Nokea
While performing the admission assessment of a new client, the nurse observed that the client brought a bottle of over-the-counter pain medication to the hospital. The nurse failed to document this or remove the medication from the room. Subsequently, the client experienced a serious adverse drug reaction as a result of the interaction between this drug and one of the drugs that the client was prescribed in the hospital. This nurse may be guilty of what?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The correct answer is A: Malpractice. The nurse's failure to document and remove the over-the-counter medication, which led to a serious adverse drug reaction, constitutes malpractice. Malpractice refers to negligence or failure to provide the standard of care expected in a professional setting. In this case, the nurse's actions directly resulted in harm to the client, which is a clear example of malpractice.
Incorrect Choices:
B: Failure of duty to warn - This choice implies that the nurse had a duty to warn the client about the potential drug interaction, which may not necessarily be the case. The primary issue here is the nurse's failure to document and remove the medication, not a failure to warn.
C: Assault - Assault involves intentional harm or threat of harm, which is not applicable in this scenario where the harm was due to negligence.
D: Incompetence - While the nurse's actions may demonstrate incompetence, the more specific legal term for this situation would be malpractice, as it directly