Chapter 07: Legal Dimensions of Nursing Practice (3)

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

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

Accreditation

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 family brings the client 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 confirms that the client's family has signed the consent form.

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.

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."

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

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.

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

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

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 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.

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

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

To improve quality of care

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

To protect the safety of the public

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

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

A nurse working on a busy medical-surgical unit does not take the vital signs of client who is preparing for discharge but instead documents the same vital signs obtained for this client earlier in the morning. For which tort would the nurse be potentially liable?

Fraud