Exam 3: Legal and Ethical Issues

One of your staff nurses asks for your advice because a patient refuses to sign a consent for surgery.The patient says that he won't sign because he doesn't understand the nature of the surgery.You advise that:

To reduce the incidence of falls in a skilled nursing unit,the nurse manager contacts the risk manager.Risk management is a process that attempts to identify potential hazards and:

Which ethical principle is primarily involved in informed consent?

The manager in the coronary care unit believes an important ethical consideration in performance evaluations is to include the employee's good qualities and give positive direction for professional growth.What ethical principle does this represent?

On your nursing unit,you employ LPNs,RNs,and advanced practice nurses.You will need to be familiar with at least:

As a charge nurse,you counsel your RN staff member that they have has their duty of care by notifying a child's physician regarding concerns about deterioration in the child's status at 0330 hours.The physician does not come in to assess the child and does not provide additional orders.The child dies at 0630 hours.As the charge nurse,you could be held liable for what?

A member of a patient's family calls the nurse manager of the palliative care unit to express concern that a member of the family,who died on the weekend,had requested analgesics from the RNs on duty.An RN came with the analgesic nearly 45 minutes later,just after the patient had died.The manager is aware that the unit was especially busy that weekend because many patients were seriously ill,staff had called in ill,and the staffing manager was unable to completely replace staff who were absent.The manager is deeply troubled that the family member had to die in pain because it violates what she knows should have been done.This manager is experiencing:

To satisfy duty of care to a patient,a nurse manager is legally responsible for all of the following except:

One means of ensuring that the nurses floated to other patient care areas in healthcare organizations are qualified to work in the areas they are floated is:

A colleague asks you to give her your password access so that she can view her partner's healthcare record without using her login.This request violates the patient's right to:

You volunteer at a free community clinic.A 13-year-old girl presents with chlamydia.The team leader at the clinic advises that:

The parents of a toddler who dies after being brought to the ER launch a lawsuit,claiming that the failure of nurses to pursue concerns related to their son's deteriorating condition contributed to his death.How is senior nurse executive named in the suit?

A staff nurse,who was fired for reporting patient abuse to the appropriate state agency,files a whistleblower lawsuit against the former employer.What reason would the court provide to uphold a valid whistleblower suit claiming retaliation by the nurse?

A nurse on your inpatient psychiatric unit is found to have made sexually explicit remarks toward a patient with a previous history of sexual abuse.The patient sues,claiming malpractice.What conditions do not apply in this situation and do not support malpractice?

Mr.M.complains to you that one of your staff asked him details about his sexual relationships and financial affairs.He says that these questions were probing and unnecessary to his care,but he felt that if he refused to answer,the nurse would be angry with him and would not provide him with good care.Mr.M.'s statements reflect concern with:

In keeping with standards of The Joint Commission (TJC),the nurse manager organizes an orientation for new staff members.As part of the orientation,the nurse manager reviews the employee handbook.What is the basis that binds employers to statements in the employee handbook?

Three gravely ill patients are candidates for the only available bed in the ICU.As the supervisor,you assign the bed to the patient with the best chance of recovery.This decision reflects which of the following ethical principles?

With regard to nursing practice,nurse managers are held responsible for:

During a staff shortage,you hire an RN from a temporary agency.The RN administers a wrong IV medication that results in cardiac arrest and a difficult recovery for the patient.Liability in this situation:

The principle that requires nurses to uphold a professional code of ethics,to practice within the code of ethics,and to remain competent is which of the following?