Legal Dimensions of Nursing Practice

The student nurse tells her family about a client with AIDS that she cared for in clinical yesterday. Which tort has the student committed?

Invasion of privacy

A postanesthesia nurse is reporting about a client to the intensive care unit nurse in the elevator. There are staff members and visitors in the elevator. The postanasthesia nurse is doing what?

breaching the client's confidentiality

A nurse observes another nurse place an unused dose of narcotics in their pocket. If caught, the nurse could be charged with which type of crime?

Felony

The health care provider prescribes orders for a client with newly diagnosed uncontrolled seizure activity. When reviewing the prescriptions, the nurse correctly identifies which prescription, if followed, puts him at risk for negligence charges?

Restrain all four extremities

After reporting to work for a night shift, the nurse learns that the unit will be understaffed because two RNs called out sick. As a result, each nurse on the unit will need to provide care for an additional four acute clients, in addition to her regular client assignment. Which statement is true for this nurse when working in understaffed circumstances?

The nurse will be legally held to the same standards of care as when staffing levels are normal.

Which party is responsible for obtaining informed consent from a client?

The person performing the procedure, study, or treatment

A client is received in a postoperative nursing unit after undergoing abdominal surgery. During this time, the nurse failed to recognize the significance of abdominal swelling, which significantly increased during the next 6 hours. Later, the client had to undergo emergency surgery. The lack of action on the nurse's part is liable for action. Which of the following legal terms describes the case?

Tort

Tort

a lawsuit in which a plaintiff charges that a defendant committed a deliberately aggressive act. a cause of action in which one person asserts that a physical, emotional, or financial injury was a consequence of another person's actions or failure to act

Slander

a verbal attack on a person's character

While riding in the elevator, a nurse discusses the HIV-positive status of a client with other colleagues. The nurse's action reflects:

invasion of privacy

A nurse hired to work in an ambulatory setting attends new employee orientation. The nurse never worked in ambulatory before and is concerned about the Scope and Standards of Practice for Professional Ambulatory Care Nursing. Which response, given by the nurse educator, would further explain the Scope and Standards of Practice for Professional Care Nursing to the new nurse?

"The Scope and Standards of Practice for Professional Ambulatory Care Nursing deal with the professional obligations of a nurse working in the ambulatory setting."

A lawyer is describing the litigation process to a nurse named in a malpractice lawsuit. Which statements by the lawyer accurately describe this process? (Select all that apply.)

"The process of bringing and trying this lawsuit is called litigation." "The opinions of appellate judges are published and become common law." "Common law is based on the principle of stare decisis."

The client being admitted to the oncology unit conveys his wishes regarding resuscitation in the event of cardiopulmonary arrest. The nurse advises the client that it would be in his best interest to obtain which document?

A living will

The nursing faculty is lecturing on unintentional and intentional torts. The faculty asks a nursing student to provide an example of an unintentional tort. Which example, if provided by the student, would indicate the student has a clear understanding of torts?

A nurse gives a medication and client has an adverse reaction.

The health care provider prescribes cold therapy every 4 hours for a client after foot surgery. The nurse places the ice pack directly on the client's skin and returns 60 minutes later. After removal of the ice pack, the skin is pale and cold to the touch. The client develops frostbite and begins a lawsuit for malpractice. When reviewing the case, the nurse attorney recognizes which most important statement about the malpractice suit?

All elements are in place to hold the nurse liable.

While caring for an infant, the nurse hears another child screaming in the next room. She rushes to the other room to check on the screaming child, forgetting to put the side rails up on the infant's crib. She returns to the room to find the infant has fallen out of the crib and sustained a head injury. Based on the nurse's action, which tort is the nurse liable for?

Malpractice

A nurse is caring for a client following endotracheal intubation. Before applying soft wrist restraints to prevent the client from pulling out the endotracheal tube, what is the most appropriate action of the nurse?

Obtain a medical order

Libel

pertains to damaging written statements read by others.

Licensure

process by which a state determines that a candidate meets certain minimum requirements to practice in the profession and grants the license to do so

Credentialing

refers to ways in which professional competence is ensured and maintained

Felony

serious criminal offense, and includes actions such as stealing narcotics, murder, falsifying medical records, and insurance fraud

In comparison with licensure, which measures entry-level competence, what does certification validate?

specialty knowledge and clinical judgment

Accreditation

is the process by which an educational program is evaluated and recognized as having met certain standards.

A medical surgical client is in the radiology department. The client's cousin arrives on the medical surgical unit and asks to speak with the nurse caring for his cousin. The visitor asks the nurse to provide a brief outline of the client's illness. Which response, if given by the nurse, would demonstrate application of legal safeguard in her practice?

"I cannot give you that information due to client confidentiality."

The nurse educator is presenting an in-service on nursing and malpractice. Which statements, made by the nursing staff, would indicate to the educator that further teaching is required? Select all that apply.

"If I make a mistake, I will not tell anyone" "I will have the supervisor fill out the incident report when I make an error."

A client being discharged from the hospital asks the nurse, "When I go visit my family out of state, should I take my living will with me, or do I need a new one for that state?" What is the most appropriate response made by the nurse?

"Take it with you. It is recognized universally in the United States."

The nurse attempts to notify a health care provider about a client's elevated temperature, but does not get a response. Which statement, if documented by the nurse, would indicate that the nurse is following proper protocol for nursing documentation?

