Deck 4: Legal and Ethical Aspects of Nursing

Question 1

When a client with a diagnosis of bronchial asthma and a history of numerous sensitivities reports that the room smells unpleasant, the nurse attempts to solve the problem by spraying an air freshener. Within minutes, the client begins experiencing bronchial spasms and dyspnea. Considering the nurse's actions, what legal issue is the nurse facing?

A) Negligence
B) Tort
C) Battery
D) Assault

Answer 1

Negligence

Question 2

A nurse fails to secure the permission of a client to use a photograph of the client being introduced to service dog. When the photograph is submitted for publication in a local newsletter, the nurse is now liable for prosecution for what legal offense?

A) Slander
B) Abandonment
C) Libel
D) A HIPAA violation

Answer 2

A HIPAA violation

Question 3

What source establishes the standards for confidentiality that directs the actions of a professional nurse?

A) State Board of Nursing
B) National Council of State Boards of Nursing
C) Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
D) Patient Self-Determination Act

Answer 3

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

Question 4

What care should the nurse take when updating computerized medical records to best protect the clients' right to privacy? Select all that apply.

A) Documenting the information using client aliases
B) Always logging off before leaving the computer
C) Using only computers dedicated for assessing computerized medical records
D) Protecting the computer screen so that it cannot be viewed by unauthorized individuals.
E) Ensuring that the clients have signed "Release of Information" forms

Question 5

What area of professional nursing is defined in detail by the United States' Nursing Practice Act and the Canadian Nurses (Registered) Act? Select all that apply.

A) Defining the legal boundaries for nursing's scope of practice
B) Establishing licensing requirements
C) Enforcing provisions regulating professional nursing
D) Establishing requirements for approved schools of nursing
E) Identifying requirements for required continuing education

Question 6

When a nurse fails to provide care within the limits of the profession's scope of practice, which body will enforce the prescribed punishment?

A) State Board of Nursing
B) Board of Medical Examiners
C) Department of Health Services
D) Department of Consumer Affairs

Question 7

The nurse provides medication education to a client prescribed an ointment for a localized skin rash. The nurse fails to notify the primary care provider that the client reported severe burning when the ointment is applied leading to the client's refusal to apply the medication to the rash. What reason should the hospital management cite while holding the nurse responsible for the resulting systemic infection that developed?

A) Withholding treatment
B) Termination of treatment
C) Refusal of care
D) Abandonment of care

Question 8

Which nursing actions are not performed in a legally responsible manner? Select all that apply.

A) Refusing to help a client prepare the personal will
B) Always working extra shifts when asked to volunteer to do so
C) Advising a client concerning a malpractice suit against a staff member
D) Not bothering other staff members to help with moving an obese client
E) Saving time by asking another nurse how to perform a nursing task instead of reviewing the facility's procedure manual

Question 9

There is reason to question a medication prescription. Which is an appropriate action for the nurse to take?

A) Hold the medication administration until the primary care provider makes rounds
B) Ask another nurse to confirm the inappropriateness of the prescription
C) Contact the primary care provider to discuss the nurse's concerns
D) Ask the pharmacist to address the questionable prescription

Question 10

Which statements are accurate when considering the legal concerns for the nurse when faced with a non-hospital emergency situation? Select all that apply.

A) The nurse is not liable for emergency care provided within the limits of first aid.
B) In most states, a nurse is required to assist at the scene of an accident when needed.
C) The nurse is expected to provide care in all emergency situations.
D) A nurse rendering emergency care is expected to act in a reasonable and prudent manner.
E) The Good Samaritan Act is the law that protects nurses from liability when providing care in emergency situations.

Question 11

A client is scheduled for a cardiac catheterization. Which statement best illustrates the nurse fulfilling the role of client advocate?

A) "The cardiac catheterization you are scheduled for requires that you sign this informed consent form."
B) "What were you told by the cardiologist about your scheduled cardiac catheterization procedure?"
C) "Is there anything I can do for you before you are transported for your cardiac catheterization?"
D) "Do you have any questions about the cardiac catheterization procedure that the cardiologist explained to you earlier today?"

Question 12

Which statements provide accurate information about personal values? Select all that
Apply.

A) Ones' culture contributes to one's personal values
B) Personal values change over the course of a lifetime
C) To best support a client's values, we need to clarify our own
D) When made to face a trauma, a person's personal values can change
E) It is acceptable for the nurse to challenge a client's personal values

Question 13

When considering the legal aspect of professional nursing, which statement is the basis for maintaining a competent practice?

