Deck 9: Nursing and the Law

Question 1

A nurse trained in the delivery of primary health care and the assessment of psychosocial and physical health problems such as the performance of routine examinations and the ordering of routine diagnostic tests is a ___________.

A) clinical nurse specialist
B) student nurse
C) nurse practitioner
D) nursing supervisor

Answer 1

C

Question 2

A nurse with an advanced academic degree and a major in a specific clinical specialty such as pediatrics or psychiatry is a ___________.

A) nurse practitioner
B) nursing care coordinator
C) special duty nurse
D) clinical nurse specialist

Answer 2

D

Question 3

A nurse hired by a patient or the patient's family to perform nursing services is a ___________.

A) special duty nurse
B) student nurse
C) clinical nurse specialist
D) nurse practitioner
E) nursing care coordinator

Answer 3

A

Question 4

A nurse who is uncertain about a physician's order should first clarify the order with the ___________.

A) chief of staff
B) evening administrator
C) emergency room physician
D) prescribing physician

Question 5

___________ enacted the first nurse registration act.

A) New York
B) California
C) North Carolina
D) New Jersey

Question 6

_________ enacted the first exclusive Nurse Practice Act.

A) New York
B) North Carolina
C) New Jersey
D) New Hampshire

Question 7

___________ was the first state to approve nurses performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

A) New York
B) Hawaii
C) California
D) North Carolina

Question 8

Each state has its own nurse practice act that defines the practice of ___________ within the state.

A) nursing
B) a specialty
C) medicine
D) midwifery

Question 9

The scope of practice, referring to the permissible boundaries of practice for health care professionals, is often defined in ___________.

A) state constitutions
B) state statutes
C) county ordinances
D) penal codes

Question 10

The formal or informal agreement between states whereby a nurse licensing board in one state recognizes licensees of another state is referred to as ___________.

A) examination
B) waiver
C) endorsement
D) reciprocity

Question 11

Some states will not recognize out-of-state licensed nurses and make it mandatory that all applicants ___________.

A) take an examination
B) provide an endorsement by a colleague
C) be provided a waiver of examination
D) be granted reciprocity

Question 12

Nurse licensing boards have the authority to suspend or revoke the license of a nurse who is found to have __________.

A) failed to have violated specified norms of conduct
B) procured a license fraudulently
C) failed to have taken the required rest breaks as provided in nursing contracts
D) failed to follow hospital parking restrictions

Question 13

A nurse who rotates from unit to unit based on staffing needs is referred to as a ___________.

A) nursing assistant
B) specialty nurse
C) float nurse
D) specialty-duty nurse

Question 14

A nurse can be found negligent for ___________.

A) reporting a patient's symptoms
B) timely reporting a patient' symptoms
C) correctly transcribing telephone orders
D) failure to report defective equipment

Question 15

Failure to identify the correct patient can result in ___________.

A) identification of the correct patient
B) patient injury
C) improved patient care
D) the correct administration of medications

Question 16

The chief nursing officer is generally responsible for ___________.

A) selecting nursing staff and developing training programs for engineering staff
B) maintaining current policy manuals
C) maintaining standards of practice, maintaining current policy manuals, coordinating and integrating nursing services with other patient care services, and selecting nursing staff
D) supervising dietary staff

Question 17

Failure to monitor a patient's vital signs can lead to a/an ___________.

A) injury to a patient followed by a lawsuit
B) lawsuit for perjury
C) lawsuit for slander
D) monetary award for negligent injection

Question 18

The courts in several decisions have taken the position that anyone, including students that perform duties customarily performed by professional nurses, can be held to the same standards of care as ___________.

A) nurse practitioners
B) nursing aides
C) student nurses
D) professional nurses

Question 19

A nurse who fails to follow the doctor's verbal orders to watch the patient closely ___________.

A) cannot be liable for his or her negligent acts if the patient is injured
B) can be liable for his or her negligent acts if the patient is injured
C) is absolutely not at fault for negligent behavior
D) is personally immune from any liable action

Question 20

Mrs. Ard noticed that her husband was having difficulty breathing. He was reeling from side to side in bed. Believing that her husband was dying, she continued to call for help, estimating that she rang the call bell for 1.25 hours before anyone responded. A code was eventually called. Unfortunately, Mr. Ard did not survive the code. The court most likely determined that ___________.

A) the failure of the nurses to respond did not affect Mr. Ard's chance of survival
B) Mr. Ard's chance of survival had been diminished by the nurse's failure to respond
C) Mrs. Ard was wrong in her assessment of her husband
D) the patient's condition was improving

Question 21

Various states recognize that nurses can render a nursing diagnosis. Where a defendant physician ignores a nurse's assessment of a patient's diagnosis and the patient is injured, the court would most likely determine that ___________.

A) such a delay in treatment of the patient was acceptable behavior
B) a registered nurse cannot make an assessment of a patient's needs
C) the physician, by ignoring the nurse's assessment, contributed to a delay in treatment and injury to the patient
D) the physician need not respond to the nurse's observations

Question 22

A solution was prepared by an employee and injected into the patient by a physician. The physician made no examination of the fluid, and the patient suffered permanent injuries as a result of the injection. The court determined that the physician is ___________.

A) responsible for the injury because he should have known what was in the syringe
B) responsible for the preparation of drugs by employees
C) responsible for testing all drugs prepared by an employee before administering them
D) not responsible for drugs prepared by an employee unless he knowingly could have prevented injury to the patient

Question 23

Staff members who administer to patients, moving from one patient to another, must wash their hands ___________.

A) at the beginning and end of each shift
B) before and after changing dressings and carrying out routine procedures
C) after changing dressings and carrying out routine procedures
D) before changing dressings and carrying out routine procedures

Question 24

A navy veteran successfully underwent coronary bypass surgery at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. However, he was injured as a result of being left unattended for several hours by nursing personnel in the intensive care unit. The veteran suffered anoxic brain injury following a complication with his endotracheal tube. A lawsuit was filed and the court determined ___________.

A) the trial court properly required the federal government to make an immediate lump-sum payment of future medical damages to the veteran
B) there was no evidence of wrongdoing
C) the trial court awards for damages should be lowered
D) the trial court was found to have erred by awarding the patient a lump sum-payment

Question 25

A nurse ___________.

A) has no right to question a physician's decision to discharge a patient
B) has no right to delay or question a physician's decision to discharge a patient
C) who has reason to believe a discharge order could be injurious to the patient has a right to question the physician's decision
D) who has reason to believe a discharge order could be injurious to the patient is no position to question a well educated physician