Contemporary Nursing Issues Trends 7th Edition- Test Bank

Contemporary Nursing Issues Trends 7th Edition- Test Bank

Chapter 08: Legal Issues in Nursing and Health Care
Cherry & Jacob: Contemporary Nursing: Issues, Trends, and Management, 7th Edition

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. A client arrives in active labor and exhibits toxemia with irregular fetal heart tones. The client is an immigrant and is uninsured. Which act would prevent the client from being transferred to another facility?
a. Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Law
b. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
c. Patient Self-Determination Act
d. The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act

ANS: A
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Law is a federal statute that was enacted in 1986 to prohibit the transfer of unstable clients, including women in labor, from one facility to another. This law also prohibits refusal of care for indigent and uninsured clients who seek medical assistance in the emergency department.

DIF: Comprehension REF: p. 123

2. A nurse is caring for a client with malignant hypertension whose blood pressure has increased by 40 mm Hg during the past hour. The nurse goes to lunch and fails to report the change to the physician. The nurse is at risk for being charged with:
a. negligence.
b. assault.
c. defamation of character.
d. tort.

ANS: A
Negligence is defined as failure to act in a reasonable and prudent manner. The most frequent allegations of nursing negligence include failure to ensure client safety, improper treatment, failure to monitor the client and report significant findings, medication errors, and failure to follow the agency’s policies and procedures.

DIF: Comprehension REF: p. 120|p. 132

3. A nurse is caring for a client who just suffered a stroke and is medicated for pain. The nurse completes the following interventions: places the client on the examining table, completes a thorough history and physical, covers the client with a sheet, places the call button within reach, and goes out in the hall to speak with the client’s physician. The client tries to get up to speak with his family and falls, sustaining a hematoma on the head and a broken hip. The nurse’s actions reflect:
a. invasion of privacy.
b. libel.
c. slander.
d. negligence.

ANS: D
The nurse is failing to ensure client safety after medication administration; this is defined as negligence.

DIF: Comprehension REF: p. 120|p. 132

4. A nursing student planning to apply for licensure knows that being charged with which offense would result in a minor criminal offense?
a. Solicitation of illegal drugs
b. Stealing a car
c. Failing to report elder abuse
d. Billing Medicare for services not rendered

ANS: C
Failing to report elder abuse can lead to penalty of fine or imprisonment.

DIF: Comprehension REF: p. 150

5. When differentiating between slander and libel, the nurse knows that libel:
a. results from defamation caused by subjective comments written in the nurse’s notes.
b. results from negative subjective comments made to those who are not providing care.
c. occurs when the nurse verbally describes to the oncoming nurse assigned to the client objective data that place the client in a negative light.
d. consists of repeating prejudiced comments made by the primary caregiver to a neighbor at the local supermarket.

ANS: A
Libel is defined as comments that are written about a person that are defaming. Nurses may be subject to a charge of libel for subjective comments meant to denigrate the client that are placed in the medical record or in other written materials read by others.

DIF: Comprehension REF: p. 149

6. Which statement regarding informed consent is correct? Informed consent:
a. is mandated by federal but not state law.
b. must reveal expected benefits.
c. requires concealing any known risks.
d. allows the RN to communicate information needed so that informed consent can be provided.

ANS: B
The information that constitutes informed consent for the client includes the nature of the therapy or procedure, expected benefits and outcomes of the therapy or procedure, potential risks of the therapy or procedure, alternative therapies to the intended procedure and their risks and benefits, and risks of not having the procedure.

DIF: Comprehension REF: p. 152

7. A client states, “I am leaving. No one here knows what they are doing.” The nurse completing the Against Medical Advice form must:
a. defer notifying the provider until the client has had ample time to leave.
b. state in medical terms the risks of leaving.
c. inform the client that leaving could result in complications and impairment.
d. detain the person with the use of soft restraints until security arrives.

ANS: C
The nurse must articulate to the client the dangers associated with leaving the facility if the primary provider is not present. The nurse’s notes on this form should reflect the specific advice given to the client, which should include the fact that leaving the facility could aggravate the current condition and complicate future care, result in permanent physical or mental impairment or disability, or result in complications that can cause death.

DIF: Application REF: p. 93

8. When can a nurse detain a client by using restraints?
a. Staffing resources are insufficient to monitor a patient with hemiplegia.
b. The client is confused.
c. The family requests the restraints to prevent the client from leaving the facility.
d. There are current physician orders following a medical evaluation.

ANS: D
A written physician’s order that is timed and dated is required for the use of restraints. Renewal of orders must be accompanied by evidence of medical evaluation and nursing reassessment.

DIF: Comprehension REF: p. 155

9. When the client is unable to make medical decisions for himself or herself, authorization that allows another person to make these decisions is called:
a. living will.
b. durable power of attorney.
c. informed consent.
d. immunity.

ANS: B
Durable power of attorney involves preselection by the client of a person who has been authorized legally to make health care decisions once the client becomes incompetent to do so. Several states have enacted a Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act, which sanctions a durable power of attorney for health care.

DIF: Knowledge REF: p. 152

10. All hospitals receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds must ask clients whether they have a living will or a durable power of attorney. This act is known as the:
a. Emergency Treatment and Active Labor Law.
b. Americans with Disabilities Act.
c. Uniform Health Care Decisions Act.
d. doctrine of res ipsa loquitur.

ANS: C
The Uniform Health Care Decisions Act of 1993 is a federal statute that was established to support individuals in expressing their preferences about medical treatment and making decisions about end-of-life care.

DIF: Comprehension REF: p. 152