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M.Cur. / The legal limitations in the practice of the Primary Health Care nurse (PHC nurse)' in the RSA have direct implications for the achievement of the goal "Health for all by the year 2000". The questions which had to be answered by means of the research are in relation to the legal limitations, the nature and scope of the limitations as well as to how these limitations should be addressed in order to facilitate the practice of the PHC nurse. A content analysis of selected health legislation was done and recommendations formulated to amend and/or clarify certain health legislation. The research design is an exploratory descriptive study with a qualitative research orientation. A content analysis of certain professional and relevant health legislation showed legal limitations in the practice of the PHC nurse. Experts in the field of PHC who were interviewed confirmed that there are limitations in the practice of the PHC nurse. The limitations identified were the following: • limitations in certain health professions and other health legislation • limitations caused by the interpretation of legislation by health professions • limitations due to the attitudes and perceptions of medical practitioners, pharmacists and nurses in respect of the role and functions of the PHC nurse The conclusions indicate that there are limitations in the practice of the PHC nurse which have direct implications for the achievement of the objectives of the National Health Policy, 1989. Recommendations include the amendment of certain health legislation, addressing limitations caused by attitudes and perceptions at educational, professional, policy making and management levels, for nurses, medical practitioners and pharmacists.

This study was designed to investigate the opinions of District 4 membership of the Texas Nurses Association concerning mandatory and voluntary continuing education and to see if there was a relationship between members views and specific demographic characteristics. With the enormous growth of scientific knowledge, health professionals are becoming increasingly aware of the need to require their practitioners to show proof of competence to practice and to keep their knowledge and skills up to date. Many states have proposed legislation to require nurses to participate in continuing education to maintain current registration of the license to practice. Even though the majority of nurses in the United States would attest to the value of continuing education, the subject is fraught with controversy as to whether the programs should be voluntary or mandatory. The reasons most commonly indicated for support of mandatory education were these: (1) Mandatory continuing education requirements would upgrade nurses and the nursing profession; and (2) Many nurses are not self-motivated and need encouragement from the outside before they will participate in the continuing education which they need to keep current.

This study purposed to determine Registered Nurses' levels of knowledge and support of the Professional Nursing Practice Act considered by the Sixty-fifth Texas Legislature. According to the findings previously described, it may be concluded that many Registered Nurses participate infrequently in continuing nursing education programs. If the proposed Act had been passed during this session of the Texas Legislature, most Registered Nurses licensed in Texas would have been required to change their levels of participation when regulations regarding continuing education were implemented, no later than January 1, 1982. It may be further concluded that Registered Nurses lacked sufficient knowledge about the Act that was proposed in 1977. Both comments made by respondents and answers to specific questions in the questionnaire pointed to this conclusion.

Thesis (NCur (Nursing Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / The current shortage of nurses has reached crisis proportions in South Africa and the effects of decreased numbers of health professionals are enormous. This results in far-reaching consequences for the health industry. An increased use of less-skilled personnel, in an attempt to meet the health care needs, impacts negatively on quality care. Personnel are often utilised outside their scope of practice, creating a high-risk therapeutic environment for the patients and health care workers alike. Consequently, the nursing managers and employers of nurses are currently faced with major challenges in ensuring that the nurses practise their profession within a safe and healthy environment, and within the legal and ethical framework of the nursing profession. For the purpose of this study the researcher decided to explore legal and ethical aspects influencing the clinical practice of the nurse. Specific objectives were set for the study. • Are nurses functioning outside their scope of practice? • Do nurses exercise their nursing right? • Do nurses function within ethical and legal guidelines? • Do caregivers function as nurses? • Do nurses still believe in the nursing philosophy? • Are nurses exploited in their area of work? • How much overtime do nurses work? These objectives were met through an in-depth explorative descriptive research design with a quantitative approach to explore legal and ethical aspects in the nursing practice. A stratified sample was drawn of all categories of nurses in selected private hospitals in the Western Cape Metropolitan area. Through the use of a questionnaire, data was collected personally by the researcher. Data analysis techniques that were used were based on descriptive and explorative procedures. Data was compressed in frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations. The Chi-square test was applied. Findings include the following: • 53% of enrolled nursing assistants do not function under indirect supervision. • 40% of caregivers assist nurses with interventional nursing care. • Nurses still believe in the philosophy of the nursing profession. • The nurse’s rights are in contradiction with the patient’s rights (p = 0.08). • Nurses feel exploited in certain areas of work, depending on their qualifications. • Nurses do recommend the profession (p = 0.043). • Enrolled nursing assistants do not respect other religions (p = 0.04). • Nurses feel free to discuss the patient’s progress with the doctor depending on the nurses’ years of experience (p = 0.03). • 23% of nurses love to care for their patients. Recommendations were made based on the findings. • The patient approach should be respectful, not judgemental, accepting the patient’s right to self-autonomy. • Nurses should realise their autonomous role in addressing concerns. • A staff mix should be utilised that facilitates safe and professional nursing care. • Unfavourable or unsociable working conditions in some units such as the theatre should be addressed. • Managers should match the work load with a proper skills mix and competency. • Nursing practice should take place within the professional and statutory scope of practice of the nurse. • Nurses should keep up to date with knowledge through continuous professional development. • Caregivers should be regulated, installing the nursing philosophy and ethics into their practice.

The purpose of the study was to examine the perceptions of nurses regarding ethico-legal training in Ghana. The study further determined whether there were any discrepancies regarding ethico-legal training of nurses in Ghana, using six hospitals in the Upper West Region (Province). Data were collected through a quantitative, cross sectional research design. Out of 150 people constituting the study population, a sample size of 110 respondents was drawn. A self-developed questionnaire was used to collect data. Nurses who have been in practice for at least five years answered the questionnaires. The convenience sampling technique was found to be appropriate for this study. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse data. The findings revealed that although ethico-legal topics were contained in the nursing training curriculum, majority of nurses did not receive teaching/training on them, making nurses vulnerable to litigation. / Health Studies / M. A. (Nursing Science)