CHAPTER 7

An RN enters a client's room and observes the unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) forcefully pushing a client down on the bed. The client starts crying and informs the UAP of the need to go to the bathroom. What action is the RN witnessing that should be immediately reported to the supervisor?

Battery

A client refuses to have pain medication administered by injection. The nurse states, "If you don't let me give you the shot, I will get help to hold you down and give it." What tort may the nurse be committing?

Assault

A client states that his recent fall was caused by the fact that his scheduled antihypertensive medications were 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.

Two nurses are discussing a client's condition in an elevator full of visitors. With what tort might the nurses be charged?

Invasion of privacy

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 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 completing admission paperwork asks the client about having an advanced directive. The client states, "I do not know, what is an advanced directive?" What is the nurse's best response?

"It is a written document that identifies a person's preferences regarding which medical interventions to use in the event of a terminal condition."

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."

A nurse is providing care to a client with end-stage cancer. After weighing the alternatives, the client decides not to participate in a clinical trial offered and is requesting no further treatment. The nurse advocates for the client's decision based on the understanding that the client has the right to self-determination, interpreting the client's decision as reflecting which ethical principle?

Autonomy

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.

The nurse is providing care to a client whose condition has progressively declined. The nurse assesses and makes appropriate interventions as well as notifies the health care provider. Despite the nurse's efforts, the client expires. What element of liability has the nurse demonstrated?

Duty

A nurse using the principle-based approach to client care seeks to avoid causing harm to clients in all situations. What is this principle known as?

Nonmaleficence

Nurse practice acts are examples of which type of laws?

Statuorry

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.

To practice ethically, the nurse should avoid:

allowing the nurse's own judgment to guide practice.

A client who is cognitively impaired is scheduled to undergo surgery. The nurse demonstrates understanding of the principle of autonomy and checks the client's health record to ensure that consent has been obtained from which person?

surrogate decision-maker

A student is preparing to graduate from nursing school and understands that professional regulations and laws that govern nursing practice are in place. These regulations and laws are in place for which reason?

to protect the safety of the public

A client diagnosed with cancer has met with the oncologist and is now weighing whether to undergo chemotherapy or radiation for treatment. This client is demonstrating which ethical principle in making this decision?

Autonomy

What is the legal source of rules of conduct for nurses?

nurse practice acts

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 nurse volunteers to serve on the hospital ethics committee. Which action should the nurse expect to take as a member of the ethics committee?

Assist in decision making based on the client's best interests.

Nurses practicing in a critical care unit must acquire specialized skills and knowledge to provide care to the critically ill client. These nurses can validate this specialty competence through what process?

Certification

A nurse provides client care within a philosophy of ethical decision-making and professional expectations. What is the nurse using as a framework for practice?

Code of ethics

A client is to undergo surgery for removal of the gallbladder. Which action related to the client's informed consent falls within the nurse's scope of practice? Select all that apply.

Ensuring the signed form is on the chart Acting as a witness to the client's signature on the form Answering questions about elements of the consent

Which is a characteristic of the care-based approach to bioethics?

The promotion of the dignity and respect of clients as people

Which is not true regarding nurse practice acts?

They describe what medications nurses can prescribe

What is the term for the beliefs held by the individual about what matters?

Values

The client is a 2-month-old infant extremely ill from HSV sepsis. Her mother and father have decided to stop additional medical intervention and allow the infant to pass away naturally. The mother does not want her relatives to know that they plan to stop pursuing aggressive medical treatment because it is against their family's religious beliefs to withdraw medical support. What does the nurse tell the client's mother?

Yes, it is her decision who to inform about the family's medical decision

A client who is scheduled for abdominal surgery gives informed consent. While reviewing the client's medical record, the nurse identifies the consent form, interpreting it as most reflective of:

protection of the client's right to self-determination in decision-making.

What would be an example of the nurse practicing fidelity? The nurse:

stays with a client during death as promised.