Legal Principles in Nursing Flashcards
7 cards from real CFN practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Legal Principles in Nursing flashcards as text
A forensic nurse is deposed before trial. The deposition is best described as:
Answer: Sworn out-of-court testimony that may be used at trial
A deposition is sworn oral testimony taken outside of court under penalty of perjury that can be used at trial for impeachment or as evidence.
When a forensic nurse suspects elder abuse in a long-term care facility, mandatory reporting laws typically require reporting to:
Answer: Adult Protective Services and/or law enforcement
Most states require mandatory reporters to report suspected elder abuse directly to Adult Protective Services and/or law enforcement, bypassing institutional gatekeepers.
Which legal doctrine allows a court to seal medical records from public disclosure during litigation?
Answer: Protective order
A protective order issued by the court can restrict access to sensitive medical records to protect patient privacy during legal proceedings.
A nurse expert witness provides testimony that goes beyond the established scientific consensus. The opposing attorney may challenge this testimony using the:
Answer: Daubert standard
The Daubert standard (and its predecessor Frye) requires expert testimony to be based on sufficient facts, reliable methodology, and accepted scientific principles.
A forensic nurse notices a colleague altering a patient's forensic chart after law enforcement requested the records. The nurse's ethical and legal obligation is to:
Answer: Report the alteration to administration and possibly law enforcement
Alteration of medical records is fraud; nurses have both an ethical obligation and may have a legal duty to report this misconduct.
Which of the following represents a nurse's duty when encountering a conflict between institutional policy and a patient's legal rights?
Answer: Prioritize the patient's legal rights and advocate for policy review
When institutional policy conflicts with a patient's legal rights, nurses must uphold the patient's rights and advocate through proper channels for policy correction.
The concept of 'foreseeability' in negligence law requires that:
Answer: A reasonable person could have anticipated that the conduct might cause harm
Foreseeability requires only that a reasonably prudent person could have anticipated that the negligent conduct created a risk of harm, not that the exact injury was predicted.