Introduction
Nurses play a major role in society today by being advocates of health promotion, educating patients and the public, preventing injuries and illnesses, and providing support and care. Nurses are not only needed by the public, but also the justice system requires them to perform several functions in the courtrooms. Every nursing practice has to be accompanied by a rightful acceptance to be part of the nursing activities and processes. Nursing licensure gives the rights to nurses to perform activities within their scope of practice. Additionally, nursing regulations have been put in place to offer protection to the public through defining nursing practices and overseeing competence through disciplinary rules and regulations. This paper examines the importance of nurses in the courts, licensure, and regulations.
Importance of Nurses in the Court
Nurses have become a vital resource for the strong relationship between justice and health systems. Courts are essential for providing a solution for legal disputes. During the court process, nurses provide factual and expert testimony regarding both unintentional and intentional injuries to persons presented. Nurses are important for collecting medical evidence needed in the court system to make judgments on legal issues. The evidence is associated with issues such as individuals who are dealing with substance abuse, child abuse victims, rape cases, interpersonal violence, and others needing medical evidence. Nurses perform examinations required by the courtrooms to present the information that assists the judges and jury in giving their verdict.
Nurses are involved in the scientific investigation of injury and death resulting from criminal accidents and activities. In addition to providing care, nurses act as multidisciplinary team members and consultants to other nursing medical professionals and law enforcement. Nurses are involved in preserving evidence of treatment protocols and legal proceedings, and testimonies (Kelishami et al., 2020). Assessments are done to confirm if an individual has been abused sexually and other complex devices can detect bruising underneath the skin surface. A colposcopy microscope with a camera attached enables examiners to take photographs of genital injuries in sexual assault cases (Morse, 2019). Nurses create documentation of the acquired medical data that they can use to testify in court with facts collected during the examination.
Crime victims face a high risk of post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide, depression, and other medical complications. Nurses are involved in giving quality medical care to the crime victims. This form of care may include mental health care and treatment of injured patients (Kelishami et al., 2020). Nurses improve legal outcomes and quality of life for the patients and provide professional insights into potential causes of patient injuries in situations where witnesses are unavailable. Nurses are additionally responsible for educating a patient on their rights.
Importance of Nursing Licensure
Nursing licensure refers to the process in various regulatory bodies, such as the Board of Nursing, to ensure that the nursing practices are within its jurisdiction. The primary significance is to grant permission to practice as a nurse after verifying that they meet minimum competencies that may allow them to safely perform nursing activities within the scope of the practice. Licensure is essential when they regulate complex activities and may require specialized skills, knowledge, or independent decision-making (Hou et al., 2019). Then licensure provides that nursing activities should only be carried out by individuals with a nursing license issued by the regulatory body.
The licensure office title protection stipulates that only persons with a license are legally permitted to hold titles such as advanced practice registered nurse and registered nurse. Licensure has helped to advance the industry by encouraging, recognizing, and rewarding individuals who actively pursue professional growth opportunities. Nursing legislation increases the nurse’s respect and recognition in the industry (Hou et al., 2019). It tends to increase opportunities for onward mobility after being hired. A nurse that holds nursing licensure coincides with higher pay in their profession.
The nursing licensure assures the public that the individuals calling themselves nurses are actual nurses. Licensure ensures they have completed a nursing education program approved by a state board of nursing or a state commission of higher education. The steps used in the licensure process to verify transcripts and education by the board of nursing protect against having someone practicing that they have not received in their education. An important function of the licensure process ensures that the nursing education transcript is authentic and makes it easier for the human resource department to analyze education transcripts.
Licensure assured protection to the public where the Board of nursing requires federal and state criminal background checks before licensure. The applicants for the licensure are also screened for a history of substance abuse and discipline in other states. When the licensure is granted, the nurse is expected to uphold the state’s laws and regulations outlined in the state’s nurse practice act. The board of nursing holds those who do not follow the regulations accountable for their actions. Individuals who commit violations are subject to discipline, enhancing professional standards and enforcement (Hickey et al., 2018). Licensure ensures the public that an individual that is reported to the board of nursing for wrongdoings will be removed from the practice hence enhancing the quality of care provided by these nurses.
Importance of Nursing Regulations
Nursing regulations are important in offering protection to the public through defining nursing practices, approving nursing education, and overseeing nursing competence through disciplinary rules and regulations in the license. The state boards of nursing are legislatively given the mandate to discipline and license the nursing profession (Dickison et al., 2019). Every registered nurse is responsible for the care given to their assigned patients. Each nurse must understand the regulations that vary from state to state that directly or indirectly affect their daily lives. The safety of the patients is, at all times, the center of the regulatory debate. The regulation of nurses ensures the safety of nursing practices to achieve the mission of quality patient care.
The nurse practice act backs the jurisdiction provided, and nurses must comply with the law and related rules to maintain their license. The law describes the qualification of licensure and the scope of practice that nurses are allowed to do, actions that will happen when the nurse does not follow the nursing laws, and nursing titles that are allowed to be used. Regulations describe a nurse’s professional behavior, including advocacy, ethics, respect, collaboration, communication, education, leadership, practice quality, resource stewardship, and environmental health. All registered nurses are expected to engage in these professional role activities based on their level of education role and position (L’Ecuyer et al., 2018). Nurses are accountable for their professional behavior to themselves, peers, society, and healthcare consumers. Additionally, every nurse is expected to adhere to the regulation regardless of their roles, specialty population in settings, and perform competently in their practice areas.
Conclusion
In conclusion, nurses are essential in courts to provide factual and expert testimony that assists the court system in making judgments on legal issues. Nurses provide and look for medical evidence needed in cases. Nursing licensure enables nurses to perform their functions within the scope of all the practices, which helps ensure quality care is given to the patient. Additionally, regulations have been put in place to offer guidance to nurses on how to behave in the course of their practice.
References
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Hickey, P. A., Gauvreau, K., Porter, C., & Connor, J. A. (2018). The impact of critical care nursing certification on pediatric patient outcomes.Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, 19(8), 718-724. Web.
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Kelishami, F. G., Manoochehri, H., Mohtashami, J., & Kiani, M. (2020). Consequences of presence of forensic nurses in health care system: A qualitative study. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 25(3), 195. Web.
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