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Assignment questions
NursingDiscussion postProfessional ethics

Legal and Ethical Conduct: When Law and Ethics Disagree

The prompt states the dilemma outright: laws are not always compatible with nurses' ethical positions. Treating the two as the same thing answers a different question.

Editorial process

Last reviewed · August 16, 2026

01

The dilemma is that law and ethics can disagree

The framing sentence is the assignment: the laws are not always compatible with the ethical positions nurses sometimes take. Most posts on legal and ethical conduct treat the two as one subject and describe good practice, which answers a question nobody asked. Start by separating the sources properly, because they are genuinely different in kind. Your state's Nurse Practice Act is law, enacted and enforceable, and violating it costs a licence. The ANA scope and standards and specialty standards are professional statements that define competent practice and become legally relevant mainly as evidence of the standard of care. The Code of Ethics is a moral document that binds the profession by agreement rather than by statute. They usually agree, which is why the disagreements are worth attention rather than the agreements. Say which of the four you would consult first when they conflict, and why that order is defensible.

Then find a real conflict rather than a hypothetical one. Mandatory reporting requirements that override a patient's stated wish; a scope restriction that prevents you providing care you are competent to give and the patient needs; institutional policy that is lawful and that you judge harmful; conscientious objection where the law protects a patient's access and your ethics object; immigration or law enforcement requests for information. Each of these is documented and each has a real cost either way. Work one of them: name the legal requirement, name the ethical principle, and say which you would follow and why — because the honest answer is sometimes the law, and saying so with an account of what it costs the patient beats resolving every conflict in ethics' favour without noticing that a licence is required to help anyone at all. Then say what a nurse does with the residue: documentation, escalation, advocacy for changing the rule, and support for the distress that follows.

Likely learning objectives

Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.

  • 01
    Distinguish law, professional standards and ethical codes as sources of obligation.
  • 02
    Identify a genuine conflict rather than a hypothetical one.
  • 03
    Reason to a decision that acknowledges what it costs.
  • 04
    Describe what a nurse does after the decision is made.
Assignment instructionsQuoted verbatim

Read the full question

Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.

Discussion Legal and Ethical Conduct Discussion: Legal and Ethical Conduct As emphasized in this week’s media presentation, all nurses need to be familiar with the laws and regulations that govern their practice: their state’s Nurse Practice Act, ANA’s Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, specialty group standards of practice, etc. In addition, basic ethical principles guide nurses’ decision-making process every day. ANA’s Code of Ethics and ANA’s Social Policy Statement are two important documents that outline nurses’ ethical responsibilities to their patients, themselves, and their profession. This said, there is a dilemma: The laws are not always compatible with the ethical positions nurses sometimes take. This week’s Discussion focuses on such a dilemma. To prepare: Review this week’s Learning Resources, focusing on the information in the media presentation about the relationship between the law and ethics. Consider the ethical responsibility of nurses in ensuring patient autonomy, beneficence, non-malfeasance, and justice. Discussion: Legal and Ethical Conduct Read the following scenario: Lena is a community health care nurse who works exclusively with HIV-positive and AIDS patients. As a part of her job, she evaluates new cases and reviews confidential information about these patients. In the course of one of these reviews, Lena learns that her sister’s boyfriend has tested HIV positive. Lena would like to protect her sister from harm and begins to consider how her sister can find out about her boyfriend’s health status. Consult at least two resources to help you establish Lena’s legal and ethical position. These resources might include your state’s Nurse Practice Act, the ANA’s Code of Ethics, ANA’s Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, and internal or external standards of care. Consider what action you would take if you were Lena and why. Determine whether the law and the ANA’s standards support or conflict with that action. Post a description of the actions you would take in this situation, and why. Justify these actions by referencing appropriate laws, ethical standards, and professional guidelines. Required Readings Milstead, J. A. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Chapter 4, “Government Response: Regulation” (pp. 56-81) This chapter explains the major concepts of the regulation of health professionals, with emphasis on advanced practice nurses (APN) and the process of licensure and credentialing. ANA’s Foundation of Nursing Package – (Access this resource from the Walden Library databases through your NURS 6050 Course Readings List) Guide to the Code of Ethics: Interpretation and Application This guide details the history, purpose and theory, application, and case studies of this must-have Code of Ethics. Nursing Social Policy Statement Discussion Legal and Ethical Conduct The Nursing Social Policy Statement provides an understanding of the social framework and obligations of the nursing profession. Nursing: Scope & Standards of Practice This book contains several national standards of practice that can be used to inform the decision-making process, development, implementation, and evaluation of several functions and aspects of advanced practice nursing. NOTE: CHECK THE DOCUMENTS, BOOK AND MEDIA PRESENTATION VIDEO ATTACHED BELLOW TO COMPLETE THE DISCUSSION QUESTION
Course-wide instructions that accompany this question

