1. Ethical Legal Issues in
PMHN
NUR 682
S

2. Major Concepts
S Patient Rights
S Scope and Standards of Psychiatric Mental Health
Nursing
S Florida Mental Health Act
S Major Legal Decisions

3. Patient Rights-Civil
S Vote S Human care and treatment-
medical , dental, psychiatric
S Civil service ranking
S Religious freedom
S Driver’s license
S Social interaction
S Enter contractual relationships
S Recreational opportunities
S Press charges

4. Inpatient Rights
S Confidentiality
S Informed consent
S Least restrictive setting
S Visitation
S Communication
S Privacy

5. Scope and Standards
ARNP
S Psychotherapy
S Psychopharmacological Interventions
S Case Management
S Consultation-Liaison
S Clinical Supervision

6. Areas of Practices
S Crisis S Community-based care
S Acute in-patient S Assertive Community
Treatment
S Intermediate and long term
setting S Tele-health
S Residential S Collaborative practice
S Partial hospitalization S Self-employment

7. Florida Mental Health Act
(Baker Act)
S Involuntary Admission
S Children

8. Major Legal Decisions
S Right to Refuse Treatment
S Right to Treatment
S Duty to Warn & to Protect

9. Involuntary Admission
S Ex parte order by a judge following petition from family or
health care professional
S Law enforcement officer deems behavior falls under
danger to self and/or others
S Psychiatric mental health care professional certifies need
for admission due to danger to self or others
S Law enforcement takes person to a Baker Act Facility

10. Involuntary Admission
S Patient may be kept for observation for 72 hours
excluding weekends and holidays
S After 72 hours, patient is released or placed in front of
court under Habeas Corpus
S Judge makes decision on least restrictive setting

11. Right to Refuse Treatment
S O’Connor v. Donaldson (1976)
S Supreme court ruling that harmlessly mentally ill cannot be
confined against their will if they can survive outside.
RIGHT TO LIBERTY
S Confined 15 years in Florida for paranoid delusions
S Involuntary confinement must be based on danger to self or
others

12. Rennie v. Klein (1979) New Jersey Supreme Court
decision
Right to refuse medication
RIGHT TO PRIVACY
Roger v. Okin (1981) Massachusetts Supreme Court
Right to refuse medication
RIGHT TO GUARDIANSHIP

13. Right to Treatment
S Rouse v. Cameron (1966) Washington D.C.
S Treatment must be offered and in the
LEAST RESTRICTIVE SETTING
S Wyatt v. Stickney (1971) Alabama
Treatment must be offered
* Most states a court order needed to administer medications
and or electroconvulsive therapy

14. Duty to Warn and to Protect
S Tarasoff 1 (1976)
S Tarasoff v. Regents of University of California. California
Supreme Court A potential victim must be warned.
S Tarasoff 2 (1982)
S Tarasoff v. Regents of University of California. California
Supreme Court A dangerous person must be reported to
police.