A) Ignorance is not a legal defense.
B) The health record is the written and legal evidence of treatment.
C) All healthcare personnel must maintain appropriate professional boundaries.
D) Avoid liability by always performing procedures as taught and as outlined in the procedure manual

Question 14

A primary care provider orders 10 units of regular insulin to be administered subcutaneously to the client but the nurse administered 10 unit of NPH insulin. After
Notification of the charge nurse and primary care provider, the nurse monitors the client and no untoward effects occurred from the administration of the incorrect insulin.
Would the client likely to be successful in suing the nurse for malpractice?

A) Yes, a breach of duty exists
B) Yes, foreseeability was present
C) No, the nurse correctly notified the charge nurse and primary care provider
D) No, there was no harm to the client as result of administration of the incorrect insulin

Question 15

Which nursing action will best protect a nurse from being liable for malpractice?

A) Effective, appropriate documentation of all nursing care
B) Being a competent in all required nursing related skills
C) Always respecting a client's right to privacy
D) Always following accepted procedures

Question 16

What statement describes a living will?

A) A written and legally witnessed document that requests no extraordinary measures be taken to save a person's life in the event of terminal illness.
B) A written and legally witnessed document that directs the physician to be the client's decision maker in the event of terminal illness.
C) A written document that a client names another person to make healthcare decisions in case the client becomes unable to do so.
D) Verbal communication that directs the physician to be the client's decision maker in the event of terminal illness.

Question 17

What term is used to identify a written and legally witnessed document that requests no extraordinary measures to be taken to save a person's life in the event of terminal illness?

A) A Living Will
B) A Physicians Directive
C) Mental Health Advanced Declaration
D) Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare.

Question 18

What instruction should the nurse give a client to best assure that the client's wishes concerning organ donation be honored at the time of death?

A) Securing an organ donor card
B) Having one's driver's license identify them as an organ donor
C) Share your intention to donate organs with your primary healthcare provider
D) Discussing your wishes concerning organ donation in detail with family members

Question 19

Which client is considered a vulnerable person and so requires special attention?

A) A teenage girl with asthma
B) A middle-aged client with leukemia
C) A 35-year-old man with a ventral hernia
D) A 4-year-old child with heart value malfunction

Question 20

Which client action demonstrates the priority responsibility expected of a client?

A) The client provides information regarding their health insurance
B) The client determines which accepted treatment options they will accept
C) The client provides information about which medications they are currently taking
D) The client initiates and then implements advance directions including a living will.

Question 21

Which statement should the nurse make to a family who has asked whether their loved one is legally dead?

A) "The will take an analysis of the client's brain waves."
B) "I'll have the primary healthcare provider discuss this with you."
C) "The criterion is that there is no brain activity, but the respiratory and circulatory systems are functioning."
D) "As long as there are cephalic reflexes and dilated pupils, your love will not be declared legally dead."

Question 22

Which assessments will the nurse note when determining if a client is brain dead? Select all that apply.

A) The absence of respirations
B) The absence cephalic reflexes
C) The proof of a vegetative state
D) The presence of unresponsive pupils
E) The absence of external stimuli response

Question 23

Which client actions demonstrate an understanding of responsibility to the healthcare? Select all that apply.

A) Assuring their complete cooperation with the treatment provided by healthcare staff
B) Requesting information to clarify instructions or information provided by staff
C) Providing necessary information to assist in the payment of services provided
D) Providing the institution with a copy of their advance directives if they exit
E) Providing accurate information when asked about their medical history

Question 24

When asked whether a nurse can bring charges against a client, how should the nurse respond?

A) "It is a nursing responsibility to prevent such situations from occurring."
B) "Yes, like in situations where the client knowingly attacks the nurse."
C) "Yes, but the courts rarely find the client liable for their actions."
D) "No, the nurse-client relationship prevents such legal actions."

Question 25

Which nursing interventions demonstrate an understanding of the nurse's responsibility regarding an advanced directive? Select all that apply.

A) Providing a client with a brochure that explains the purpose of an advance directives
B) Notifying the healthcare provider that the client has initiated an advance directive
C) Explaining to a terminally ill client their right to refuse life prolonging treatments
D) Recognizing that advanced directives are not documented in the medical record
E) Arranging assistance for a client who has decided to initiate advance directives