This assignment will discuss the professional, legal, and ethical issues related to self-use of medications by nurses. It will also explore the importance of reporting this misconduct by both professionals in the scenario and how they might do so. Self-use of medications by nurses is not permitted or justifiable according to the guidelines provided to nurses by An Bord Altnais (ABA 2007). It will also be evident during this assignment the need for Jack to report Linda's self-use of the drug or urge Linda to do so regardless of the consequences this may have for both him and Linda, as per the Nurses and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI 2013), nurses can now be held accountable for failing to act. This is because providing the highest level of care to a patient is an essential role of a nurse and the primary focus of the nurse's work should be the care of that patient (ABA 2010). Both nurses also have an ethical duty to report misconduct according to the four ethical principles; Beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and autonomy (Edwards 2009). Responsibility is a very important concept in nursing practice. It is defined by the ABA (2000a) as being responsible for actions taken during one's nursing career. In this situation, Linda is not responsible because she did not report what she did. Therefore, it does not practice within the scope of nursing practice. Furthermore, Accountability is the essence of professionalism in nursing practice (ABA 2000a). According to NMBI (2013), nurses are responsible for not acting in a way they are professionally obligated to. This would hold Jack accountable for not reporting Linda if he had chosen not to and would mean that Jack would have…half of paper…informed her actions, so Jack will have to do so as he does too. responsible for making this situation known to the competent people. However, it must be recognized how difficult this may be for Jack due to the long-standing relationship he has with Linda. It should also be evident now that Linda's actions are inexcusable. Not only is he acting unprofessionally and unethically by not delivering the medication, but he is also committing an illegal crime by forging documents and stealing in the ward. To conclude, it is important to remember that the Department of Health and Children (2008) recognizes that healthcare originated in a world that is not flawless and that as humans, errors are possible. However, members of the healthcare system must try to prevent, where possible, these errors from occurring to ensure a high standard of care is owed to service users.