Nokea
The nurse must choose between two undesirable alternatives involving a client the nurse is caring for. The client wants to be told about the prognosis, and the family member does not want the client to know. What type of situation is the nurse in?
- A. Ethical dilemma
- B. Bioethical dilemma
- C. Value dilemma
- D. Personal dilemma
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: An ethical dilemma is a situation in which an individual must choose between two undesirable alternatives, and it often involves examining rights and obligations of particular individuals. A bioethical dilemma is an ethical question surrounding life and death questions and concerns regarding quality of life as it relates to advanced technology. Values are ideals and beliefs that are held by an individual or group. This does not relate to a personal dilemma because it does not affect the nurse.
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The nurse is caring for a client who has been intubated and on a mechanical ventilator and has been restrained with soft wrist restraints. The client no longer requires the restraints, so the nurse removes them. What type of ethical decision making does the nurse display?
- A. Fidelity
- B. Autonomy
- C. Beneficence
- D. Nonmaleficence
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Beneficence is the duty to do good for the clients assigned to the nurse's care. The nurse has a duty to remove wrist restraints whenever possible (removing a harm) and to help the client regain independence (promoting and doing good). Fidelity is the duty to maintain commitments of professional obligations and responsibilities. Autonomy refers to a client's right to self-determination or the freedom to make choices without opposition. Nonmaleficence is the duty to do no harm to the client.
The nurse understands that laws and ethics are made in order to maintain order and harmony within society. What is the difference between laws and ethics?
- A. Laws are written rules for conduct and actions, and ethics are moral principles and values that guide our behavior.
- B. Laws are written to protect society from unsavory people, and ethics are rules for appropriate behavior.
- C. Laws are written to ensure appropriate behavior and ethics are to conduct actions.
- D. Ethics determine how a client is to be treated, and laws are forms of punishment.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Laws are written rules for conduct and actions and ensure the protection of rights, and ethics are moral principles and values that guide the behavior of honorable people. Ethical standards dictate the rightness or wrongness of human behavior. The other answers do not address this as clearly.
The nurse is to administer a potassium supplement to the client. The nurse does not check the potassium level prior to administering the medication and later finds that the potassium level was at a critical high. What principle has this nurse violated?
- A. Beneficence
- B. Nonmaleficence
- C. Autonomy
- D. Fidelity
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Nonmaleficence is the duty to do no harm to the client. For instance, if a nurse fails to check a prescription for an unusually high dose of insulin and administers it, the nurse has violated the principle of nonmaleficence. Beneficence is the duty to do good for the clients assigned to the nurse's care. The nurse has a duty to remove wrist restraints whenever possible (removing a harm) and to help the client regain independence (promoting and doing good). Fidelity is the duty to maintain commitments of professional obligations and responsibilities. Autonomy refers to a client's right to self-determination or the freedom to make choices without opposition.
A client who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer states wanting no further treatment and also informs the physician of not wanting any resuscitative action taken if the client experiences a cardiac or respiratory arrest. What type of order does the nurse anticipate the physician will write?
- A. A do-not-resuscitate order
- B. Intubation and mechanical ventilation only if respiratory arrest occurs
- C. Emergency medications only
- D. Do everything except resuscitate
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: DNR orders are written when clients wish to have no resuscitative action taken if they experience cardiac or respiratory arrest. Intubation, mechanical ventilation, emergency medications, and do everything but resuscitate are measures that are against the client's wishes.
Which of the following statements regarding the statute of limitations is correct?
- A. It is applicable only in the case of a minor.
- B. There is no designated time for a person to file a lawsuit.
- C. The designated time is typically calculated from the time the incident occurred.
- D. It provides legal immunity to rescuers who provide first aid in the case of an emergency.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: A statute of limitations is the designated time for a person to file a lawsuit. The time is typically calculated from the time the incident occurred. If the injured party is a minor, the statute of limitations sometimes does not commence until the victim reaches adulthood. Good Samaritan law ensures legal immunity for rescuers who provide first aid in the case of an emergency to accident victims.