Ethics & Values in Nursing NCLEX

A client in the emergency department believes that she has been waiting longer than the other individuals because she has no insurance. The ethical principle that is involved in this particular situation is: a. Justice b. Autonomy c. Beneficence d. Nonmaleficence

a. ~ Justice refers to treating people fairly. Allocation of resources and access to health care involve the ethical principle of justice. The client without medical insurance should not have to wait longer to receive health care than do those with insurance.

A secondary-school teacher with advanced multiple sclerosis insists on teaching from a wheelchair and being treated the same as other colleagues. The teacher is demonstrating which of the following? a. Prizing her choice b. Choosing from alternatives c. Considering all consequences d. Acting with a pattern of consistency

a. ~ The teacher is demonstrating prizing her choice. She cherishes her choice of being treated like everyone else despite her medical condition and publicly affirms the choice by teaching from a wheelchair and insisting that she be treated the same as her colleagues.

A nurses use of ethical responsibility can best be seen in which of the following ways? a. Delivery of competent care b. Formation of interpersonal relationships c. Application of the nursing process d. Evaluation of new computerized technologies

a. ~ The term responsibility refers to the characteristics of reliability and dependability. In professional nursing, responsibility includes a duty to perform actions well and thoughtfully. When the nurse provides competent care, the nurse is demonstrating ethical responsibility.

The client states that she needs to exercise regularly, watch her weight, and reduce her fat intake. This demonstrates that the client: a. Believes she will have a heart attack b. Values health promotion activities c. Believes she will not become sick d. Has unrealistic expectations for herself

b. ~ A value is a personal belief about the worth of a given idea, attitude, custom, or object that sets standards that influence behavior. The client is expressing her value of health-promotion activities.

A nurse stopped at an accident scene and began to provide emergency care for the victims. Her actions are best labeled ethically as: a. Respect for persons b. Beneficence c. Nonmaleficence d. Triage

b. ~ Beneficence refers to taking positive actions to help others, as in providing emergency care at an accident scene.

The nurse recognizes that values clarification interventions are beneficial for the client when: a. The client and nurse have different beliefs b. The client is experiencing a values conflict c. The nurse is unsure of a clients values d. The client has rejected normal values

b. ~ Values clarification can help clients gain an awareness of personal priorities, identify ambiguities in values, and resolve major conflicts between values and behavior.

The nurse is working with the client and trying to clarify the clients values regarding his care. Which of the following statements reflects an example of the type of response a nurse should use in a values clarification situation? a. Your questions were pretty blunt. b. Tell me what you're thinking right now. c. I've felt that way before; Id be upset, too. d. You seem concerned about your tests. Let me explain them.

b. ~ Values clarification is a process of self-discovery that the nurse should assist the client through. The goal of values clarification with a client is effective nurse-client communication. As the client becomes more willing to express problems and feelings, the nurse can better establish an individualized plan of care. The character of a nurses response to a client can motivate the client to examine personal thoughts and actions. When the nurse makes a clarifying response, it should be brief and nonjudgmental.

Which of the following statements best illustrates the deontological ethical theory? a. I believe this disease was allowed by a supreme being. b. He has become a stronger individual through experiencing the loss of his father. c. It would never be right for a person to stop cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) efforts. d. The chemotherapy did not cure this person, but it provided a better life for him.

c. ~ Deontology defines actions as right or wrong based on their right-making characteristics such as fidelity to promises, truthfulness, and justice. Deontology does not look to consequences of actions to determine rightness or wrongness. Fidelity to promises and beneficence may be principles on which this statement is based on determining wrongness.

The nurse is aware that an ethics committee in a health care facility serves to: a. Interview all persons involved in a case b. Illustrate circumstances that demonstrate malpractice c. Serve as a resource for specific situations that may occur d. Examine similar previous instances for comparison of outcome decisions

c. ~ Ethics committees serve as a resource to support the processing of ethical dilemmas. Ethics committees serve several purposes: education, policy recommendation, and case consultation or review.

