
Nursing Ethics and Law – Henry Pearson Case Study
Course Code & Name
NUR1103 |Context of Professional Practice
Assessment Item and Name
Assessment THREE | Case Study
Assessment Item Type
Essay/ Case study
Due Date & Time
Week 10 | 15th March 23:59 hrs
Length
Essay is 1200 words + or – 10%
Marks and Weighting
Overall mark is out of 100 and this assessment is weighted at 50%
Assessed Course Learning Outcomes
CLO3 Identify ethical principles in nursing care and apply foundational principles to professional practice
CLO4 Identify and apply relevant governances and standards to professional nursing practice
CLO5 Describe the relationships between theory, regulation, ethics, law and the scope of nursing
practice
Rationale
Nurses face dilemmas every day in their practice. This assessment will help you to identify and apply
nursing knowledge of ethics, law and nursing governances to a case study that is based on real clinical
scenario.
Task Instructions
Consider how nursing laws, principles, guides and governances could be applied to the case study
below. Utilise at least one example from the following:
The Code of Conduct for Nurses (NMBA, 2018) (one sub- element)
Discuss the relevance of scope of practice and/ or negligence for this student in relation to the
case study.
Case Study
Student Nurse (SN) Henry Pearson is on his first placement and has been working with the facilitator RN
Jones. Henry has been caring for Mrs Smith, an 80-year-old female who was admitted to the medical ward
following a stroke the last week. Mrs Smith has reduced movement on her left side as a result of the
stroke, impacting on movement, feeding and walking. SN Pearson has built up a good rapport with Mrs
Smith and has been assisting with her ADL’s, as she has been needing one nurse to assist due to her
reduced mobility and high falls risk. She is currently walking with a stick to assist. At handover it was
mentioned that Mrs Smith had had a fall trying to get to the bathroom the previous evening and therefore
remained a high falls risk. Mrs Smith however, tells SN Pearson that she is fine to shower herself this
morning, as she wants to be more independent with her ADLs. SN Pearson states he will check with his
facilitator. While he is gone, Mrs Smith slips to the ground trying to get up independently. Though unhurt,
she needs assistance to get off the floor.
Nursing Ethics and Law – Henry Pearson Case Study
That afternoon, SN Pearson is asked to take Mrs Smith to her rehabilitation exercises that will help her to
improve her balance and walking, but Mrs Pierce refuses to go. SN Smith asks Mrs Pierce why she
doesn’t want to do the exercises and she states: ‘Because it hurts my leg so much – it’s painful. Can you
please get me some tablets for the pain first? Then I would be able to do it’.
Nursing Ethics and Law – Henry Pearson Case Study
Ethical principles
The International Council of Nurses (ICN) Code of Ethics for Nurses (ICN, 2021) (one
sub – element)
The Registered Nurse Standards for Practice (Nursing and Midwifery Board of
Australia [NMBA], 2016) (one sub -element)
