NURS FPX 6103 Assessment 5 Teaching About Legal and Ethical Issues

Hi to all. My name is _____, and I work as an assistant professor at a nursing university. Today, I am discussing the importance of legal and ethical issues in nursing learning, such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) breach. We must understand the regulatory and moral repercussions of our role in teaching and clinical contexts. Addressing infractions of ethical guidelines is critical for enhancing nursing practice. In this presentation, I will discuss the necessity of a comprehensive strategy to address FERPA violations, foster moral conduct, and strengthen nursing learning standards.

Initially, In this presentation, I will highlight FERPA violations committed by nurse educators, communicating with nursing personnel regarding a nursing student’s progress and achievements without the student’s authorization. I will discuss a case scenario in which a clinical manager at the clinical institution where I work part-time recently asked for my view on the medical skills of a former student named Eric. He has applied for a nursing personnel position.

I told that I was bound not to discuss his academic achievement and performance as it violated FERPA laws. I was aware of the FERPA infractions as a medical instructor in nursing education. The recruiting manager was astonished not to share the nursing student’s success because of FERPA limitations and told me that other clinical teachers were happy to disclose students’ details. After acknowledging it was an important issue, I understood the need to alter this attitude among personnel and nursing students (Capella University, n.d).

FEPRA is a federal law that allows students and their parents to access and change their children’s educational data and maintain confidential information in educational records. It forbids educational facilities from sharing students’  data in academic records without the authorized student’s written permission or, if the student is immature, the student’s parents (CDC, 2024).

Breaches of FERPA standards entail serious consequences. It can lead to legal proceedings against employees and the educational institution for exposing student information without authorization. In severe circumstances, they can result in a temporary suspension of access. Violating FERPA legislation can result in license cancellation and termination. Nonadherence to the FERPA rule can jeopardize educational institutions’ financial stability.

If the institutions do not follow FERPA requirements, they risk losing government funding (Lincke, 2024).  Understanding these ramifications, it is vital for organizations and other stakeholders, especially nurse educators, to comply with FERPA guidelines. However, numerous educators are unaware of the legislation’s repercussions. The scenario helps them comprehend the FERPA law. To avoid FERPA violations, there is a need for employee education and training to improve comprehension of FERPA law. Moreover, efficient communication can aid in avoiding FERPA breaches (Elliott et al., 2020).

Necessary Changes and Change Management Strategy

FERPA breach is a serious legal and moral concern in nursing education. It disturbs the academic process, damages educational organization’s credibility, and undermines ethical guidelines. Efficient Changes must be made to mitigate its adverse impacts (Lincke, 2024). Nurse instructors like the assistant professor can efficiently educate and train nursing students to deliver effective and secure care while adhering to professional norms. They should teach future nurses about ethical and legal concerns related to FERPA breaches. Nurses should understand the moral and legal guidelines that govern nursing practice because they are accountable for their conduct and decisions.

Implementing training and education helps future nurses provide reliable and secure care while conforming to legal requirements (Poorchangizi et al., 2019). As a nurse educator, an assistant professor should focus on preparing students for their future duties by training them on these issues while offering them relevant knowledge. Recognizing ethical and legal concepts can help nurses handle challenging situations like patient privacy and well-informed authorization. Additionally, educating future nurses about moral concerns is crucial to producing competent, ethically accountable nurses who provide efficient care (Smart et al., 2020).

To comply with FERPA, the university administration must foster an environment of dignity and truthfulness. Transparent and honest communication and debate about the value of autonomy, ethical decision-making, and the adverse impacts of privacy infractions should be conducted with nursing students (Sedgwick et al., 2021). To promote logical thinking and moral deliberation, nurse instructors should engage nursing learners in reflective exercises and situations related to ethical concerns.

Mentorship, peer assistance, and ethical behavior motivation can help create an environment where learners are motivated to act ethically (Shayestehfard et al., 2020). Nurse educators must employ simulation-based exercises in nursing education to increase their knowledge and attitude toward adopting ethical conduct (Sedgwick et al., 2021). Lastly, present rules and guidelines must be tightened to give clear guidance for managing FERPA infractions. Guidelines must clarify the consequences of infractions and emphasize the need to adhere to privacy rules (Baker et al., 2020).

Change Management Strategy

An effective change management approach is essential for the smooth changeover of nurse educators and nursing students’ attitudes to FERPA compliance. Lewin’s change management paradigm, comprising three stages: unfreezing, altering, and refreezing, is vital to implementing change (Lioce & Lanz, 2019). The phases are outlined as:

Unfreezing Phase

In the unfreezing step, educate clinical educators and personnel about FERPA laws regarding discussing student performance with coworkers and hiring supervisors. Involve educators, nurses, and nursing students in a conversation about the ramifications of disobeying the privacy policy. Conduct educational sessions focusing on the consequences, the importance of autonomy, and approaches for fostering ethical behavior. This shows the need for reform. Regular discussions must held about the new policy and its impacts (Robichaux et al., 2022).

