CNA Ethics and Professionalism 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A resident asks the CNA to keep a secret about a fall that just occurred. What should the CNA do?
- Keep the secret to respect the resident's wishes
- Report the fall to the nurse immediately (Correct answer)
- Document the fall only in a personal notebook
- Wait to see if symptoms develop before reporting
Correct answer: Report the fall to the nurse immediately
CNAs are legally and ethically required to report all incidents, including falls, to the supervising nurse regardless of a resident's request for secrecy.
Question 2: Which behavior demonstrates professional boundary maintenance for a CNA?
- Accepting a small cash gift from a grateful family
- Sharing your personal phone number with a resident
- Referring a resident's gift request to the charge nurse (Correct answer)
- Visiting a discharged resident at their home
Correct answer: Referring a resident's gift request to the charge nurse
Referring gift-related situations to the charge nurse protects both the CNA and the resident while maintaining professional boundaries.
Question 3: A resident with dementia is resistive to morning care. The most ethical approach is to:
- Restrain the resident until they calm down
- Skip the care and return later
- Force care quickly to minimize distress
- Use calm redirection and attempt care again later (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Use calm redirection and attempt care again later
Calm redirection respects the resident's dignity while still meeting their care needs without force or neglect.
Question 4: What does 'scope of practice' mean for a CNA?
- The geographic area where a CNA may work
- The tasks a CNA is legally trained and authorized to perform (Correct answer)
- The number of residents a CNA can care for at one time
- The hours a CNA is permitted to work per week
Correct answer: The tasks a CNA is legally trained and authorized to perform
Scope of practice defines the specific tasks and responsibilities that a CNA is legally authorized to perform based on their training and state regulations.
Question 5: A CNA notices a coworker falsifying a resident's intake and output record. The CNA should:
- Correct the record themselves to fix the error
- Ignore it to avoid conflict with the coworker
- Report the observation to the charge nurse or supervisor (Correct answer)
- Confront the coworker loudly in front of other staff
Correct answer: Report the observation to the charge nurse or supervisor
Falsifying medical records is illegal and endangers residents; reporting it to a supervisor is the correct ethical and professional action.
Question 6: A resident expresses suicidal thoughts to the CNA. The CNA should first:
- Reassure the resident and move on to other tasks
- Immediately report to the nurse and stay with the resident (Correct answer)
- Tell other residents to watch the person
- Document the comment and report it at the end of the shift
Correct answer: Immediately report to the nurse and stay with the resident
Suicidal statements require immediate reporting to the nurse and continuous supervision of the resident to ensure their safety.
Question 7: Which action by a CNA violates HIPAA regulations?
- Discussing a resident's care plan with the charge nurse
- Sharing a resident's diagnosis with a curious visitor (Correct answer)
- Documenting care provided in the resident's chart
- Reporting a change in condition to the supervising nurse
Correct answer: Sharing a resident's diagnosis with a curious visitor
Sharing a resident's medical information with unauthorized individuals, including curious visitors, violates HIPAA privacy protections.
CNA Ethics and Professionalism 2
A resident asks the CNA to keep a secret about a fall that just occurred.
What should the CNA do?