title: Law in focus: incorporating legislation and guidelines into practice.
abstract: In this new series on specialist healthcare law, the aim is to explore and review the ways in which legislation and government white papers have begun to affect clinical practice. This article discusses how media in the United Kingdom have taken to themselves the task of reporting widely on all aspects of healthcare and its delivery. The effect of this public portrayal is compounded by the disparity between what nurses believe their profession is, and the way in which our political masters have portrayed the profession.
authors.affiliation: Nursing Law, Faculty of Health, London South Bank University.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fullbrook
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sanders
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D008402:Mass Media; D024802:Nurse's Role / Q000523:psychology; D011057:Politics; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011361:Professional Competence; D011639:Public Opinion; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012649:Self Concept; D012938:Social Perception; D013222:State Medicine / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D013240:Stereotyping; D006113:United Kingdom