Question 1

An RN realizes that she inadvertently gave a patient who was NPO for surgery his otherwise normally scheduled PO medications. Which action would she take if she were exhibiting professional accountability?

Accepted Answer

Accountability is being answerable for the actions or interventions one performs as a nurse. Accountability also means taking responsibility for one's other actions and growth. Although individuals are ultimately accountable to themselves, the RN is particularly accountable to the patient, society, and the profession. The RN should report the incident immediately to the charge nurse and surgeon, in the best interest of the patient.

Question 2

A nurse has just realized that her license is due to expire in 5 months. The nurse knows that she is responsible for maintenance of her license in order to continue practicing as a nurse. What would be the best action for her to take?

Accepted Answer

Personal responsibility indicates that the nurse is responsible for her own actions and for maintenance of her nursing license. The nurse should be aware of the expiration date and should plan to obtain continuing education credits accordingly.

Question 3

The medical team determines that a patient needs to be transferred to another facility to continue receiving the most appropriate and beneficial care. The transfer process has been slow and difficult, and the nurse is struggling to care for the transferring patient along with her other assigned patients. What is the best action the nurse can take to improve her situation?

Accepted Answer

The best action the nurse can take is to involve management so that she can focus on patient care. Continuing to struggle takes away from the care she is able to provide and could be detrimental to her patients. Halting the transfer could possibly be detrimental to the patient in need of the medical transfer. Asking her co-workers to absorb her assignment could reduce the quality of care that they are able to provide as well.

Question 4

A nurse manager wants to assess quality of care over the last 6 months for her unit. How could the nurse manager best accomplish this?

Accepted Answer

The nurse manager could best accomplish her goal by reviewing the result of patient satisfaction scores. It is not realistic for her to interview each nurse, obtain the charts for every patient over the course of 6 months, or ask the nurses to perform discharge phone calls on previous patients.

Question 5

A patient on a medical-surgical floor is unhappy with the care he is receiving from his physician and wants to speak to someone about it. Which action should the nurse take?

Accepted Answer

The nurse should consult the first person in the chain of command, her immediate supervisor. If the immediate supervisor is unable to assist, the next person in line should be consulted, and so on.

Question 6

An operating room nurse has returned from a conference on the impact of never events. Recognition of which of the following would lead her to believe that a never event could occur?

Accepted Answer

Never events are preventable events that can cause illness, injury, or even death of a patient. Noticing a difference in the beginning and end sponge counts indicates that a never event could occur. Losing an anticipated amount of blood or a lengthy procedure does not necessarily indicate the possibility of a never event. Timeliness of the surgeon is not a factor.

Question 7

A nurse has just received training on the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) Project. What should the nurse do to show that she understands the importance of the project?

Accepted Answer

Patient-centered care is one of the six primary competencies in the QSEN Project. Patient-centered care includes involvement of the patient as well as medical personnel. Treatment plans should be tailored to fit the patient's needs and lifestyle. This sets the patient up for success.

Question 8

There are a number of characteristics that will help a novice nurse find success in a mentoring relationship. Which action represents one of these positive characteristics?

Accepted Answer

The novice nurse makes his or her learning needs known, is prepared to take on new learning experiences, and is thoughtful about the learning that is taking place. The novice nurse is confident enough to ask questions, seek clarification, and seek constructive input. The novice nurse understands the experience needed to gain expertise and will open a dialogue with the mentor. The novice nurse is clear, precise, and thoughtful in the questions asked and in the dialogue that follows. The novice nurse is hungry for learning experiences, demonstrates this through a sound plan, and is focused on the matters at hand.

Question 9

An RN has been working on a cardiac unit for 1 year and has settled comfortably into an efficient, safe, and organized routine for each shift. However, whenever an urgent issue arises, the nurse feels uncomfortable. It is most likely that this nurse is functioning at which skill level?

Accepted Answer

A competent nurse has some experience and has developed safe organizational skills to get through the day's tasks efficiently. Flexibility within the nursing role is difficult to manage at this point, and when deviations from the schedule occur, the nurse generally has a feeling of unease.

