Legal Safeguards

Which statement is true about an incident report? (Select all that apply.)

A disclosed incidence report can be subpoenaed in court., The document is generally considered confidential., The chart should contain all the variables related to the incident. An incident report, also called a variance or occurrence report, is used by health care agencies to document the occurrence of anything out of the ordinary that results in, or has the potential to result in, harm to a patient, employee, or visitor. While no notation of such a report should be mentioned in or attached to the medical record, a complete factual account of the incident; the date, time, and place of the incident; pertinent characteristics of the person or people involved (e.g., alert, ambulatory, asleep) and of any equipment or resources being used; and any other variables believed to be important to the incident should be described in the medical record. This report is confidential, but under certain circumstances they can be subpoenaed in court.

What is the nurse's best safeguard against legal prosecution?

Competent practice Competent practice is the nurse's most important and best legal safeguard. Each nurse is responsible for making sure their educational background and clinical experience are adequate to fulfill their responsibilities as a professional nurse. None of the other options are relevant to legal self-protection.

A nurse explains the informed consent form to a patient who is scheduled for heart bypass surgery. Which elements are considered essential to the effective establishment of informed consent? (Select all that apply.)

Full disclosure of information regarding the procedure, Comprehension of the information by the patient or guardian, Competence of the patient must be determined prior to consent Informed consent is obtained only after the patient receives full disclosure of all pertinent information regarding the surgery or procedure, and only if the patient understands the potential benefits and risks associated with doing so. If competency is in question, consent is required of the identified guardian. The information is provided by the professional performing the procedure and is required in situations involving clinical research.

It is important that the nurse understands the difference between controlling a patient's decision and assisting the patient with an informed decision.

TRUE In order to be a patient advocate and protect the patients' right to informed consent, the nurse plays the role as advocate in which he or she does not interfere with the patient's decisions but instead assists with the patient with understanding the information that enables the patient to make an informed decision.

Adults learn differently than children; therefore, nurse leaders need to be familiar with teaching and learning styles to effectively educate staff members.

TRUE According to Knowles (1970), adults are self-directed learners and incorporate past life experiences in their approach to gain knowledge. Nurse leaders need to use this approach when preparing to educate staff members.

The nurse acts as the patient advocate with regard to informed consent.

TRUE The nurse ensures that the patient has received a complete explanation of all treatment options prior to consenting to a medical-surgical treatment or procedure and that the patient correctly understands the information.

The nurse manager has an obligation to act as advocate for which entities? (Select all that apply.)

The profession, The staff, Themselves, The patient Nursing leaders and managers recognize that they have an obligation not only to advocate for the needs of their patients, subordinates, and themselves at a particular time but also to be active in furthering the goals of the profession. While they have obligations to the employer, they are not their advocate.

What rights do patients have? (Select all that apply.)

The right to protection of their privacy, The right to end treatment without physician consent, The right to respectful care free of discrimination, The right to informed consent Patient rights are a list of guarantees for those getting medical care. They assure that the health care system is fair and that it is working to meet the needs of the patient. The patient has a right to respectful, unbiased care; privacy and confidentiality; informed consent; and to end treatment whenever they see fit to do so. Inexpensive treatment is not a right.