Wayland Baptist University
NURS 4332 Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing
Summer 2012
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course helps students identify current ethical issues facing
nursing today. It also looks at legal issues that have affected nursing in the past and are
currently affecting nursing today.
Research and writing competency is an expectation in professional nursing, therefore,
effective writing and proficiency in research is required in this course. ENGL 1301 and
RSWR 3345 are required prior to this course and provide preparation for the writing level
required in this course. Consult Purdue’s OWL website or WBU’s Saturday clinic for
writing assistance in APA citation. Research and writing competencies are expected,
source selection shall be nursing peer reviewed, format, citations, organization, grammar
and mechanics can impact your grade on written assignments.
CREDIT: 3 Credit Hours (4 class hours/week)
PROGRAM LEVEL: III
TEXTBOOKS:
Aiken, T. (2004). Legal, Ethical, and political issues in nursing (2nd Edition). Philadelphia: F.A.
Davis.
Willman, J. (2011) Annotated Guide-RN to the Texas Nursing Practice Act (10th Edition), Texas
Nurses Association (If you are not from Texas you need to purchase the one for your specific
state)
Houghton, P. & Houghton, T.J. (2009). APA: The easy way. (2nd ed.).
Additional Resources: www.findlaw.com; www.lexisone.com; www.nurselaw.com;
www.usa.gov; www.uscourts.gov
COURSE COORDINATOR: Roxanne Arndt PhD, RN.
OFFICE HOURS: ALAMO UNIVERSITY CENTER
This is an online environment. You may contact me via email arndtr@wbu.edu
TELEPHONE CONTACT:
210-486-5811 (OFFICE).
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this course, the student will be able to:
1. Compare the basis of decision-making in law and ethics as they apply to nursing.
2. Relate specific legal and ethical issues to the Texas Nurse Practice Act.
3. Discuss strategies that can be employed to address legal and ethical issues in nursing
practice.
4. Comprehend component of the preventive law paradigms for health care that serve to
prevent legal problems from occurring, becoming larger or resulting in losses.
5. Identify ethical principles that guide health care decision making.
6. Describe current literature related to legal and ethical nursing practice dilemmas.
7. Discuss the interaction between professional nursing values and personal values. Use
critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making models as they relate to ethical
issues in nursing practice.
EVALUATION AND GRADING: A point system will be used to determine the grade in Ethical
and Legal Issues in Nursing. All assignments that are turned in must have your name,
assignment number on them. No title page required except for the ethical dilemma paper.
A = 90-100
B = 80-89
C = 75-80
D = 70-74 (RN to BSN only)
F = 74 and below (69 and below RN to BSN only)
Rounding of grades
Final grade will be rounded to the nearest .10 decimal place. .5 and above rounds to the NEXT whole
number. For example: If your grade is 89.49 the grade will be rounded to 89.4 which equals a ‘B’. 89.59
is a grade of 89.5 which rounds to 90 which equals an “A”.
Class assignments 30%
Exams 40%
Exams will be administered on line and will require a proctor if you are NOT an RN already.
Exams will be open at midnight and will stay open for 24 hrs.
EXAM 1 UNITS 1 AND 2
TBA
EXAM 2 UNITS 3 AND 4 (CHAPTERS 6, 7)
EXAM 3 UNIT 4 (CHAPTERS 8-11)
EXAM 4 UNIT 4 (CHAPTERS 12-16) AND UNIT 5
Professional Paper 20% TBA
Discussion Boards 10%
Class Attendance
This is an online environment
Testing
Test dates are posted in the syllabus. A test blueprint will be prepared by the faculty and
distributed to the student at least one week prior to the exam. The blueprint will be a general
guide for the exam and provide the student with the subject content of the exam and number of
questions. There is no test review in an online environment
Make-up Tests
Occasionally a student will miss a test that is scheduled for a class. A student should contact
his/her instructor to arrange the make-up test. Tests must be made up within one week of the
scheduled exam
Course Outline
Unit 1: Nursing Practice
Unit 2: Nursing and The Law
Unit 3: Nursing Ethics
Unit 4: Liability in Professional Practice
Unit 5: Professional Issues