Changing Phase

It is dedicated to implementing the updated confidentiality policy and educating clinical educators about its associated changes and regulations. This can be done by providing training and instruction through several approaches, like scenario-based instruction and practice permission forms, to aid them in responding to student data requests. Mentorship and feedback mechanisms help promote novel practices to solve these problems (Jasemi et al., 2022).

Refreezing Phase

During this phase, an updated policy for nursing students’ data confidentiality is approved and executed in the school setting. It can be achieved by recognizing and motivating nurse educators to follow the updated regulations, providing regular support and training, and occasionally assessing the impact of the modification (Robichaux et al., 2022). Using the Lewin Change Management paradigm, we can successfully execute the new policy that requires written agreement before sharing a student’s performance with recruiting supervisors. It helps to resolve concerns about infractions.

Synthesizing Resource Information and Addressing Knowledge Gaps

To accomplish substantial improvements in FERPA compliance, it is necessary to collect pertinent resource information and identify uncertainties and shortcomings in information. This can be achieved by conducting an in-depth investigation to gather appropriate data, methodologies, and resources for preventing violations of confidentiality in nursing school (Andersson et al., 2022).

Evaluate academic articles and instructional resources focusing on effective tactics and standards for protecting students’ privacy. Identifying ambiguous features and missing details regarding privacy infringement in nursing education promotes transformation by increasing the safeguarding of privacy, nurse-specific ethical principles, and effective strategies to secure student information. Leveraging the deficiencies discovered in information to construct personalized privacy strategies for nurse educators provides guidelines for promoting students’ information protection (Bristol et al., 2019).

Resources of Information

Acquiring and organizing relevant data and resources is critical for successful change. Elliott et al. (2020), reported that FERPA standards assist nursing educators in understanding the requirements for protecting students’ anonymity and becoming conscious of FERPA legislation. This will assist clinical teachers in making judgments and providing guidance on student confidentiality. Moreover, Harrison et al. (2021) claimed that models of change management are crucial for the effective execution of new recommendations. Change management approaches can be utilized as guidelines to support a transition in complex healthcare situations.

Identifying these concepts enables nurse educators to build a change management strategy. Tzimas and Demetriadis (2021) claimed that informed permission fosters individual confidentiality and autonomy. Furthermore, Robichaux et al. (2022) proposed that training and awareness enable nurse educators to understand the updated standards, regulations, and strategies for gaining consent to share student data efficiently. Incorporating these resources and evidence will aid in developing a holistic plan to accomplish change while ensuring that all stakeholders are informed and competent. This reduces misunderstanding and ensures the novel rules are adequately implemented in the education organization.

Knowledge Gap

Identifying possible aspects of uncertainty and insufficient information is necessary to address the FERPA violation issue effectively. For example, more research is needed on nurse educators, such as an assistant professor’s perceptions and opinions about FERPA requirements of student confidentiality and anonymity (Bijani et al., 2019). Moreover, some instructors can be uninformed about the safeguarding techniques for student confidentiality or need to learn more about the implications of ignoring FERPA guidelines and educational institutions’ policies (Mailok et al., 2023).

Teaching Presentation and Measuring Change 

An efficient and well-organized instructional presentation can positively impact staff behavior concerning FERPA infractions. The presentation should underscore ethical issues arising from the FERPA breach, including disclosing a student’s academic record without informed consent. It should also center on the importance of student data safety, its repercussions, and approaches for establishing ethical behaviors. Moreover, incorporating case studies founded on research and change measurement criteria is essential to efficient change management. Creating an organized and collaborative presentation to train individuals and instruct them about the FERPA standards and their ramifications boosts nursing practice (Elliott et al., 2020). 

Evidence-based simulations and case studies can be utilized to highlight how infractions affect professional and institutional image and personal morals in the university setting. Involving the participant in interactive activities encourages a better understanding of the problem. Employing simulation-based exercises or collaborative talks helps nurse students explore the moral dilemmas of anonymity in nursing education (Sedgwick et al., 2021).

Change Measurement

To verify that the transition is viable and productive, it is vital to include modification evaluation components. To observe progress, nursing educators can develop certain  FERPA conformity standards, like the number of informed infractions prior to and after education and the proportion of workers and educators who receive FERPA guidance. The indicators can be compiled to assess the efficacy of efforts, identifying areas for enhancement. Clinical instructors can also ask other educators and students for feedback on the success of FERPA-related training and educational activities. Surveys through questionnaires and feedback methods can help discover areas of success and chances for improvement. It is critical to find the quality improvement performance (Imanipour et al., 2023).

