Book excerpt: There is now considerable anxiety amongst nurses and allied health professionals as to how they should negotiate the potential minefield of legal niceties, professional dictates and diminishing resources in today's health service. Practitioners and students need a comprehensible introduction to legal and professional issues which is rooted in the realities of everyday practice. This book is a direct response to that need, with its clear exposition, practice-based case studies and an examination of the various Codes of Professional Practice.