Legal Issues

KEYWORDS

The following words include English vocabulary, /medical terminology, concepts, principles, or information relevant to content specifi cally addressed in the chapter or associated with topics present- ed in it. English dictionaries, nursing textbooks, and medical dictionaries such as Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, are resources that can be used to expand your knowledge and understanding of these words and related information.

Accountability Functions of the nurse Accreditation Dependent Act of commission/omission Independent Advanced directives Interdependent Do Not Resuscitate Futility Health-Care Proxy Good Samaritan Law Power of Attorney Health-Care Quality Improvement Act American Nurses Association Standards Incident Report of Nursing Practice Incompetent Americans With Disabilities Act Informed Consent Assault Invasion of privacy Autonomy Joint Commission on Accreditation Autopsy of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) Battery Justice Benefi cence Liability Breach of Duty Libel Certifi cation Licensure Civil law Litigation Code of Ethics Living Will Collective bargaining Malpractice Common law National Council Licensing Examinations Confi dentiality (NCLEX) Constitution of United States National League for Nursing Contract National League for Nursing Accrediting Contractual relationship Commission Controlled Substance Acts Negligence Controlled substances Nonmalefi cence Crime North American Association Criterion, Criteria (NANDA) Death certifi cate Nurse Practice Act Defamation Occupational Safety and Health Acts Defendant Organ donation Defense Patient’s Bill of Rights Disciplinary action Plaintiff Document Professional liability insurance Duty Professional misconduct Ethics Public law Euthanasia Quality of life False imprisonment Reciprocity Federal legislation Registration Fidelity Res ipsa loquitur Fraud Respondeat superior

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Risk management program Supreme Court Sigma Theta Tau Testify Slander Tor t Standards of care Veracity State Voluntary State legislation Will Statutory law Witness Sue

QUESTIONS

1. Licensure of Registered Professional Nurses is required primarily to protect: 1. Nurses 2. Patients 3. Common law 4. Health-care agencies 2. Which factor is unique to malpractice when comparing negligence and malpractice? 1. The action did not meet standards of care 2. The inappropriate care is an act of commission 3. There is harm to the patient as a result of the care 4. There is a contractual relationship between the nurse and patient 3. A patient falls while getting out of bed unassisted. When completing an Incident Report, the nurse understands that its main purpose is to: 1. Ensure that all parties have an opportunity to document what happened 2. Help establish who is responsible for the incident 3. Make data available for quality control analysis 4. Document the incident on the patient’s chart 4. When the nurse administers a drug that has PRN after the order, the nurse functions: 1. Collegially 2. Dependently 3. Independently 4. Interdependently 5. A main purpose of the American Nurses Association is to: 1. Establish standards of nursing practice 2. Recognize academic achievement in nursing 3. Monitor educational institutions granting degrees in nursing 4. Prepare nurses to become members of the nursing profession 6. The nurse says, “If you do not let me do this dressing change, I will not let you eat din- ner with the other residents in the dining room.” This is an example of: 1. Assault 2. Battery 3. Negligence 4. Malpractice 7. State legislatures are responsible for: 1. Standardized care plans 2. Enactment of Nurse Practice Acts 3. Accreditation of educational nursing programs 4. Certifi cation in specialty areas of nursing practice

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8. The nurse should be aware of legal principles associated with nursing practice. There- fore, the nurse should understand that related to the doctrine of respondeat superior: 1. Nurses must respond to the Supreme Court when they commit acts of malpractice 2. Health-care facilities are responsible for the negligent actions of the nurses whom they employ 3. Nurses are responsible for their actions when they have contractual relationships with patients 4. The laws absolve nurses from being sued for negligence if they provide inappropriate care at the scene of an accident

9. When attempting to administer a 10:00 PM sleeping medication, the nurse assesses that the patient appears to be asleep. What should the nurse do? 1. Withhold the drug 2. Notify the physician 3. Awaken the patient to administer the drug 4. Administer it later if the patient awakens during the night 10. It is important for the nurse to be aware that the role of the American Nurses Associ- ation Standards of Nursing Practice is to: 1. Establish criteria for quality practice 2. Defi ne the philosophy of nursing practice 3. Identify the legal defi nition of nursing practice 4. Determine educational standards for nursing practice 11. The physician asks the nurse to witness an informed consent. The nurse understands that a patient who is unable to give an informed consent for surgery is a: 1. 16-year-old boy who is married 2. 35-year-old woman who is depressed 3. 50-year-old woman who does not speak English 4. 65-year-old man who has received a narcotic for pain 12. When the nurse is administering a medication to a confused patient, the patient says, “This pill looks different from the one I had before.” What should the nurse do? 1. Ask what the other pill looked like 2. Check the original medication order 3. Explain the purpose of the medication 4. Encourage the patient to take the medication 13. The nurse administers an incorrect dose of a medication to a patient. The nurse under- stands that the primary purpose of documenting this event in an Incident Report is to: 1. Record the event for future litigation 2. Provide a basis for designing new policies 3. Prevent similar situations from happening again 4. Ensure accountability for the cause of the accident 14. The physician writes an order for a medication that is larger than the standard dose. What should the nurse do? 1. Inform the supervisor 2. Give the drug as ordered 3. Discuss the order with the physician 4. Give the average dose of the medication 15. When the nurse attempts to administer a medication to a patient, the patient refuses to take the medication because it causes diarrhea. The nurse provides teaching about the medication, but the patient continues to adamantly refuse the medication. What should the nurse do fi rst? 1. Document the patient’s refusal to take the medication 2. Notify the practitioner of the patient’s refusal to take the medication 3. Discuss with a family member the need for the patient to take the medication 4. Explain again to the patient the consequences of refusing to take the medication