Nurse Educators as Change Agents

Nurse instructors such as assistant professors are essential as change agents and leaders in enhancing teaching regarding FERPA regulations and conformity standards. They can implement effective strategies for preserving student records and fostering a respectful setting toward student privacy and anonymity by advocating for their students (Poorchangizi et al., 2019). They can also act as change agents by teaching and alerting coworkers and students’ attitudes on the importance of securing student records, recognizing FERPA guidelines, and the possible penalties for infringing these regulations (Robichaux et al., 2022).

They can act as leaders in clinical education by working with their organization’s management and legislators to design FERPA-compliant policies and rules (Ghoozlu et al., 2023). This regulation supports enforcement actions for FERPA infringements and helps leaders develop guidelines for dealing with student information-sharing processes and collecting written authorization from nursing students or parents. As an assistant professor in a university setting, I can enhance nursing procedures by establishing an atmosphere to protect students’ anonymity and privacy. By functioning as change makers and, through leadership nurse educators can promote conformity to FERPA rules and ethical and legal requirements (Shayestehfard et al., 2020).

Culturally Sensitive Issues

During change management, cultural awareness related to moral dilemmas, such as FERPA infractions, should be considered as it can adversely impact the outcome. Culturally relevant difficulties can occur when addressing anonymity and security concerns among future nurses from various backgrounds. For instance, individuals from different cultures and marginalized communities are more concerned with confidentiality than others, which impacts their readiness to provide information and allows the dissemination of sensitive information. University instructors should recognize these cultural challenges by adopting evidence-based and efficient approaches.  Gathering information using the needs assessment approach aids in finding the cultural perspectives and opinions of nursing students and aid in adopting strategies that promote empathy and comprehension (Solanas et al., 2021).

An assistant professor can conduct culturally sensitive teaching and training events to help students address their worries about confidentiality and secrecy. These lectures educate students about collecting and using private data and the circumstances under which it can be disclosed (Sharifi et al., 2019). Resolving cultural challenges during the change requires an extensive, evidence-based strategy. Recognizing the student’s social and cultural customs allows nurse teachers to guarantee that students from various ethnic backgrounds feel safe and valued. It will enhance nursing practice and learning processes (Gradellini et al., 2021).

Action Plan for Continuous Learning

To improve ongoing understanding of FERPA conformity, an effective action plan that supports a culture of integrity must be established. Nurse educators can use these approaches to keep understanding moral concerns. Firstly, educational programs for nurse educators will be conducted to enhance their understanding of student anonymity and FERPA requirements by illustrating evidence-based strategies for preventing privacy violations while remaining informed on current FERPA policy challenges and trends. Secondly, it empowers students to protect their confidentiality and information by promoting legitimate consent procedures (Poorchangizi et al., 2019). Lastly, the execution of periodic evaluations of organizational regulations and procedures governing student confidentiality. Examine the efficacy of educational and training activities through feedback and questionnaires. This helps to evaluate FERPA conformance rates. After considering input, the plan will be modified to guarantee continuing development (Imanipour et al., 2023).

Additional Information Needed

Certain areas require further information. In particular, nurse educators can require comprehensive knowledge of particular FERPA rules managing strategies for maintaining student anonymity and security in educational institutions. Additional investigation and interaction with moral and instructional professionals can be needed to address these disparities in practices and offer clinical educators the expertise and tools required to deal with difficulties efficiently (Smart et al., 2020). To understand FERPA infringement risks, initiatives to avoid such issues while sharing information are critical to addressing such problems successfully.

Conclusion

In conclusion, FERPA is a student confidentiality law of the United States that allows students to regulate accessibility to their educational records. Nursing education and practice are affected by ethical laws. Nurse instructors must follow FERPA guidelines. They must keep student information private and not disclose it without permission. Nurse educators can establish a setting of ongoing learning and development by using effective approaches and periodic evaluations to address the FERPA violation issue.

Context

The presentation underscored several cultural-related aspects of nursing students regarding their information confidentiality. However, the FERPA rule is critical for protecting the confidentiality of students’ educational data. It offers accessibility and empowers to review their information. This law avoids sharing student information without authorization (CDC, 2024). However, some clinical educators actively discuss their students’ educational information with recruiting managers, claiming that these behaviors contribute positively to nursing students’ future as they encourage them regardless of the student’s authorization.

