standards that guide your day-to-day practice. The Act describes your role as being at the heart of health care: assessing health status, developing, implementing and administering nursing care and treatment plans. The aim is to ensure the maintenance and restoration of health, to prevent diseases and to provide appropriate symptom relief, while taking into account the interaction between human beings and their environment. This highly regulated profession can sometimes lead to ethical complaints. The Lambert Lawyers team knows that these complaints can have a strong impact on your reputation and your professional life. Our team of disciplinary lawyers is here to support you and prevent you from facing this trying situation alone. Contact us now to benefit from a solid and rigorous defense against the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec.
Acts reserved for nurses
As a nurse, certain acts are reserved exclusively for you, such as:
- Assessing patients’ physical and mental fitness ;
- Clinical monitoring of patients whose condition presents risks;
- Initiation of diagnostic and therapeutic measures, completion of examinations of invasive tests and medical treatment, as well as their adjustment, all according to a prescription;
- Determination of a treatment plan related to wounds and skin and the provision of care and related treatments;
- The application of invasive techniques;
- Contribution to pregnancy follow-up, childbirth and postnatal follow-up;
- The action of carrying out nursing follow-up of people with complex health problems;
- Administration and adjustment of drugs or vaccines when prescribed or in the context of public health;
- The action of mixing substances in order to complete the preparation of a medicine, according to a prescription;
- The action of deciding on the use of restraint measures and segregation measures, as well as the assessment of mental disorders in certain circumstances.
Reserved acts may vary for specialized nurse practitioners.
Duties and obligations
Duties to the public
During your practice, you must, as much as possible, share your knowledge with your colleagues and avoid, at all times, any conduct likely to harm the image or reputation of the profession. This includes refraining from practicing your profession when you are in a condition that is likely to compromise the quality of your services, such as drunkenness.
Duties to Patients
As a nurse, you have an obligation to act with integrity, independence and competence, taking into account the limits of your skills and knowledge, which you must keep up to date. In addition, you are required to rescue anyone whose life is in danger, unless there is a risk to your own safety or the safety of others, and to take reasonable steps to ensure their safety.
When providing care or treatment, you must respect the dignity, freedom and integrity of patients and cannot refuse to treat a patient on discriminatory grounds. However, you must respect their right to consult another health professional.
You must also respect, within the limits of what is generally accepted in the profession, his or her personal values and convictions, as well as seek to establish and maintain a relationship of trust with him/her.
Duty of integrity
The practice of your profession must be done with integrity and honesty, respecting ethical standards and not undermining the trust of patients or their well-being. In doing so, you must report any incident resulting from your intervention or omission and take immediate action to mitigate, correct or mitigate the consequences, as well as avoid negligence.
In addition, you must not obtain substances or goods belonging to your patients under any circumstances, or falsify or omit information from their medical records. The same applies to the issuance of certificates of convenience or written or verbal information.
Duties of independence
As a nurse, you must always put the interests of your patients before your own and must remain independent and objective in the practice of your profession without taking into account external influences.
Therefore, you should avoid any conflict of interest, whether financial or personal. If such a conflict arises, it is your responsibility to ensure that another professional takes care of the patient, unless the situation absolutely requires your intervention. Whenever possible, the patient should then be informed of the situation.
Finally, if you are authorized to prescribe treatments, you should avoid prescribing a prescription to people with whom you have a substantial relationship except in cases of emergency or situations where there are no risks.
Duties regarding salaries and termination of services
When providing treatment or care, the products used to do so must not be harmful to health or be miracle treatments. In addition, your care, treatment or services must be clearly explained to your patients to ensure that you obtain free and informed consent from them, and your professional advice and opinions must be based strictly on complete and verified knowledge. Finally, when you use new methods of care, you must make the necessary reservations about their effectiveness.
In addition, you must also be reasonably available and diligent in the practice of your profession. Accordingly, you may only cease to provide professional services to a client for good and reasonable cause, including:
- When a client encourages you to perform an illegal act;
- When he does not comply with the conditions of the professional contract and there is no possibility of reaching an agreement;
- A decision on your part to reduce or stop your practice.
If you need to stop providing services to a client, you must notify the client within a reasonable period of time and take the necessary steps to ensure that the decision does not cause prejudice.
Professional secret
One of the most fundamental principles of the Code is respect for solicitor-client privilege. You must protect all confidential information obtained in the course of your practice, including the fact that someone has used your services, and cannot use this information to gain an advantage.
If the information is shared, the reasons for the sharing and the elements of the communication should be documented in the file. You must also obtain written consent from your patients before taking any photographs or audio/video recordings.
Prohibited Conduct
Violence against a client of any kind is prohibited, as is the establishment of personal or intimate ties during the professional relationship. The same is true with intervening in your clients’ personal affairs that are not relevant to your professional role.
Duties to the profession
As a nurse, you must refrain from committing acts that are derogatory to the dignity of the profession and from acting in a way that devalues the image of the profession. These requirements, provided for in the Professional Code and the Code of Ethics of Nurses, include:
- To distribute medicines, devices or products related to your professional activity for profit, with some exceptions;
- To trade in products or methods likely to harm health or miracle treatments ;
- Prescribing medication without authorization or administering medication without a prescription when required;
- Consulting the Santé Québec records of your friends and family several times without respecting the terms and conditions of access to information.
As a nurse, you play a pivotal role in maintaining and restoring patients’ health, while maintaining high standards of ethics and professionalism. At Lambert Lawyers, we understand the unique challenges of your profession and are here to offer you tailored legal support, whether it is to defend your rights, respond to a disciplinary complaint or accompany you in complex situations. Because your priority is to provide care, ours is to protect you. Contact us immediately if you are the subject of an investigation or complaint by your professional order.