ABSTRACT
A child’s first experience of ‘the law’ is to do with rules and rights, likely to be ingrained in their memory as the division between ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts.’ This division plays an important part in parental guidance on what is ‘acceptable’ and what is deemed to be ‘unacceptable’ behaviour as the child grows and develops their own persona and the morality that comes with it. This process should also sow the seeds for individual morality or ethics as well as future ‘respect’ of authority and the law. The ethical beliefs of an individual are likely to be influenced by the values of the society in which they are nurtured. However, there are variable factors in different societies, such as religious beliefs, cultural values and the social environment, which will shape such individual values. Accepted societal ethical values, which may be common in different upbringings, may determine how individuals as nurses will view patients’ rights. This is clearly demonstrable when dilemmas arise within the nurse-patient relationship and in the course of their employment.