The student population is pertinent to the training and education plan, which the presentation mentions as an educational endeavor. The presentation has substantial implications for nursing practice and learning. As an assistant professor at a nursing university, I abide by FERPA guidelines while discussing my nursing students’ performance. Acknowledging the presentation content, I should educate my nursing students and other colleagues about students’ confidentiality. By doing this, I  can improve nursing practice and the learning process.

As stated in the presentation, such data-disclosing practices are illegal and lead to ethical dilemmas. It also teaches nursing students that they must permit their professors to share their academic information for specified reasons. The presentation also discusses the legal consequences of violating the FERPA rule, like penalties, license cancellation, and loss of funding. It will help prevent nursing educators from disclosing student data without authorization. They become more cautious while sharing students’ information (Lincke, 2024). 

Academic publications and research resources can help nurse educators and students comprehend and comply with the FERPA guidelines. To stay updated on the FERPA requirements, nurse educators can refer to various publications on the legal framework for exchanging student academic data, other US regulations, and FERPA Act recommendations. Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) and Family Policy Compliance Office released updated information about FERPA guidelines (CDC, 2024 & Cole, 2021).

References

Andersson, H., Svensson, A., Frank, C., Rantala, A., Holmberg, M., & Bremer, A. (2022). Ethics education to support ethical competence learning in healthcare: An integrative systematic review. BioMed Central Medical Ethics, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-022-00766-z

Baker, C., Galemore, C. A., & Lowrey, K. M. (2020). Information sharing in the school setting during a public health emergency. NASN School Nurse, 35(4), 198-202. https://doi.org/10.1177/1942602X20925031

Bijani, M., Tehranineshat, B., & Torabizadeh, C. (2019). Nurses’, nursing students’, and nursing instructors’ perceptions of professional values: A comparative study. Nursing Ethics, 26(3), 870-883. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733017727153

NURS FPX 6103 Assessment 5 Teaching About Legal and Ethical Issues

Bristol, T., Hagler, D., McMillian-Bohler, J., Wermers, R., Hatch, D., & Oermann, M. H. (2019). Nurse educators’ use of lecture and active learning. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 14(2), 94–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2018.12.003 

Capella University. (n.d). Nursing Eeducation legal and ethical scenario. | capella. edu. https://media.capella.edu/CourseMedia/MSN6103/NursingEducationScenarios/wrapper.asp

CDC. (2024). Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). cdc.gov. https://www.cdc.gov/phlp/publications/topic/ferpa.html

Cole, J. P. (2021). The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA): Legal issues. CRS Report R46799, Version 1. Congressional Research Service. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED614263

Elliott, P. A., DeJong, W., & Feinberg, E. (2020). Navigating privacy laws to deliver STI health services in high schools. Pediatrics, 145(3). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-0712

Ghoozlu, J. K., Vanaki, Z., & Mohammad Khan Kermanshahi, S. (2023). Ethics education: Nurse educators’ main concern and their teaching strategies. Nursing Ethics, 09697330231153685. https://doi.org/10.1177/09697330231153685

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NURS FPX 6103 Assessment 5 Teaching About Legal and Ethical Issues

Harrison, R., Fischer, S., Walpola, R. L., Chauhan, A., Babalola, T., Mears, S., & Le-Dao, H. (2021). Where do models for change management, improvement and implementation meet? A systematic review of the applications of change management models in healthcare. Journal of Healthcare Leadership, Volume 13, 85–108. https://doi.org/10.2147/jhl.s289176

Imanipour, M., Mirzaeipour, F., & Hazaryan, M. (2023). Effectiveness of feedback type on performance quality and satisfaction of nursing student: A comparative interventional study. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, (1), 324. https://doi.org/10.4103%2Fjehp.jehp_1178_22

Jasemi, M., Goli, R., Zabihi, R. E., & Khalkhali, H. (2022). Educating ethics codes by lecture or role-play; which one improves nursing students’ ethical sensitivity and ethical performance more? A quasi-experimental study. Journal of Professional Nursing, 40, 122-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2021.11.002

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Poorchangizi, B., Borhani, F., Abbaszadeh, A., Mirzaee, M., & Farokhzadian, J. (2019). The importance of professional values from nursing students’ perspective. BioMed Central Nursing, 18, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-019-0351-1

Robichaux, C., Grace, P., Bartlett, J., Stokes, F., Saulo Lewis, M., & Turner, M. (2022). Ethics education for nurses: Foundations for an integrated curriculum. Journal of Nursing Education, 61(3), 123-130. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20220109-02

Sedgwick, M., Yanicki, S., Harder, N., & Scott, D. (2021). A scoping review of the integration of ethics education in undergraduate nursing high‐fidelity human simulation‐based learning. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 30(5-6), 605-614. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15552

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NURS FPX 6103 Assessment 5 Teaching About Legal and Ethical Issues

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