Exam 6: Legal and Ethical Issues

The major responsibility for upholding patient care standards belongs to the:

An elderly client becomes confused after surgery. He is in a room farthest away from the nurse's station. The client has been trying to get out of bed several times during the shift. The nurse documents this very well. The client falls out of bed and breaks his hip. Who can possibly be held negligent? (Select all that apply.)

The court has found that a registered nurse (RN) harmed a patient by violating his rights. The nurse is ordered to pay the patient a large sum of money. The court has determined that the nurse has committed a:

Which ethical principle is violated when the RN tells the hospital accountant that the patient is HIV-positive? (Select all that apply.)

A staff nurse is facing a dilemma between meeting clinical ethical standards and meeting organizational goals. The nurse manager understands that the best way to assist staff members in resolving ethical dilemmas effectively is to focus on:

The nurse on a medical unit is caring for a 19-year-old with complications from a congenital heart defect. The client's mother is consistently at the bedside asking questions and attempting to direct the treatment plan. Which of the following shows how the nurse should communicate with the mother?

Which of the following are examples of intentional torts that may occur in the health care field? (Select all that apply.)

Professional safeguards that protect the nurse from being wrongfully accused of malpractice include which of the following? (Select all that apply.)

On admission, the patient was found to have a blood glucose level of 218. The RN knows that except in emergency situations, it is hospital policy to obtain physician's orders before administering any medication. Because the on-call physician did not return the page, the nurse administered insulin according to the common sliding scale. Four hours later, the patient was found nonresponsive in her bed and later died. According to the autopsy, the patient died from heart failure. Her postmortem blood glucose level was 22. Being aware of the hospital policy for medication administration, the patient's blood glucose level presented the nurse with a(n):

A nurse manager is evaluating the efficiency of a process on the nursing unit. The manager believes that the unit could be more efficient if one aspect of this process were delegated to unlicensed personnel. To establish whether the delegation of this duty would be legal, he should check with the:

On admission, the patient was found to have a blood glucose level of 218. The RN knows that except in emergency situations, it is hospital policy to obtain physician's orders before administering any medication. Because the on-call physician did not return the page, the nurse administered insulin according to the common sliding scale. Four hours later, the patient was found nonresponsive in her bed and later died. According to the autopsy, the patient died from heart failure. Her postmortem blood glucose level was 22. The nurse's actions are an example of:

"To do good for others" is an example of which ethical principle?

To establish legal liability on the grounds of malpractice, the injured party must prove which of the following? (Select all that apply.)

Which ethical principle is violated when there are insufficient community resources to meet the needs of low-income families?

On admission, the patient was found to have a blood glucose level of 218. The RN knows that except in emergency situations, it is hospital policy to obtain physician's orders before administering any medication. Because the on-call physician did not return the page, the nurse administered insulin according to the common sliding scale. Four hours later, the patient was found nonresponsive in her bed and later died. According to the autopsy, the patient died from heart failure. Her postmortem blood glucose level was 22. Because of the nurse's actions, the admitting hospital may be found to be:

A new RN is observed breaking sterile technique by the perioperative nurse. This is an example of a violation of which ethical principle?

A staff nurse came in to work the 7 PM to 7 AM shift. She had met her friends for "happy hour" earlier in the evening. Her breath smells of alcohol. If this nurse is allowed to provide care for patients, she may be at risk for:

Nurse managers are able to respond better to ethical dilemmas when they have access to the organization's:

A Middle Eastern man has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. The family has asked the medical and nursing staff to keep this information from the patient because in their culture they are fearful of delivering bad news as it may cause the patient to give up hope. Which ethical principles and dilemmas might be faced by nursing staff? (Select all that apply.)

The definition of veracity is: