Deck 4: Legal Aspects of Nursing

Question 1

Which of the following is an example of civil law?

A) Possession of marijuana
B) Assault and battery
C) Giving alcohol to a minor
D) Child custody case

Answer 1

Child custody case

Question 2

What is the primary function of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN)?

A) Overseeing decisions made by state boards of nursing
B) Developing the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN licensing examinations
C) Administering the NCLEX examination at testing centers
D) Overseeing granting licensure by endorsement

Answer 2

Developing the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN licensing examinations

Question 3

Which of the following is a legitimate defense to a charge of assault and battery?

A) Presence of a medical order
B) Knowledge of what is best for the patient
C) Informed consent
D) Living will

Answer 3

Informed consent

Question 4

A nursing student got a thank-you card from a patient's family and had another student take a photo of the student with the family. The student asks the nursing instructor if it would be alright to post the photo on Facebook. Which response by the instructor is best?

A) "Yes, as long as you ask the family if that would be OK."
B) "I think that would be OK, but you should check hospital policy."
C) "No, posting pictures of patients and families on social media sites is not acceptable."
D) "No, that could lead to a malpractice suit by the patient or family."

Question 5

In which of the following situations should the legality of an informed consent be questioned?

A) Patient with dementia; consent given by spouse
B) Patient who received a preoperative dose of Demerol before giving consent
C) Patient who is anxious and asks many questions of the physician
D) Patient who expresses concern about the cost of the procedure

Question 6

A child is tested for genetic abnormalities. After the test results are delivered from the laboratory, a representative of the parents' medical insurance company calls the nurse's station and asks for the results of the tests. The nurse's best response to this request is to

A) refuse to give the information.
B) tell the representative the status of the tests is unknown.
C) give the results as reported because the insurance company is paying for the tests.
D) tell the representative that the test results will need to be obtained from the physician who ordered them.

Question 7

The RN asked a nursing assistant to monitor several postoperative patients. Which of the following instructions to the nursing assistant demonstrate appropriate delegation?

A) "Take vital signs every 2 hours, and report to me anything outside of the norms."
B) "Assess pain using a 10-point scale, and record the score on the chart."
C) "Record the urine output, and report to me if they have not voided within 4 hours."
D) "Record the amount of drainage on the dressing on the bedside record."

Question 8

The nurse practice act of a state defines the scope and responsibilities of nursing practice in that state. Which of the following is true regarding nurse practice acts?

A) They determine the educational requirements for licensure.
B) They describe the process for gaining membership to a professional organization.
C) They regulate how many professional nursing organizations may be formed.
D) They define the practice of medicine in relation to nursing.

Question 9

Analysis of cases of reported negligence from 1995 to 2001 demonstrated that the majority of cases occurred in which patient care setting?

A) Acute care
B) Psychiatric
C) Nursing homes and long-term care facilities
D) Home health

Question 10

Which of the following is a nursing responsibility regarding informed consent?

A) Canceling the procedure if the patient has questions
B) Explaining the procedure, risks, and treatment alternatives
C) Serving as a witness, ensuring that the patient does not feel coerced into a decision
D) Ensuring that the physician has completely explained the costs of the procedure

Question 11

Which of the following nursing responsibilities can never be delegated?

A) Complex tasks
B) Evaluation
C) Medication administration
D) Accountability

Question 12

Which patient rights are guaranteed by HIPAA?

A) Patients are asked to sign a release of responsibility if their health care records inadvertently become a matter of public record.
B) Patients sign a release protecting the health care provider and insurance company against computer file theft.
C) Patients are protected against medical records being indiscriminately shared.
D) Patients may receive a complete copy of their medical records at no cost.

Question 13

Which of the following actions is acceptable as an exception to a nurse's obligation regarding confidentiality?

A) Reporting certain diseases to public health authority
B) Discussing a patient's care with someone who does not know the patient
C) Leaving printouts of lab reports on the desk in the physicians' lounge as a convenience
D) Discussing a patient's condition in a public place as long as the patient's name is not mentioned

Question 14

The most common reason that nurses are disciplined by the state board of nursing is

A) making medication errors.
B) following unsafe nursing practice.
C) practicing while impaired.
D) abandoning patients.

Question 15

Which of the following falls under the jurisdiction of the state board of nursing?

A) Approving or reject applications for new nursing education programs
B) Expanding the provisions of the nurse practice act
C) Reducing the provisions of the nurse practice act
D) Right to suspend the need for licensure of registered nurses (RNs) in times of extreme shortage

Question 16

The RN delegates changing a sterile dressing over a central line to a licensed practical/vocational nurse (LPN/LVN). The LPN/LVN contaminated the site during the dressing change, and an infection developed in the patient. Which of the following statements is true?

A) The LPN/LVN is guilty of malpractice.
B) The RN is ultimately responsible for acts he or she delegates.
C) The hospital cannot be held responsible for the acts of its employees.
D) A malpractice suit cannot be brought as no harm came to the patient.

