Deck 8: Legal Implications in Nursing Practice

Question 1

A new nurse at a health care unit notes that a listing of patient names is kept in a closed book behind the front desk of the nursing station so that patients can be located easily.What action is most appropriate for the nurse to take?

A)Move the book to the upper ledge of the nursing station for easier access.
B)Talk with the nurse manager about the listing being a violation of confidentiality.
C)Use the book as needed while keeping it away from individuals not involved in patient care.
D)Ask the nurse manager to move the book to a more secluded area.

Answer 1

Use the book as needed while keeping it away from individuals not involved in patient care.

Question 2

The nurse is aware that when caring for patients with communicable diseases,such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS),

A)Every health care worker who comes into contact with a patient has the right to know the patient's HIV infection status.
B)They can refuse to care for a patient with SARS or AIDS if there are a lack of resources or ongoing threats to personal well-being.
C)The nurse is responsible for providing their own personal protective equipment to care for patients with communicable diseases.
D)In known cases of AIDS or SARS,information can be disclosed without the patient's consent.

Answer 2

They can refuse to care for a patient with SARS or AIDS if there are a lack of resources or ongoing threats to personal well-being.

Question 3

The nurse is providing care to a female patient who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and who has a poor prognosis.When the patient's husband comes in to the hospital cafeteria during a busy period,the nurse approaches him and openly expresses her sympathy to the man for his wife's terminal illness.The patient's husband bursts into tears and says that he did not know about his wife's diagnosis.The nurse then takes him to a private area to discuss his feelings.This nurse's action exemplifies which of the following violations? (Select all that apply. )

A)Intentional tort.
B)Unintentional tort.
C)Invasion of privacy.
D)Negligence.
E)Assault.
F)Battery.

Answer 3

Intentional tort.
Invasion of privacy.

Question 4

The nurse calculates the medication dose for an infant on the pediatric unit and determines that the dose is twice what it should be.The pediatrician is contacted and says to administer the medication as ordered.What is the next action that the nurse should take? (Select all that apply. )

A)Notify the nursing supervisor.
B)Check the chain of command policy for such situations.
C)Give the medication as ordered.
D)Give the amount calculated to be correct.
E)Contact the pharmacy for clarification.

Question 5

Because of an influenza epidemic among the nursing staff,a nurse has been moved from the ophthalmology unit to the general surgery unit.The supervisor recognizes that the nurse is inexperienced in this specialty.What should the nurse do?

A)Politely refuse to move,take the day off,and go home.
B)Ask to work with an experienced general surgery nurse.
C)Submit a report noting his or her dissatisfaction.
D)Notify the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA)of the issue.

Question 6

A recent immigrant who does not speak English is alert and requires hospitalization.What is the initial action that the nurse must take to obtain informed consent?

A)Ask a family member to translate what the nurse is saying.
B)Notify the health care provider that the patient does not speak English.
C)Request an official interpreter to explain the terms of consent.
D)Use hand gestures and medical equipment while explaining in English.

Question 7

A newly hired experienced nurse is preparing to change a patient's abdominal dressing and has not done it before at this hospital.Which action by the nurse is best?

A)Ask another nurse to do it so the correct method can be viewed.
B)Check the policy and procedure manual for the agency's method.
C)Change the dressing using the method taught in nursing school.
D)Ask the patient how the dressing change has been recently done.

Question 8

A patient has just been told that he has approximately six months to live and asks about advance directives.Which statements by the nurse give the patient correct information? (Select all that apply. )

A)"You have the right to refuse treatment at any time."
B)"If you want certain procedures or actions taken or not taken,and you might not be able to tell anyone at the time,you need to complete documents ahead of time that give your health care provider this information."
C)"You will be resuscitated at any time to allow you the longest length of survival."
D)"You might want to think about choosing someone who will make medical decisions for you in the event that you are unable to make your desires known."
E)"We will get someone who knows the province's guidelines to assist you in setting up your living will."
F)"If you travel to another province,your living will should cover your wishes."

Question 9

A nurse gives an incorrect medication to a patient without doing all of the mandatory checks,but the patient has no ill effects from the medication.What actions should the nurse take after reassessing the patient? (Select all that apply. )

A)Notify the health care provider of the situation.
B)Document in the patient's medical record that an incident report was filed.
C)Document in the patient's medical record why the omission occurred.
D)Discuss what happened with all of the other nurses and staff on the unit.
E)Continue to monitor the patient for any untoward effects from the medication.
F)Send an incident report to risk management after completing it.

Question 10

A confused patient with a urinary catheter,a nasogastric tube,and an intravenous line keeps touching these items,which are needed for care.The nurse has tried to explain to the patient that he should not touch them,but the patient continues.What is the best action by the nurse at this time?

