Ethical and Legal Principles Flashcards
7 cards from real NACE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Ethical and Legal Principles flashcards as text
A nurse floated to an unfamiliar unit is assigned a patient requiring specialized care the nurse is not competent to provide. The most appropriate action is to:
Answer: Notify the charge nurse of the competency limitation and request assistance or reassignment
Nurses are legally and ethically obligated to practice within their competence and must communicate limitations to the charge nurse to ensure patient safety.
A patient's durable power of attorney for healthcare (DPAHC) designates a spouse as surrogate decision-maker. The patient is now unconscious. The adult children disagree with the spouse's decision. Who has legal authority?
Answer: The spouse designated in the DPAHC
The legally designated healthcare proxy in a DPAHC holds decision-making authority over all family members who are not designated.
Which action by a nurse constitutes assault (as opposed to battery)?
Answer: Threatening to restrain a patient if they do not comply with treatment
Assault is the threat or act that causes a person to fear imminent harmful contact; battery is the actual unauthorized contact.
When charting a medication error, the nurse should:
Answer: Document what was given and the patient's response, and file a separate incident report
The medical record must objectively reflect the care provided and the patient's response; a separate incident report is filed for quality improvement purposes.
A nurse overhears a colleague tell a patient 'You'll be sorry if you keep refusing your medications.' This statement is an example of:
Answer: Assault
This verbal threat causes the patient to fear imminent harm or unpleasant consequences, constituting assault.
The ethical principle of justice is most clearly demonstrated when a nurse:
Answer: Advocates for equitable distribution of healthcare resources among patients
Justice in nursing ethics refers to fair, equitable treatment and distribution of resources, regardless of personal characteristics.
A nurse is asked by a physician to witness an informed consent signature for a complex surgical procedure the nurse did not observe being explained. The nurse should:
Answer: Refuse to sign and inform the physician that the nurse did not witness the explanation
A witness signature attests that the signer observed the consent process; signing without having witnessed it is legally and ethically fraudulent.