HEALTHCARE FOUNDATIONS PREPU Chapter 06: Values, Ethics, and Advocacy

Nurses must maintain the privacy of clients. Which example is a breach in privacy and would pose an ethical problem?

Taking a picture of a client with the nurse's cell phone

A nurse reports to the charge nurse that a client medication due at 9 am was omitted. Which principle is the nurse demonstrating?

integrity

Ethical distress is:

knowing the correct action but being unable to perform it due to constraints.

Which ethical principle refers to the obligation to do good?

Beneficence

Which nursing situation is an example of an ethical dilemma?

Deciding whether to perform cardiac compressions against a client's wishes

Which statement regarding the Code of Ethics for Nurses is most accurate?

"The code is an expression of nursing's own understanding of its commitment to society."

Which statement by the nurse is an example of deception?

"This injection of procaine will feel like a little pinch."

Which action would cause a charge nurse to have concerns about a nurse's moral agency?

The nurse was seen at a grocery store after calling in sick.

Which word is best described as protection and support of another's rights?

Advocacy

An illegal immigrant with no health insurance sustained life-threatening injuries in an automobile accident. Which action in this case demonstrates the ethical principle of justice?

Airlifting the client to a local trauma center for emergency surgery

Which scenario is an example of the laissez-faire approach to value transmission?

Allowing a child to decide not to have an intravenous line inserted

Which example best describes feminist ethics?

An approach critiquing existing patterns of oppression and domination in society

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.

Which ethical principle is related to the idea of self-determination?

Autonomy Autonomy refers to self-rule, or self-determination; it respects the rights of clients or their surrogates to make healthcare decisions. Beneficence is the duty to do good and the active promotion of benevolent acts. Confidentiality is related to the concept of privacy. Nonmaleficence is the duty not to inflict harm, as well as to prevent and remove harm.

A female client is brought to the emergency room with matted hair, bruising, and malnutrition. The nurse suspects physical abuse and neglect. The nurse states, "This happens to many women." Which type of ethical approach is the nurse exhibiting?

Feminist

A nurse is administering evening medications and notices that a medication was omitted during the day shift. Which statement demonstrates the principle of accountability?

Filling out an occurrence report and notifying the healthcare provider

The nurse is managing the care for a postoperative client. How does the nurse demonstrate advocacy

Limiting visitors due to the client reporting pain

A nurse working in a critical care unit has experienced personal tragedy, extreme shortage of staff in the work environment, and health issues. The nurse has overcome much of these hardships and is now mentoring other nurses in similar situations. What behavior is this nurse demonstrating?

Moral resilience

A nurse is caring for an older adult who has cancer and is experiencing complications requiring a revision of the plan of care. The nurse sits down with the client and the family and discusses their preferences while sharing the nurse's own judgments based on the nurse's expertise. Which type of healthcare decision making does this represent?

Shared decision making

Which is the best definition of ethics?

The formal, systematic study of moral beliefs.

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

The promotion of the dignity and respect of clients as people

Which traits are examples of virtues that can exemplify character and conduct as a professional nurse? Select all that apply.

Trustworthiness Humility Compassion

To practice ethically, the nurse should avoid:

allowing the nurse's own personal judgment to guide practice.

A nurse is acting inappropriately and has an odor of alcohol. This behavior breaches the principle of:

ethical conduct.

A client rings the call bell to request pain medication. On performing the pain assessment, the nurse informs the client that the nurse will return with the pain medication. After a few moments, the nurse returns with the pain medication. The nurse's returning with the pain medication is an example of which principle of bioethics?

fidelity

A client is brought to the emergency department by an adult child, who states, "I am unable to care for my parent anymore. Although I would like to, financially and physically I cannot do it anymore." What ethical problem is the adult child experiencing?

moral distress

A nurse shows client advocacy by:

offering a hospice consultation to a client who is terminally ill.