Question 17

The nurse forgets to give the patient a dose of antibiotic. Later in the shift, the patient goes into cardiac arrest and dies. What element is lacking to support malpractice?

A) Duty of care
B) Breach of duty
C) Specific injury
D) Proximate cause

Question 18

Which of the following actions by the nurse constitutes professional malpractice?

A) Administering a preoperative sedative in the patient holding area instead of in the patient's room
B) Failing to notify the physician of a potassium level of 4 mEq/L
C) Placing the head of the bed flat when a patient is receiving a tube feeding, causing the patient to aspirate the mixture
D) Administering a routine medication 10 minutes late because of a unit emergency

Question 19

The nurse giving medications to a pediatric patient notes that an order for a medication is considerably larger than the usual dose. She looks up the medication in a pharmacology book and finds she is correct about the dosage. Which action should the nurse take?

A) Documenting the findings in the chart after giving the medication
B) Calling the nursing supervisor and ask what to do next
C) Calling the pharmacist to obtain the usual dosage
D) Notifying the physician of her findings before giving the medication

Question 20

A competent resident in a long-term care facility refuses an ordered antidepressant medication. The nurse believes the patient needs the medication because he is clearly showing signs of depression and dissolves the medication in juice without telling the patient. This illustrates negligence by failure to

A) follow the standard of care.
B) assess and monitor a patient.
C) communicate with a patient.
D) document.

Question 21

The quality of nursing care is judged by whether nursing actions meet the standard of care. Which of the following is an example of meeting the standard of care?

A) Demonstrating the use of the nursing process when charting
B) Following actions consistent with local practice
C) Monitoring a patient more closely if the equipment has occasionally malfunctioned
D) Bypassing medication checks to save time once the nurse is experienced

Question 22

Which of the following puts the nurse at increased risk for legal action?

A) Delegating a Foley catheter insertion to a LPN/LVN
B) Documenting the exact words a patient uses when complaining.
C) Not assessing a patient who is complaining of pain
D) Caring for a postoperative patient who has a pulmonary embolus while being transferred to the chair

Question 23

Which of the following chart entries represents a pitfall in documentation?

A) Restless and combative; SaO? 87%
B) Patient demanding and difficult to please
C) Discovered in bathroom; instructed to ask for assistance before ambulating
D) Three-centimeter area of serosanguineous drainage noted on the dressing to the left hip

Question 24

The Patient Self-Determination Act of 1991, as implemented today, is known as providing

A) informed consent.
B) advance directives.
C) patient bill of rights.
D) HIPAA protections.

Question 25

The nurse receives reports on the following patients at the beginning of the shift. Which of the following care activities could be delegated to a nursing assistant? (Select all that apply.)

A) Ambulating a patient who had an emergency appendectomy 8 hours ago, has stable vital signs, and needs to ambulate for the second time
B) Assisting a patient who was in an automobile accident and whose right arm and leg are in traction with bathing
C) Feeding a patient recovering from a stroke resulting in difficulty holding a spoon
D) Taking vital signs, including blood pressure, for a patient with newly diagnosed diabetes and a history of hypertension
E) Measuring a bed-bound patient's pressure ulcer and assessing the patient's risk for skin breakdown when turning the patient

Question 26

The central question in any charge of malpractice is whether the prevailing standard of care was met. Which of the following are considered part of the standard of nursing care? (Select all that apply.)

A) Basic prudent nursing care is a standard.
B) Health care providers determine standards of care in health care settings.
C) Standards of care are never changing.
D) Standards are based on the ethical principle of nonmaleficence.
E) National standards of nursing practice are standards for all nurses.

Question 27

Which of the following is an important step in preventing legal action against the nurse?

A) Never make a mistake.
B) Deflect blame from yourself as much as possible.
C) Develop caring, therapeutic relationships with patients.
D) Avoid explaining care procedures to patients.

Question 28

The American Nurses Association (ANA) published a guide for state nurses associations seeking to revise their nurse practice acts. According the ANA, which of the following should be included in these revisions? (Select all that apply.)

A) Differentiation between advanced and generalist nursing practice
B) Authority for boards of nursing to oversee UAP
C) Specified frequency of revisions to the nurse practice acts
D) Authority for boards of nursing to regulate prescription writing by advanced practice nurses
E) Nurses' responsibility for delegating to LPN/LVNs

Question 29

For a nursing malpractice action, essential characteristics of negligence must be present. Which of the following constitute these essential characteristics? (Select all that apply.)

A) The nurse assumed the responsibility for the patient's care.
B) The nurse is found to have failed to meet the standard of care.
C) The harm to the patient must be shown to have been caused by the failure to meet the standard of care.
D) Harm to an individual has occurred.
E) The nurse's action involves acts of commission.