Legal, Ethical, and Professional Standards Flashcards

Documentation in hospice care is important because it:

Answer: Provides a legal record of care, ensures continuity, and supports communication among the team

Accurate documentation provides a legal record, ensures all team members have current information for care continuity, and supports quality and accountability.

What is 'double effect' in palliative care ethics?

Answer: The principle that an action intended to do good may have a foreseen but unintended harmful side effect

The doctrine of double effect justifies giving medications (like opioids) to relieve suffering even if they may secondarily hasten death, provided the primary intent is comfort.

Which behavior demonstrates professional conduct for a hospice nursing assistant?

Answer: Maintaining confidentiality, arriving on time, and following the care plan

Professional conduct includes maintaining confidentiality, reliability, adherence to the care plan, and practicing within the defined scope of the nursing assistant role.

If a nursing assistant is asked by the physician to perform a task outside their scope of practice, they should:

Answer: Refuse and report the request to their supervisor

Performing tasks outside of the nursing assistant's scope of practice is illegal and unsafe; refusing and reporting to a supervisor is the appropriate response.

What does POLST stand for in end-of-life care?

Answer: Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment

POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) is a medical order form that translates a patient's end-of-life wishes into actionable medical orders.

A nursing assistant notices that a colleague is providing substandard care to a hospice patient. The appropriate action is to:

Answer: Report the observation to the supervising nurse immediately

Reporting substandard care to the supervising nurse is an ethical and professional obligation that protects patient safety and quality of care.