A nurse obtains an order for a bed alarm for a confused client. This is an example of which ethical principle?

paternalism

What is likely to have the greatest influence on an adolescent's formation of values during this developmental stage?

peers

A charge nurse has implemented staff education on nursing values. The nurse would determine that further education is required when which statement(s) are overheard? Select all that apply.

"I can't believe the client is giving that precious baby up for adoption." "The gonorrhea test was positive. That's what the client gets for sleeping around." "If that was my mother, I sure wouldn't agree to a no-code."

The nursing student is describing moral values to another student. Which statement is correct?

"Moral values give individuals some sense of what is right and wrong."

Which theory of ethics prioritizes the nurse's relationship with clients and the nurse's character in the practice of ethical nursing?

Care-based ethics

A nurse believes that abortion is an acceptable option if a pregnancy results from a situation of rape. What is the best description of this belief?

Personal moral

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

Values Values are ideals and beliefs held by an individual or group; values act as a standard to guide one's behavior. Ethics are moral principles and values that guide the behavior of honorable people. A moral is a standard for right and wrong. Bioethics is related to ethical questions surrounding life and death, as well as questions and concerns regarding quality of life as it relates to advanced technology

A nurse is providing care to a client and is preparing the client for breakfast. The nurse assists the client out of bed to the chair and then helps the client open the items on the breakfast tray. The client begins to eat breakfast. The nurse tells the client, "I'll be back in about 10 minutes to check on you. In the meantime, here is your call light in case you need me." About 10 minutes later, the nurse returns to check on the client. The nurse is demonstrating which ethical principle?

fidelity

Nurses who value client advocacy follow what guideline?

They give priority to the good of the individual client rather than to the good of society in general.

A parent teaches a child not to drink and drive; however, the parent does drink and drive. This action results in:

a failure to model one's own values.

A client tells the nurse that the client does not want to have a painful procedure. By respecting and supporting the client's right to make decisions, the nurse is demonstrating:

advocacy

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

Stays with the patient during his or her death as promised

A nurse working on a critical care unit was informed by a client with multiple sclerosis that the client did not wish to be resuscitated in the event of cardiac arrest. Now the client is no longer able to express wishes, and the family has informed the physician that they want the client to be resuscitated. Aware of the client's wishes, the nurse is involved in a situation that may involve:

ethical distress.

When analyzing an ethical dilemma according to the ethical framework, what is most important for the nurse to take into consideration?

Standards of conduct

Which nursing action(s) best demonstrate the ethical principle of autonomy? Select all that apply.Which nursing action(s) best demonstrate the ethical principle of autonomy? Select all that apply.

The nurse checks to ensure an informed consent document is signed prior to transferring the client for a surgical procedure. The nurse documents that a client refused a new medication.

The nurse beginning practice would like to access the standards for ethical practice. Which organization should the nurse research for these standards?

International Council of Nurses

A nurse is providing care to an older adult client who was just diagnosed with cancer. The client together with the immediate family discuss their preferences with the health care providers involved. The health care providers offer their clinical recommendations about possible treatments. Ultimately, the group arrives at a decision. The nurse interprets this decision-making process as reflecting which type?

Shared There are three basic models of healthcare decision making. In the paternalistic model, clinicians decide what ought to be done to benefit the client, inform the client, and the client's role is to comply. In the client sovereignty model, clients or their surrogates, expressing their right to be autonomous, tell the clinician what they want, and the clinician's role is to comply. Most ethicists reject these models in their extremes and recommend a model of shared decision making, which respects and uses the preferences of the client and the expertise/judgment of the clinician. Clinical decision making is the process that results from the use of a healthcare decision-making model.

An older adult was just diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. The client states, "I am so overwhelmed and I feel like everyone has already decided that I need to be put in hospice care."

offering to answer questions the client may have about care and treatment options AND providing the client with the information needed to obtain a second opinion

A nurse is of the Catholic faith and votes pro-life. This nurse is considered to have:

personal values