The clause of conscience and the independence of the nurse profession: Legal reflection

The profession of nurse and midwife is independent; this independence consists of personal responsibility for professional activities. This also applies to the responsibility for professional decisions. Invoking the conscience clause may be an example of such decision. The lack of a definition of the term “conscience” becomes a reason for problems with the legal assessment of the nurse’s or midwife’s actions. Legal standards describing the code of conduct set the legal safety limits. Legal safety at work means that if the desired effect of medical activity is not achieved, no sanction or punishment will be imposed on the nurse or midwife. Therefore, in case of doubts about the content or justification of the medical regulations, the nurse or midwife has the right to request a written justification of the order from the doctor. If necessary, procedure in question can be assessed and it can be determined whether the nurse has performed all duties. The legal situation is different in case of refusal to execute an order or medical action because of the conscience clause defined in the act. It turns out that the definition of conscience is inextricably linked to the individual and subjective value system. The latter cannot be verified in terms of meeting the legal condition.