Chapter 7: Legal Dimensions of Nursing Practice Fundamentals of Nursing

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

A living will

Having recently completed a specialty nursing program in neonatal care, a nurse is now preparing to leave the medical unit and begin providing care in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The nurse has completed which process of credentialing?

Certification

After reporting to work for a night shift, the nurse learns that the unit is understaffed because two RNs called out sick. As a result, each nurse on the unit must provide care for four acute clients in addition to the nurse's regular clients. Which statement is true for this nurse when working in understaffed circumstances?

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

Nurse practice acts are examples of which type of laws?

Statutory laws

Legal safeguards are in place in the nursing practice to protect the nurse from exposure to legal risks as well as to protect the client from harm. What are examples of legal safeguards for the nurse? Select all that apply.

*The nurse obtains informed consent from a client to perform a procedure. *The nurse educates the client about *The Patient Care Partnership. *The nurse documents all client care in a timely manner.

Which are examples of a nurse appropriately protecting a client's privacy? Select all that apply.

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

During the orientation to the hospital, the staff development educator discusses unit and institutional-based policies. What is the source of the practice rules that result in unit and institutional-based policies?

Health care institution

A nurse talks with family members about an AIDS client from the clinic where the nurse works. Which tort has the nurse committed?

Invasion of privacy

A nurse is caring for a client with hypertension whose blood pressure has increased from 154/78 mmHg to 196/98 mmHg with a heart rate of 110 beats per minute during the past hour. The nurse goes to lunch without reporting the change to the health care provider, and the client experiences a cardiac arrest. What tort has the nurse likely committed?

Negligence

During the admission assessment of a client with a suspected mandibular fracture, the client discloses to the nurse that the injury results from the client's spouse hitting the client. Which action should the nurse prioritize when responding to this disclosure?

Reporting the abuse to the appropriate authorities

A nurse witnesses a traffic accident and dresses the open wounds sustained by a child. Later, in the hospital, the child develops complications from an infection in the wound. The family holds the nurse responsible for the complications and attempts to file a lawsuit. Which statement is true regarding how the Good Samaritan law applies to this case?

The Good Samaritan law will provide legal immunity to the nurse.

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 physician is called to see a client with angina. During the visit the physician advises the nurse to decrease the dosage of atenolol to 12.5 mg. However, because the physician is late for another visit, the physician requests that the nurse write down the order for the physician. What should be the appropriate nursing action in this situation?

The nurse should ask the physician to come back and write the order.

A client newly diagnosed with congestive heart failure has a prescription for digoxin. The nurse counts the heart rate before administration of the medication and obtains a heart rate of 51 beats per minute. Which action by the nurse demonstrates adherence to the standards of nursing care?

The nurse withholds the medication and notifies the health care practitioner.

Action has been taken against a nurse's license based on a claim that the nurse acted outside of nursing's scope of practice. The nurse's attorney determines that the nurse needs more education about the purpose of the board of nursing when the nurse makes which statement?

The rules made by the board of nursing don't reflect my practice."

An HIV-positive client discovers that the client's name is published in a research report on HIV care prepared by the client's nurse. The client is hurt and files a lawsuit against the nurse. Which offense has the nurse committed?

Invasion of privacy

A nurse is reviewing the nurse practice act of the state in which the nurse is licensed. The nurse understands that this act was derived from which source of law?

Statutory

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?" Which is the most appropriate response by the nurse?

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

What governing body has the authority to revoke or suspend a nurse's license?

The State Board of Nurse Examiners

When the nurse informs a client's employer of the client's autoimmune deficiency disease, the nurse is committing the tort of:

invasion of privacy.

A nurse is overheard in the hospital cafeteria making false, derogatory comments about a client. The nurse is guilty of:

slander

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

To protect the safety of the public

Which situation is an example of battery that the nurse may witness while performing duties at the health care facility?

Performing a surgical procedure without getting consent

While a client admitted to the medical-surgical unit is in the radiology department, a visitor claiming to be the client's cousin arrives on the medical-surgical unit and asks the nurse to provide a brief outline of the client's illness. Which response by the nurse would be most appropriate, both legally and professionally?

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

A client has asked that a nurse witness the signing of the client's will. What should the nurse do prior to witnessing this signature? Select all that apply.

*Check to see whether state laws allow the nurse to witness this signature. *Assess the client's state of mind. *Review the client's medical record. *Talk to the client about why the client is signing the will now.

Which is an example of an unintentional tort?

A nurse gives the client a medication, and the client has an adverse reaction to it.

Which scenario 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 action constitutes battery?

An older adult client refuses an intramuscular injection, but the nurse administers it.

While walking down the hall, a nurse manager overhears a staff member telling a client, "If you don't stay in this chair and stop wandering, I'm going to tie you to it." The nurse manager pulls the staff member aside and discusses what was said. The nurse manager intervenes because the staff member's statement is which type of tort?

Assault

A client admitted to a mental health unit has exhibited physical behaviors that put the client and others at risk. The nurse applies four-point restraints on the client without obtaining a physician's order or the client's consent. The nurse is at risk of being accused of which action?

Battery

The nurse is providing care to a client who had orthopedic surgery. The nurse has medicated the client for pain. However, the client reports that the pain is unrelieved. The nurse takes no further action regarding assessment and intervention for the client's pain. The nurse does not notify the surgeon regarding the client's pain. The nurse's failure to take further action represents which element of liability in this case?

Breach of duty

A client has a prescription for amoxicillin 500 mg P.O. every 8 hours. The nurse administers the medication via the intravenous route. Based on the nurse's action, the client develops complications and has an increased length of stay. The client files a lawsuit against the facility and the nurse. Which legal action has the nurse's attorney identified that meets the criteria for the client's lawsuit?

Malpractice

A nurse who comments to coworkers at lunch that a client with a sexually transmitted infection has been sexually active in the community may be guilty of what tort?

Slander

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

Injuries related to lifting or transferring clients occur in the health care setting and may be considered a work-related injury. Which law was intended to reduce work-related injuries and illnesses?

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970

A client is unhappy with the health care provided and informs the nurse that the client is leaving the facility. The client has not been discharged by the physician. The nurse finds that the client has dressed and is ready to go. What should the nurse's action be in this situation?

The nurse should call and inform the nursing supervisor of the situation.

A nurse is caring for a client who has undergone coronary angioplasty. The cardiac monitor is showing abnormal electrocardiogram waves, indicating atrial 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 describes the nurse's legal liability?

Tort

Nurses are occasionally asked to witness a testator's (person who makes the will) signing of a will. Which guideline is true regarding a nurse's role in witnessing a testator's signature?

Witnesses to a signature do not need to read the will.

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 adult child to direct the client's care, is:

an advance directive

A client states that the client's recent fall was caused by his scheduled antihypertensive medications being mistakenly administered by two different nurses, an event that is disputed by both of the nurses identified by the client. Which measure should the nurses prioritize when anticipating that legal action may follow?

Document the client's claims and the events surrounding the alleged incident