1300: Client temperature elevated. Telephoned health care provider's service 3 times without a response. Tepid sponge bath given and nursing supervisor notified.

Nurses may commit both intentional and unintentional torts when practicing within the profession. What are examples of intentional torts in nursing practice? Select all that apply.

A nurse threatens to hit an older client who has dementia and is wailing. A nurse seeks employment in a hospital after falsifying credentials on a resume. A nurse places a client who is a fall risk in restraints without the proper order. A nurse makes disparaging remarks to the staff about a client who has a sexually transmitted infection (STI).

Which of the following is an example of certification?

A nurse who demonstrates advanced expertise in a content area of nursing through special testing.

Which nursing student would most likely be held liable for negligence?

A nursing student administers medication to a resident, while working as an unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) at a local nursing home.

Which process evaluates and recognizes educational programs as having met certain standards?

Accreditation

An oncology nurse is caring for a client suffering from metabolic encephalopathy and end stage kidney disease. The client has no known family and no advanced directives. Upon entering the room, the nurse observes the client is pale and has no spontaneous respiration. What is the priority action the nurse should take?

Begin CPR

A nurse fails to communicate a change in the client's condition to the physician. Which element related to proving malpractice has been met?

Breach of duty

The nurse educator is presenting a lecture on the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Which situations, if identified by the nursing staff, would indicate to the educator that the staff understands which actions about the Occupational Safety and Health Act?

Helps reduce workforce injuries and illness in the workplace

The nursing student talks with the student's family about an AIDS client from the clinical experience. Which tort has the student committed?

Invasion of privacy

A client informs the nurse that he wants to discontinue his treatment and go home. Later, the nurse finds the client dressed to leave. Which action should the nurse take in this situation?

Let the client go after signing a document stating he is going against medical advice.

A client has a prescription for amoxicillin (Amoxil) 500 mg P.O. (by mouth) every 8 hours. The nurse administers the medication via the intravenous route. Based on the nurse's action, the client develops a pulmonary embolus, experiences respiratory distress, and is transferred to the intensive care unit. The client's family files a lawsuit against the facility and the nurse. While reviewing the case, which legal action has the nurse attorney identified that meets the criteria for the client's lawsuit?

Malpractice

A nurse, while off-duty, tells the physiotherapist that a client who was admitted to the nursing unit contracted AIDS due to exposure to sex workers at the age of 18. The client discovers that the nurse has revealed the information to the physiotherapist. With what legal action could the nurse be charged?

Slander

A registered nurse has had her license suspended after being convicted of being impaired at work. What governing body has the authority to revoke or suspend a nurse's license?

The State Board of Nurse Examiners

When making client rounds, the charge nurse observes which action by a staff nurse that would constitute battery?

The elderly client refuses the intramuscular injection, but the staff nurse administered it.

The health care facility is involved in litigation by four clients. When reviewing the cases, which legal case would the nurse attorney identify to best describe malpractice?

The nurse administers amoxicillin (Amicar) to a client with known allergies to penicillin. The client has a seizure with resulting respiratory arrest.

A client is brought to the emergency department in an unconscious state with a head injury. The client requires surgery to remove a blood clot. What would be the appropriate nursing intervention in keeping with the policy of informed consent prior to a surgical procedure?

The nurse ensures that the client's family signs the consent form.

A student nurse is assisting an elderly patient to ambulate following hip replacement surgery, and the patient falls and reinjures the hip. Who is potentially responsible for the injury to this patient?

The student nurse The Nursing instructor The Hospital

A nurse enters the client's room and finds the client lying on the floor experiencing a seizure activity. After stabilizing the client, the nurse informs the physician. The physician advises the nurse to prepare an incident report. What is the purpose of an incident report?

To evaluate quality care and potential risks for injury to the client

A nurse is caring for a client who has undergone coronary angioplasty. The cardiac monitor is showing abnormal ECG waves, indicating arterial fibrillation. The nurse does not recognize the importance of the sign; as a result, the client's condition deteriorates and the client has to be taken up for an emergency procedure. Which of the following describes the nurse's legal liability?

Tort

The nurse educator provides an educational session to the nursing staff on protection of a client's privacy. Which circumstances, identified by the staff, would indicate to the educator that the teaching was effective? Select all that apply.

With the client's permission, the nurse explained the client's diagnosis to the client's spouse. The nurse removed the client from the emergency department waiting room into a private area to collect assessment data.

A legal document that states a client's health-related wishes — such as a preference for pain management if the client becomes terminally ill — and also allows the client's daughter to direct his care, is a(an):

advance directive (Clients communicate their wishes to health care providers by verbally participating in health care decision making and by employing written documents called advance directives.)

Battery

an assault that is carried out and includes willful, angry, and violent or negligent touching of another person's body or clothes or anything attached to (or held by) that other person.

A registered nurse enters a client's room and observes the unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) pushing a client down on the bed. The client starts crying and informs the UAP that he needs to go to the bathroom. The UAP holds the client down and tells him he was just in the bathroom. The nurse observing this incident is aware that the UAP's action is an example of:

battery

Misdemeanor

is a minor criminal offense

Negligence

is harm that results because a person did not act reasonably.

Certification

is the process by which a person who has met certain criteria established by a nongovernmental association is granted recognition in a specified practice area.

Nurses complete incident reports as dictated by the agency protocol. What is the primary reason nurses fill out an incident report?

to improve quality of care

Professional regulations and laws that govern nursing practice are primarily in place for which reason?

to protect the safety of the public