Deck 4: Clinical Judgment: Critical Thinking and Ethical Decision Making

Question 1

A nurse values autonomy and self-determination as well as the preservation of life. This is an example of

A) conceptions of the ideal.
B) cognitive dissonance.
C) operative values.
D) commitment.

Answer 1

cognitive dissonance.

Question 2

During the third step in the critical thinking process

A) new data are obtained.
B) values are clarified.
C) existing information is compared with past knowledge.
D) the problem is identified.

Answer 2

existing information is compared with past knowledge.

Question 3

Which of the following case examples represents the ethical concept of distributive justice?

A) A famous baseball player receives a heart transplant.
B) An older adult who has government insurance is denied standard cancer treatment.
C) During a visit to his physician's office, a patient demands antibiotics for his cold and is given a prescription.
D) A patient suffering from cirrhosis of the liver is placed on a transplant list.

Answer 3

An older adult who has government insurance is denied standard cancer treatment.

Question 4

Personal values are defined as

A) values shaped by family, religious beliefs, and years of experience.
B) altruism.
C) two values that are in conflict.
D) values determined by commitment.

Question 5

A patient with schizophrenia has been stabilized on long-acting haloperidol, an antipsychotic medication that is administered by injection every 3 weeks. The physician switches the medication to Seroquel, a new antipsychotic oral medication that is administered twice a day. The patient complains that he cannot afford the new medication and will not be able to remember to take it. The physician replies, "I can't help that; I have to treat you the way I think is best." The patient's nurse may experience

A) paternalism.
B) cognitive dissonance.
C) nonmaleficence.
D) moral distress.

Question 6

Values clarification can be incorporated within the intervention phase of the nursing process by

A) identifying ineffective family coping.
B) identifying care guidelines.
C) identifying patient's values.
D) identifying specific nursing diagnoses.

Question 7

Which of the following types of thinking reflects the nursing process?

A) Habits
B) Inquiry
C) Mnemonic
D) Practice

Question 8

Which of the following personality characteristics is a barrier to critical thinking?

A) Accepting change
B) Being open minded
C) Stereotyping
D) Going with the flow

Question 9

Which of the following is true about critical thinkers?
Critical thinkers

A) are open minded.
B) are able to consider alternatives.
C) use a purposeful reasoning process.
D) use a linear thinking process.
E) are able to recognize information gaps.

Question 10

While professional values can be transmitted by tradition in nursing classes and clinical experiences, or modeled by expert nurses and assimilated as part of the role socialization process, which is perhaps the best method of acquiring them?

A) There must be pride in and happiness with the choice.
B) The value must be acted upon in a pattern of behavior consistent with the choice.
C) The value should be the result of conscious choice.
D) The value must be chosen after careful consideration of each alternative.

Question 11

The bioethical principle of autonomy refers to

A) the patient's right to self-determination.
B) avoiding actions that bring harm to another person.
C) a decision resulting in the greatest good or least harm.
D) being fair or impartial.

Question 12

The student nurse can best learn the steps in critical thinking through

A) reading journals.
B) classroom instruction.
C) repeated practice.
D) developing a mnemonic.

Question 13

The ethical decision-making model where good is defined as maximum welfare or happiness is known as the

A) utilitarian model.
B) human rights based model.
C) duty-based model.
D) Kant's model.

Question 14

Which of the following best describes the critical thinking skills of a novice nurse and an expert nurse?

A) The expert nurse is able to diagnose faster than the novice nurse.
B) The expert nurse does not need to question and reassess like the novice nurse.
C) The novice nurse uses past knowledge, whereas the expert nurse stays in the here and now.
D) The expert nurse organizes data more efficiently than the novice nurse.

Question 15

Which of the following statements is true about the critical thinking process?

A) It is a linear process.
B) The skills are inborn.
C) It is goal directed.
D) It assists nurses to criticize the health care system.

Question 16

The best method for nurse educators to teach professional values is

A) reading the ANA code.
B) laissez-faire.
C) role modeling.
D) values clarification.

Question 17

The patient's values

A) must coincide with those of the nurse.
B) are only considered during assessment.
C) influence the nurse's interventions.
D) are not influenced by culture.

Question 18

Characteristics of a critical thinker include all but which of the following?

A) Haphazardly seeking solutions
B) Anticipating consequences
C) Considering alternative solutions
D) Revising actions based on new input