Ethical issues and concerns have been a constant topic in all of your nursing courses. When applying these problems to health assessment, a nurse is faced with the problems of reporting many types of abuse. Think about your role as a nurse to report abuse as well as the HIPAA regulations to protect a patient’s privacy. Then, read the following scenario:

You are taking a health history from a young woman who is admitted for an ovarian cyst removal later the same day. During the history, she reveals that she has recently been diagnosed as HIV-positive but has not yet disclosed this to her new boyfriend, who is in the waiting room.

Based on this scenario, respond to the following:

From an ethical perspective, what is the nurse’s obligation?

Reference:

Course Text:Jarvis, C. (2016). Physical examination & health assessment(7th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

o Review Chapter 3, “The Interview”

Go back and review the process and techniques of communication.

o Chapter 27, “The Complete Health Assessment: Adult”

Conducting a complete health history and physical exam can be complicated. In this chapter, the suggested examination sequence is provided along with guidelines to instruct the patient.

o Chapter 28, ” Bedside Assessment and Electronic Health Recording”

In many clinical or hospital stays, a patient does not need to have a complete health history or physical assessment conducted. During these cases, a basic assessment can be completed. Chapter 28 details the procedure for completing a bedside assessment of a hospitalized patient.