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16. A patient expresses the desire to commit suicide and asks the nurse for assistance. Based on the position of the American Nurses Association in relation to assisted suicide, the nurse should: 1. Not participate in active euthanasia 2. Participate based on personal values and beliefs 3. Participate when the patient is experiencing severe pain 4. Not participate unless two physicians are consulted and the patient has had coun- seling 17. Which is responsible for ensuring that Registered Nurses are minimally qualifi ed to practice nursing? 1. Sigma Theta Tau 2. State Boards of Nursing 3. American Nurses Association 4. Constituent Leagues of the National League for Nursing 18. A nurse expert is called to testify in a lawsuit regarding professional nursing malpractice primarily to testify: 1. About standards of nursing care as they apply to the facts in the case 2. With regard to laws governing the practice of nursing 3. For the prosecution 4. For the defense 19. The nurse initiates a visit from a member of the clergy for a patient. When the nurse makes this call, the nurse is functioning: 1. Interdependently 2. Independently 3. Dependently 4. Collegially 20. A patient is asked to participate in a medical research study. The nurse describes to the patient and family members how the patient is protected by the: 1. Code of Ethics 2. Informed Consent 3. Nurse Practice Act 4. Constitution of the United States 21. The nurse is implementing an ordered bowel preparation for a patient who is scheduled for a colonoscopy. The nurse understands that the most serious consequence associated with an ineffective bowel preparation is: 1. Discomfort 2. Misdiagnosis 3. Wasted expense 4. Psychological stress 22. The physician orders OOB for a patient. When the nurse moves this patient out of bed to a chair, the nurse is working: 1. Dependently 2. Independently 3. Collaboratively 4. Interdependently 23. A Registered Nurse witnesses an accident and assists the victim who has a life-threatening injury. To meet the most important standard of acting as a Good Samaritan at the scene of an accident, the nurse should: 1. Stay at the scene until another qualifi ed person takes over 2. Seek consent from the injured party before rendering assistance 3. Implement every possible critical-care intervention necessary to sustain life 4. Insist on helping because a nurse is the best qualifi ed person to provide care

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24. The graduate of an accredited Registered Nurse program understands that licensure to practice as an RN is: 1. Granted upon graduation from a nursing program 2. A standard of the American Nurses Association 3. Approved by the National League for Nursing 4. Required by state law 25. When considering legal issues the term “contract” is to “liable” as “standard” is to: 1. Rights 2. Negligence 3. Malpractice 4. Accountability 26. An anxious patient repeatedly uses the call bell to get the nurse to come to the room. Finally the nurse says to the patient, “If you keep ringing, there will come a time I won’t answer your bell.” This is an example of: 1. Slander 2. Assault 3. Battery 4. Libel 27. The nurse is informed that a credentialing team has arrived and is in the process of assessing quality of care delivered at the hospital. The nurse understands that the organization associated with the credentialing of the hospital is: 1. NCLEX 2. JCAHO 3. ANA 4. NLN 28. A patient asks the nurse, “What is a Living Will?” The nurse should respond that it is a document that: 1. Instructs a physician to withhold/withdraw life-sustaining procedures if death is near 2. Enables a person to request medication to end life in a humane and dignifi ed manner 3. Gives consent to perform life-sustaining medical intervention during an emergency 4. Wills one’s organs to help others who need a transplant to sustain life 29. A student nurse is about to graduate from an accredited nursing program. The student nurse understands that an action unrelated to a State Nurse Practice Act is: 1. Setting guidelines for nurses’ salaries in the state 2. Establishing reciprocity for licensure between states 3. Determining minimum requirements for nursing education 4. Maintaining a list of nurses who can legally practice in the state 30. The nurse changes a patient’s dry sterile dressing. When the nurse performs this task, the nurse is working: 1. Interdependently 2. Collaboratively 3. Independently 4. Dependently 31. The nurse must administer a medication. What should the nurse do fi rst? 1. Determine the appropriateness of the medication 2. Ensure the medication is in the medication cart 3. Check the patient’s identifi cation armband 4. Verify the physician’s order for accuracy

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32. When choosing a in the United States that awards an associate degree, a future student nurse should consider schools that have met the standards of nursing education established by which organization? 1. National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission 2. North American Nursing Diagnosis Association 3. American Nurses Association 4. Sigma Theta Tau 33. The patient’s diet order is “clear liquids to regular as tolerated.” When the nurse progresses the diet to full liquid, the nurse is working: 1. Dependently 2. Independently 3. Collaboratively 4. Interdependently 34. A patient is scheduled to have surgery and informed consent is to be obtained. Place these steps in the order in which they should performed. 1. The patient is willing to sign the consent voluntarily 2. The patient signs the consent in the presence of the nurse 3. The physician informs the patient of the risks and benefi ts of the procedure 4. The nurse determines that the patient is alert and competent to give consent Answer: ______35. Identify the actions that are examples of slander. Check all that apply. 1. _____ Volunteer telling another volunteer a patient’s age 2. _____ Nurse explaining to a patient that another nurse is incompetent 3. _____ Personal care assistant sharing information about a patient with another patient 4. _____ Unit Manager documenting a nurse’s medication error in a performance appraisal 5. _____ Housekeeper who is angry at a nurse erroneously telling another staff member that the nurse uses cocaine

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