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Essentials of Nursing Law and Ethics Susan J. Westrick, JD, MS, RN, CNE, and Katherine Dempski, JD, BSN, RN Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2009, 368pp., $79.95 (softcover)
As a basic book about law and ethics for undergraduate nursing students and practicing nurses, this 319-page book by two excellent nurse attorney scholars exceeded my expectations. In addition to providing up-to-date, evidence-based legal and ethical information for these audiences, the authors provide practical recommendations for anticipating and resolving legal and ethical dilemmas and study questions with detailed, well-analyzed answers. The writing is clear, succinct, and packed with details about living and breathing situations faced by nurses across legal and ethical horizons. To write so concisely and clearly about the ever-changing legal and ethical landscape is a feat attempted by few, particularly with the blending of ethical issues within the legal narrative.
Using extensive legal research, the authors provide evidence for legal information they present by including details from case law, statutory enactments, and executive agency decisions that directly affect nursing practice. They also reference social science research to support their positions. For example, they discuss research by Chevette, Erbin- Rosemann, and Kelly (2007) that found no correlation between prior criminal convictions of a nurse and discipline by licensing boards. In addition, Westrick and Dempski incorporate standards expected of nurses that are articulated by professional organizations such as the American Nurses Association (ANA) and nursing specialty organizations as well as hospital and accreditation organizations...