A client has actively picketed for gun control. During a robbery of his business, he was shot in the leg. As the nurse assists him with morning care, which statement would the nurse expect him to make that coincides with his values? a. Individuals should arm themselves for protection. b. Firearms may have a place in our society. c. Prosecution should be the maximum for that felon. d. Protection is a necessary evil for the good guy.

c. ~ Individual experience influences what we come to value. The client who experienced a gunshot during a robbery of his business may value gun control and verbalize a desire to have his attacker prosecuted for the violent crime.

The nurse is investigating the process for resolution of an ethical problem. The correct sequence for resolving ethical problems is: a. Examine ones own values, evaluate, identify the problem b. Evaluate the outcomes, gather data, consider actions c. Gather facts, verbalize the problem, consider actions d. Recognize the dilemma, evaluate, gather information

c. ~ The correct sequence for resolving ethical problems is recognizing the dilemma, gathering facts, examining ones own values, verbalizing the problem, considering actions, negotiating the outcome, and evaluating the action.

A nurse is ambivalent as to the need to vigorously suction a terminal client in a comatose state. Which of the following is an appropriate statement by the nurse in regard to processing an ethical dilemma? a. I need to know the legalities of the living will of this client. b. My spiritual beliefs mandate that I continue to provide all the interventions in my scope of practice. c. I cannot figure out whats right in this situation. I need to collect more data. d. I just feel as if I should not suction this client.

c. ~ The first step in processing an ethical dilemma is determining whether the problem is an ethical one. The nurse who cannot figure out what is right is stating a characteristic of an ethical dilemma, which is that the problem is perplexing. The next step is to gather as much information as possible that is relevant to the case.

The nurse always tries to maintain ethical principles in clinical practice. Which of the following statements reflects application of the specific ethical principle of confidentiality? a. I'm concerned that decreased funding may affect the outpatient program. b. I'm going to make sure that client understands the instructions. c. I cannot share that information with you about the client. d. I need to get more information about the client's health history.

c. ~ This statement reflects the application of the ethical principle of confidentiality. Information is not to be shared with others without specific client consent.

The physician has informed a client that she has cancer. The client tells the nurse and physician that she is not sure if she wants her family to know. The nurse encourages the client to consider sharing the information with her family so they can support her through the decisions she will need to make regarding her care. The nurse is using the principle of: a. Confidentiality b. Fidelity c. Veracity d. Justice

c. ~ Veracity in general means accuracy or conformity to truth. The nurse is encouraging the client to be truthful with the clients family.

A student nurse realizes that she has administered the wrong dose of medication to a patient. She immediately informs her clinical instructor. This student nurse is best described professionally as: a. Confident b. Trustworthy c. Compliant d. Accountable

d. ~ Accountability refers to the ability to answer for ones own actions. The goal is the prevention of injury to the client. The student nurse who informs her instructor of an error is being accountable for her actions and has a goal to prevent injury to the client.

An example of the nurses use of the specific ethical principle of autonomy in a client situation is: a. Learning how to do a procedure safely and effectively b. Returning to speak to a client at an agreed on time c. Preparing the client's room for comfort and privacy d. Supporting a client's right to refuse therapy

d. ~ Following the ethical principle of autonomy, the nurse allows a client to make the decisions regarding care and then supports that decision.

The client has been diagnosed with malignant bone cancer. Treatment involves chemotherapy on an outpatient basis. Over the course of the treatment, the client becomes very ill, is experiencing tremendous side effects from the therapy, and has a severe reduction in the quality of life. The specific ethical principle that is in question in this situation is: a. Veracity b. Fidelity c. Justice d. Nonmaleficence

d. ~ Nonmaleficence is the avoidance of harm or hurt. The discomforts of treatment have to be considered: are they benefiting the client, or are they worse than the disease itself. The health care professional tries to balance the risks and benefits of a plan of care while striving to do the least harm possible.