A)Apply restraints loosely on the patient's dominant wrist.
B)Try other approaches to prevent the patient from touching these care items.
C)Notify the health care provider that restraints are needed immediately to maintain the patient's safety.
D)Allow the patient to pull out lines to prove that the patient needs to be restrained.

Question 11

A pediatric oncology nurse is floated to an orthopedic trauma unit.What actions should the nurse manager of the orthopedic unit take to enable this floated nurse to give safe care?

A)Provide a complete orientation to the functioning of the entire unit.
B)Determine the acuity of patients' and the care that the nurse can safely provide.
C)Allow the nurse to choose which mealtime she would like.
D)Assign unregulated care providers to assist her with care.

Question 12

An example of care where a nurse may be liable for actions that constitute an unintentional tort is

A)Physical restraining a patient who refuses care.
B)Taking photos of a patient's surgical wounds without the patient's permission.
C)The patient falling and being injured as a result of side rails being left down.
D)Talking about a patient's history of sexually transmitted infections.

Question 13

A nurse is working with a physician who provides medical assistance in dying (MAID)in Canada.What must the nurse be aware of?

A)The nurse can provide MAID to a patient by administering a substance prescribed by the physician.
B)The patient requesting MAID must be at least 16 years of age and capable of making health care decisions.
C)The patient's natural death must be unforeseeable in order to request MAID.
D)The patient requesting MAID must be eligible for publicly funded health services in Canada.

Question 14

A nursing student in the final term of nursing school is overheard by a nursing faculty member telling another student that she got to insert a nasogastric tube in the emergency department while she was working as a nursing assistant.What advice is best for the nursing faculty member to give to the nursing student?

A)"Just be careful when you are doing new procedures and make sure you are following directions by the nurse."
B)"Review your procedures before you go to work,so you will be prepared to do them if you have a chance."
C)"The nurse should not have allowed you to insert the nasogastric tube because something bad could have happened."
D)"You are not allowed to perform any procedures other than those in your job description as a nursing assistant,even with the nurse's permission."

Question 15

A nurse performs cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)on a 92-year-old patient with brittle bones and breaks a rib during the procedure,which then punctures a lung.The patient recovers completely without any residual problems and sues the nurse for pain and suffering and for malpractice.What key point will the prosecution attempt to prove?

A)The CPR procedure was done incorrectly.
B)The patient would have died if nothing was done.
C)The patient was resuscitated according to policy.
D)Patients with brittle bones might sustain fractures when chest compressions are done.

Question 16

A nursing student has been written up several times for being late with providing patient care and for omitting aspects of patient care and not knowing basic procedures that were taught in the skills course one term earlier.The nursing student says,"I don't understand what the big deal is.As my instructor,you are there to protect me and make sure I don't make mistakes." What is the best response from the nursing instructor?

A)"You are expected to perform at the level of a professional nurse."
B)"You are expected to perform at the level of a nursing student."
C)"You are practicing under the licence of the nurse assigned to the patient."
D)"You are expected to perform at the level of a skilled nursing assistant."

Question 17

An unconscious patient with a head injury needs immediate life-saving surgery.His wife speaks only French,and the health care providers,who are not fluent in French,are having a difficult time explaining his condition to her.In this situation,what must the nurse know?

A)Two licensed health care workers should witness and sign the preoperative consent form indicating that they heard an explanation of the procedure given in English.
B)An ethical review board must be contacted to give its emergency advice on the situation.
C)A friend of the family may act as an interpreter,but the explanation cannot contain details of the patient's accident because of confidentiality laws.
D)The health care team should continue with the surgery after providing information in the best manner possible.

Question 18

The administration of medications in accordance with a prescriber's prescription is a basic nursing responsibility.The nurse is responsible for knowing: (Select all that apply).

A)Purpose of the medication.
B)Effect of the medication.
C)Cost of the medication.
D)Potential adverse effects of the medication.
E)Contraindications of the medication.

Question 19

The nurse has just obtained the licence to practise and is determining whether individual malpractice insurance is necessary.Which of the following is the most important factor in the nurse's decision to carry malpractice insurance?

A)The amount of the malpractice insurance provided by the employer.
B)Working in a critical area of nursing in which morbidity and mortality rates are high.
C)Employment status and professional liability coverage.
D)The nurse's knowledge level of Good Samaritan laws.

Question 20

The law that would best deal with a nurse accidentally administering an incorrect dose of morphine sulphate to a patient is which of the following?

A)Civil law.
B)Criminal law.
C)Human rights law.
D)Statute law.