LPN Ethical, Legal & Professional Standards 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which action by an LPN constitutes professional boundary violation?
- Calling a patient by their preferred name
- Accepting a small gift of homemade cookies from a patient's family
- Providing personal contact information and meeting a patient socially outside work (Correct answer)
- Showing empathy by holding a grieving patient's hand
Correct answer: Providing personal contact information and meeting a patient socially outside work
Forming personal social relationships with patients outside the professional context crosses therapeutic boundaries and is considered a boundary violation.
Question 2: What is the legal term for intentionally touching a patient without consent, even if no harm results?
- Negligence
- Battery (Correct answer)
- Assault
- Malpractice
Correct answer: Battery
Battery is the intentional, unconsented touching of another person; in healthcare, performing a procedure without consent can constitute battery.
Question 3: A family member asks the LPN not to tell the patient about a terminal diagnosis. How should the LPN respond?
- Agree to withhold the information to protect the patient
- Explain that the patient has the right to know their own diagnosis (Correct answer)
- Tell the physician to keep the information from the patient
- Document the family's request and honor it
Correct answer: Explain that the patient has the right to know their own diagnosis
Patients have the right to truthful information about their own health (veracity), and the LPN should explain this right while involving the care team.
Question 4: Which scenario best describes negligence by an LPN?
- Administering a medication with a patient's verbal consent only
- Failing to raise side rails on a fall-risk patient who then falls (Correct answer)
- Sharing a patient's general status with a family member
- Disagreeing with a physician's order and asking for clarification
Correct answer: Failing to raise side rails on a fall-risk patient who then falls
Failing to follow the standard of care (raising side rails for a fall-risk patient) that results in patient harm meets the legal definition of negligence.
Question 5: An LPN receives an order that seems unsafe. After clarifying with the physician, the LPN still believes it is dangerous. What is the best action?
- Administer the medication as ordered since the physician confirmed it
- Refuse to carry out the order and notify the charge nurse or supervisor (Correct answer)
- Ask another nurse to administer the medication
- Document concerns and administer the medication anyway
Correct answer: Refuse to carry out the order and notify the charge nurse or supervisor
LPNs have both a legal and ethical obligation to refuse orders they believe are unsafe and must escalate to the charge nurse or supervisor.
Question 6: Which of the following is an example of the ethical principle of justice in nursing practice?
- Keeping a patient's diagnosis confidential
- Providing the same quality of care regardless of a patient's ability to pay (Correct answer)
- Telling a patient the truth about their prognosis
- Advocating for a patient's right to refuse treatment
Correct answer: Providing the same quality of care regardless of a patient's ability to pay
Justice requires fair, equitable treatment for all patients regardless of socioeconomic status, race, or other factors.
Question 7: Which organization is responsible for investigating complaints of nursing misconduct and can revoke an LPN's license?
- The American Nurses Association (ANA)
- The State Board of Nursing (Correct answer)
- The Joint Commission (TJC)
- The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN)
Correct answer: The State Board of Nursing
State Boards of Nursing have the legal authority to investigate complaints and take disciplinary action, including license revocation.
LPN Ethical, Legal & Professional Standards 3
Which action by an LPN constitutes professional boundary violation?