Analysis of the Role of Laws in Supporting Nurses' Rights (Challenges and Solutions)
Subject Areas : حقوق پزشکیMaryam Lotfmanesh 1 , Ahmad Pour Ebrahim 2
1 - Student of Master’s Degree in Private Law, Department of Law, Ahrar Institute of Higher Education, Rasht, Iran.
2 - Assistant Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology, Department of Law, Faculty of Humanities, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran.
Keywords: Nurses’ rights, nursing laws and regulations, legal support, health system, job justice, labor law, nursing profession, legal analysis.,
Abstract :
Nurses, as one of the main pillars of the health system, play a fundamental role in providing healthcare services, and legal support for their rights has a direct impact on the quality of health services and their job satisfaction. The nature of the nursing profession is such that this occupational group is continuously exposed to physical pressures resulting from long working hours, intensive shifts, shortage of human resources, and the difficult conditions of healthcare environments. At the same time, they are also exposed psychologically and emotionally to stress, job burnout, and heavy ethical and professional responsibilities.In Iran’s legal system, numerous laws have addressed the protection of nurses’ rights either directly or indirectly. These include the Labor Law, the Civil Service Management Law, the Nursing Services Tariff Law, and the regulations and directives issued by the Ministry of Health. Despite this, the dispersion of laws, ambiguity in certain regulations, weak enforcement mechanisms, and implementation challenges have led to a situation in which many of the legal rights of nurses are not fully realized in practice. Delays in the payment of salaries and overtime, discrimination in the payment system compared with other medical groups, temporary and unstable contracts, insufficient legal protection against workplace violence, and incomplete implementation of supportive laws are among these examples.This study was conducted with the aim of analyzing the role of laws and regulations in supporting nurses’ rights. The research method is descriptive-analytical and has been carried out through the examination of laws, regulations, bylaws, and legal documents related to the professional and occupational rights of nurses.The findings of the study indicate that the existence of supportive laws in areas such as job security, working hours, payment systems, workplace safety, and judicial protection plays an effective role in improving the professional status of nurses and reducing their occupational problems. However, weaknesses in the implementation of laws, ambiguity in some regulations, and institutional inconsistency are among the most significant challenges facing the legal protection of nurses’ rights. Finally, strengthening the enforcement mechanisms of laws and revising existing regulations are proposed as effective solutions.
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