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation Hi Class, Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts. Contact me if you have any questions. Important information on Writing a Discussion Question Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references) There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article. Include in-text citations in your response Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information Follow APA-7th edition Points will be deducted if the above is not followed Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week. Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references) Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count. Follow APA 7th edition Points will be deducted if the above is not followed Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points. Here are some helpful links Student paper example Citing Sources The Writing Center is a great resource Welcome to class Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to. I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you. Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted. If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations. Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements. Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week. I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

02

Turn the brief into deliverables

  1. 01
    The four sources distinguished by kind of authority.
  2. 02
    A specific conflict between a legal requirement and an ethical position.
  3. 03
    The legal requirement, cited.
  4. 04
    The ethical principle at stake, named.
  5. 05
    A resolution with its cost stated.
  6. 06
    Actions following the decision: documentation, escalation, advocacy.
03

The two frameworks, the conflict, then your resolution

01

Four sources, three kinds of authority

Distinguish statute, professional standard and ethical code.

02

Where they usually agree

Establish the normal case before the exception.

03

A real conflict

Describe a documented situation where they diverge.

04

Reasoning to a decision

Weigh the obligations and decide.

05

What it costs

State honestly what the decision gives up.

06

Afterwards

Cover documentation, escalation, advocacy and moral distress.

04

Codes, standards and state law as separate sources

Recommended databases

  • Your state board of nursing
  • American Nurses Association
  • NCBI Bookshelf
  • Nursing ethics journals

Search sequence

  1. 1.
    Read your own state's Nurse Practice Act rather than a summary of it.
  2. 2.
    Find the code provision that applies to your chosen conflict.
  3. 3.
    Search for documented cases of the conflict you selected.
  4. 4.
    Look up moral distress evidence for the final section.
05

Reference shortlist

These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.

Nothing here is cleared for citation until you have read it.

  1. 01

    Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice

    American Nurses Association · 2021

    The professional scope and standards, distinguished from statute.

  2. 02

    National Council of State Boards of Nursing

    NCSBN · 2025

    The regulatory source for state practice acts and their enforcement.

  3. 03

    Patient Rights and Ethics

    StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf, US National Library of Medicine · 2023

    Patient rights and the ethical principles that generate the conflict.

  4. 04

    The hidden cost of patient advocacy: moral courage mediating clinical advocacy behaviors and workplace outcomes

    PMC / National Library of Medicine · 2025

    The cost of advocacy to the practitioner — the moral distress side.

  5. 05

    Identifying and Addressing Ethical Issues with Use of Electronic Health Records

    OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, American Nurses Association · 2018

    A worked example where legal compliance and ethical practice pull apart.

06

Review before submission

Common mistakes

  • Treating law and ethics as one subject and describing good practice.
  • Choosing a conflict so hypothetical it has no real cost.
  • Resolving every conflict in favour of ethics without noticing the licence risk.
  • Ending at the decision rather than at what follows it.

Submission checklist

  • Are the four sources distinguished by their kind of authority?
  • Is your conflict documented rather than invented?
  • Does your resolution state what it costs?
  • Have you said what happens after the decision?

Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read our academic-integrity policy.

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Argumentation and thesis development

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