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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.
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The LPN has the responsibility to take the vital signs for a client who had a surgical procedure earlier that day. The blood pressure results were 78/42 mm Hg from a previous 132/74 mm Hg. The LPN documented the results without reporting them to the RN in charge. The client developed shock and died 3 hours later. What type of unintentional tort may the nurse be sued for?
- A. Defamation
- B. Battery
- C. Assault
- D. Malpractice
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The law defines malpractice as professional negligence. It refers to harm that result from a licensed person's actions or lack of action. A jury must determine if the responsible person's conduct deviated from the standard expected of others with similar education and experience. All other answers are intentional torts.
The nurse overhears the unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) tell an older adult client loudly, 'If you don't get in that bed, I will throw you in there and tie you down so that you don't get up again!' What type of intentional tort does the nurse understand that the UAP has committed?
- A. Assault
- B. Battery
- C. False imprisonment
- D. Invasion of privacy
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Assault is an act that involves a threat or attempt to do bodily harm. Types of assault include physical intimidation, verbal remarks, or gestures that lead the client to believe that force or injury may be forthcoming. Battery is actual physical contact with another person without that person's consent. False imprisonment occurs when healthcare workers physically or chemically restrain an individual from leaving a healthcare institution.
The nurse is assigned to care for a client who is admitted to the medical unit with an infection after having an abortion. The nurse is uncomfortable caring for this client because the religious beliefs of the nurse are very firm on the issue of abortion. What first step can the nurse make in order to solve the ethical dilemma?
- A. Evaluate the decision in terms of effects and results.
- B. Make the decision and follow through on it.
- C. List all possible options for solving the dilemma.
- D. Obtain as much information as possible to understand the situation.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The first step in the ethical dilemma decision-making process is to obtain as much information as possible to understand the situation. Evaluating the decision in terms of effects and results is the fifth step in the process. Making the decision and following through is the fourth step of the process, and listing all possible options is the second step in the process.
The nurse is concerned about the potential to be sued for a possible act of malpractice. What essential element(s) of malpractice must be present for this to occur? Select all that apply.
- A. Harm to an individual
- B. Duty of a professional toward an individual
- C. Breach of duty by the professional
- D. Poor rapport built with the client
- E. Cause of harm is the breach of duty
Correct Answer: A,B,C,E
Rationale: The essential elements of malpractice must include harm to the individual, duty of a professional toward an individual, breach of duty by the professional, and cause of harm is the breach of duty. Not building a rapport can contribute to a possible malpractice suit but is not an essential element.
Which of the following is an example of statutory law?
- A. Permission for care
- B. Consent for minor client
- C. Nurse practice act
- D. Inferring consent
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Statutory law is a law that any local, state, or federal legislative body enacts. An example of statutory law is the nurse practice act in each state. Clients sign a general permission for care and treatment on hospitalization. The parent or guardian should provide consent if the client is a minor to protect healthcare workers from being charged with battery. In an emergency, healthcare providers can infer consent.