Informed Consent: The Ultimate Guide for Nursing Students

In this video, we're breaking down informed consent so you'll know it super, super well for your nursing school exams. Now we're going to go over the key nclex points that you need to know and of course, the key critical thinking points to help you pass your exams. Now I also have some fun memory tricks for you to help you remember it. But here is the best part of this, my friend. This is actually a sneak peek from, from our brand new nursing Fundamentals course inside the Nursing SOS Membership community. So, so fun. So be sure to stick around until the end of the video to learn how you can get access to the full course, all of my study guides and cheat sheets and nclex practice questions and a ton, ton more. Let's dive in. So informed consent is honestly one of the most important concepts that you will need to understand in your nursing fundamentals class. And as a nurse, this isn't just about getting a signature on a piece of paper from your patients. It's about making sure that your patients are truly partners in their own health care decisions. So let's start with the basics. What is consent at its most basic level? Consent. This is a legal document, sometimes called a release. And this gives a healthcare professional like us nurses or the other team members to perform a specific action. Now, this could be a major surgery, a routine treatment, or even sharing medical information with another person or third party. Now here's a key nclex point for you here. There are several different types of consents that you need to know about. We have admissions agreements. Now that's the general consent for treatment that patients will sign when they are admitted to a health care facility like a hospital or something. We have immunization consent. Now this is before a patient gets a vaccine. They'll consent to that specific immunization and they will acknowledge that they understand its benefits and its risks. Now there's blood transfusion consents. Now, this confirms that the patient has been informed about and they agree to receive blood products. And then we have surgical or research consents. Now these are more specific. They can detail a particular procedure or particular study and the risks that are associated with it and potential outcomes. But here's the big one that nursing exams love to test you on. Informed consent. This isn't just about signing a form, like you said. This is a process that confirms that the patient has been given all of the necessary information that they need to make a knowledgeable and wise decision about their healthcare. It's a fundamental right that allows the patient to be the One in control of what's going on with their health. Now, I have a memory trick for you to help remember. What makes consent truly informed? You can think of the word crisp. So, for consent to be legally valid, it must be competent. It must be given with the right information. It needs to be understood, AKA informed by the patient. It must be specific to that procedure and it must be given without any pressure. So remember crisp. That will help you on your exams. So what must the patient be told for consent to be truly informed? Let's talk about it. Here's another big NCLEX point for you. The healthcare provider must explain five key things to the patient. First, the procedure. They need a clear description of the treatment or the surgery being recommended. Second, the people involved. They're going to go over the names and the qualifications of the professionals who will be performing that procedure. And this includes doctors, residents, nurses or other technicians. And then we have risks and benefits. This is a detailed look at the potential positive outcomes, as well as any harm or pain or discomfort that might occur, including the risk of death, if that's applicable to what is going on. And then next is alternative options. They're going to explain other available treatments or options, including the option of not treating the condition at all. And fifth is the right to refuse. This is a clear statement that the patient has the right to refuse the treatment or the procedure at any time, even after it has started, without discontinuing other supportive care. Now, here's a key critical thinking point for you. Informed consent is all about patient autonomy. The patient has the right to make their own health care decisions about their own body, their own health care choices. But they can only make good decisions if they have all of the right information that they need to make that decision. Now, let's talk about what makes consent valid. This is huge. For nursing school exams, the patient must be competent, right? This means that they are an adult, they're generally 18 or over, who is mentally and emotionally capable of understanding the information that we're giving them. And they're capable of making a rational decision. They cannot be under the influence of any medications that could affect their judgment. This could be things like opioids or substances like drugs or alcohol. And the consent must be voluntary. The patient must give their consent freely, without feeling pressured or coerced by anyone. And the patient must understand the information that's given to them. The provider has a duty to present the information in a way that the patient can understand and comprehend. If the patient is deaf or illiterate, or maybe they speak a foreign language. The facility must provide a professional medical interpreter to help ensure that clear communication. And here's a big NCLEX point for you. Family members or acquaintances of that patient should not be used as interpreters. Now let me give you another memory trick to remember the roles and the responsibilities in the informed consent process. You can think of it like a three legged stool. You need all three legs for it to be stable. The three legs here are the provider, the patient and the nurse. The provider's job is to explain the procedure, the risks, the benefits and the alternatives. They answer all of the patient's questions and they obtain the actual consent. This is huge confirming the patient's understanding and the patient's agreement to that procedure or treatment or whatever is going on. Now the patient's job is to give that informed consent, ideally in writing. And they must be competent, right, and of legal age. And they need to receive enough information to be able to make an educated decision based on a clear understanding of what they can expect. Now here's where your role as a nurse comes in and this is a big, big, big NCLEX key point. The nurse witnesses the signing of the consent form but does not explain the consent. And it's not just about watching the patient sign a right. The nurse ensures that the provider gave all of the necessary information needed and that the patient understood it. The nurse verifies that the patient signed voluntarily and appears competent to sign that that consent. And most importantly, the nurse advocates for the patient. If the nurse believes that the patient doesn't understand or is not giving consent willingly, they must notify the provider and their supervis. Here's a key NCLEX point. Nursing students cannot witness consent forms due to the legal nature of those documents. So remember that one, as a nurse you are witnessing that consent. But as a nursing student you cannot do that. Now my friend, I know that nursing fundamentals and for real like just like nursing school in general, right, can be so, so tough. But my friend, you have made it this far and you can absolutely do this. I know your exam are tough and it can be a ton of late night studying and there's a lot going on. But you, my friend, you are tougher than nursing school. So let's make sure that you pass, okay? I have over a thousand nursing lectures along with all of my cheat sheets and study guides and NCLEX practice questions and a whole lot more awesome resources for you that I would love to give to you. Now that's all inside the nursing SOS membership community and I put the a link to all of that in the description below for you to join the wait list. I would love to see you inside when the doors open again so I can hold your hand through nursing school. And you probably already know that your nursing exams love like love to test you on patient safety questions and nursing documentation is really a really big part of that. So click on this video here and I'm going to walk you through the must just know key points that you'll need to know about nursing documentation and charting for your nursing school exams. And if you like these step by step guides for nursing school like this one, write love in the comments below because that is what we do around here my friend. And of course if you like this video hit that like button, hit subscribe and click the bell and go become the nurse that God created only you to be and I will see you over there in that next video.