Question 10

A nurse manager is reviewing an incident report submitted by the previous day's charge nurse. The incident report indicates that the wrong IV antibiotic was given to a patient. What is the best way for the nurse manager to address this incident with the nurse involved so that it may be prevented in the future?

Accepted Answer

The nurse manager has the responsibility to meet with the nurse involved in the error and create a plan to help ensure that the error does not happen again. This can be done by setting up a time in which to educate the RN about the five rights of medication administration. The nurse should not ignore the error, ask someone else to handle it, or use the incident report in a punitive way.

Question 11

A new graduate has been working as an RN for 6 months and is no longer working with a preceptor. However, she still frequently checks with an experienced nurse to validate that she is following the rules and the policies she is still learning. The new graduate in this scenario exhibits the actions of what theoretical level of skill?

Accepted Answer

In general, a novice is rule driven, is a concrete thinker, and believes and trusts whomever has authority or whatever direction is perceived to have come from someone in authority. Benner (1984) suggests that with experience and practice, nurses advance through the different levels of nursing knowledge-novice, competent, proficient, and expert.

Question 12

The nurse is working on a busy cardiac floor. While preparing medications, the nurse is interrupted by a co-worker, who has a question about another patient. After administering the medication, the nurse realizes that she gave the medication to the wrong patient. Which action by the nurse would indicate accountability?

Accepted Answer

Accountability is being answerable for the actions or interventions one performs as a nurse. Immediately assessing the patient and reporting the error to a physician demonstrate accountability. Shifting blame, attempting to hide the error, and accepting only partial blame do not.

Question 13

In a situation involving a medication error, the hospital policy is to use root-cause analysis to evaluate the situation fully. In the root-cause analysis process, which action would take place?

Accepted Answer

In a root-cause analysis, a committee is formed, which in this case would include a facilitator (usually the risk manager or performance improvement director), the nurse or nurses involved, a pharmacist, the physician, and the team leader or supervisor. The purpose of the committee is to reconstruct the events leading up to the error. By looking at the process, the committee may discover that the physician's order was unclear, that two drugs with similar names were placed next to each other in the medication-dispensing unit, or that the unit of measure for the drug was unclear.

Question 14

Which action would indicate that the RN is practicing at the proficient level?

Accepted Answer

A proficient nurse is experienced and has a beginning ability to recognize patterns and think critically. This allows her to think critically about situations and anticipate the needs of her patients. Novice nurses may ask the help of other more experienced nurses. Competent nurses have developed skills and are routine driven, often struggling with flexibility. Expert nurses are skilled critical thinkers and they handle challenges with ease.

Question 15

On administering a medication, the RN realizes that she gave the incorrect amount. After assessing the patient, which action would not be appropriate for the nurse to take?

Accepted Answer

The RN has a duty to act judiciously and prudently in the delivery of care to the patient. Failure to report a medication error could cause harm or even death. Along with risk of harm to the patient, the RN also risks legal and ethical consequences. Keeping a medication error to herself would be inappropriate, even if the nurse continued to assess the patient.

Question 16

While passing noon meds, an RN notes that one of her patients did not receive his 0600 dose of antibiotic during the prior shift. She calls the prior nurse to try to determine whether the medication was given, then fills out an occurrence or care aberrance report, and follows through as institutional policy indicates. What is the best explanation for why the RN who found the error took action?

Accepted Answer

The RN must act judiciously and prudently in the delivery of care. By not going to the supervisor when a mistake is made and failing to demonstrate accountability for contributing to the mistake, the RN risks not only harm to the patient but also potential legal and ethical consequences.

Question 17

An RN has been practicing for 12 years in pediatrics. Peers often seek out this nurse to help them with complex problems. This experienced nurse is assigned the patients with the highest acuity, and the nurse accepts these assignments with confidence. This nurse is likely practicing at which skill level?

Accepted Answer

An expert nurse has had a great deal of experience and is flexible and adaptable, responding to change with ease. According to Benner (1984), the expert nurse is a skilled critical thinker who has gained experience and skills through practice.

Quiz 13: Care and Safety Standards, Competence, and Nurse Accountability