MSN Health Policy Ethics and Professional Standards 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The concept of 'informed consent' is most directly grounded in which ethical principle?
- Justice
- Beneficence
- Autonomy (Correct answer)
- Non-maleficence
Correct answer: Autonomy
Informed consent is the practical application of patient autonomy—respecting the individual's right to make voluntary, informed decisions about their own healthcare.
Question 2: Under US law, which federal act protects employees who report workplace safety violations or patient care concerns?
- HIPAA
- OSHA Whistleblower Protection Program (Correct answer)
- The False Claims Act
- EMTALA
Correct answer: OSHA Whistleblower Protection Program
OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program protects employees who report workplace safety concerns or regulatory violations from employer retaliation.
Question 3: Which payment model reimburses providers a fixed amount per patient per time period regardless of services used?
- Fee-for-service
- Capitation (Correct answer)
- Bundled payment
- Pay-for-performance
Correct answer: Capitation
Capitation pays providers a fixed per-member per-month fee, incentivizing cost-effective preventive care rather than volume of services.
Question 4: Mandatory reporting laws require nurses to report which type of concern to authorities without patient consent?
- All medication errors
- Suspected child or elder abuse and neglect (Correct answer)
- Patient financial difficulties
- Noncompliance with medications
Correct answer: Suspected child or elder abuse and neglect
Nurses are legally mandated reporters required to report suspected abuse or neglect of children, elderly, and other vulnerable populations to protective services, overriding normal confidentiality.
Question 5: The Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) framework most directly influences which advanced nursing role?
- Performing complex clinical procedures
- Population health management and upstream interventions (Correct answer)
- Writing individualized pharmacotherapy plans
- Completing inpatient nursing assessments
Correct answer: Population health management and upstream interventions
SDOH—including housing, income, education, and social support—are most directly addressed through population health strategies, community interventions, and policy advocacy.
Question 6: Which document sets the national health promotion and disease prevention agenda for the US for each decade?
- Crossing the Quality Chasm
- Healthy People 2030 (Correct answer)
- The Future of Nursing Report
- IOM Report on Medical Errors
Correct answer: Healthy People 2030
Healthy People 2030 is the federal government's science-based, 10-year national objectives framework for improving health and well-being across the US population.
MSN Health Policy Ethics and Professional Standards 2
The concept of 'informed consent' is most directly grounded in which ethical principle?