Saudi Prometric Nursing Patient Safety and Ethics 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which ethical principle is the nurse applying when withholding painful information from a patient to prevent distress?
- Autonomy
- Non-maleficence
- Beneficence
- Therapeutic privilege (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Therapeutic privilege
Therapeutic privilege involves withholding information believed to be harmful, though it is considered ethically controversial and generally not recommended.
Question 2: A nurse preparing chemotherapy inadvertently spills the agent on their skin. What is the FIRST action to take?
- Finish preparing the medication before addressing the spill
- Immediately flush the affected area with copious water and report the exposure (Correct answer)
- Apply a topical antibiotic and continue working
- Notify the pharmacist and wait for further instructions
Correct answer: Immediately flush the affected area with copious water and report the exposure
Immediate flushing with copious water is the primary first-aid response for chemotherapy skin exposure, followed by formal incident reporting.
Question 3: Which behavior by a nurse BEST demonstrates professional accountability?
- Blaming equipment malfunction for a medication error
- Acknowledging a mistake, reporting it, and implementing corrective measures (Correct answer)
- Asking a colleague to co-sign an incident report to share responsibility
- Documenting the error only if the patient asks about it
Correct answer: Acknowledging a mistake, reporting it, and implementing corrective measures
Accountability means taking ownership of errors, disclosing them appropriately, and actively participating in prevention strategies.
Question 4: A patient's family asks a nurse not to inform the patient of a terminal cancer diagnosis. What is the MOST ethically appropriate response?
- Agree and withhold all diagnostic information from the patient
- Assess the patient's own wishes regarding information disclosure (Correct answer)
- Disclose the diagnosis immediately regardless of family concerns
- Transfer care to another nurse who is comfortable withholding information
Correct answer: Assess the patient's own wishes regarding information disclosure
The patient's expressed preferences regarding disclosure must be determined first, as autonomy supports the patient's right to know or not to know.
Question 5: What is the PRIMARY purpose of conducting a root cause analysis (RCA) after a sentinel event?
- To identify and discipline the staff member responsible
- To identify system-level factors and prevent recurrence (Correct answer)
- To satisfy mandatory legal reporting requirements
- To document the sequence of events for the medical record
Correct answer: To identify system-level factors and prevent recurrence
RCA focuses on underlying system failures rather than individual blame, aiming to implement systemic changes that prevent recurrence.
Question 6: Which action is considered an ethical violation of patient privacy under Saudi health regulations?
- Discussing a patient's condition with the treating consultant
- Sharing patient images on social media without consent (Correct answer)
- Informing public health authorities of a notifiable disease
- Providing records to a legal guardian of a minor
Correct answer: Sharing patient images on social media without consent
Sharing identifiable patient information or images on social media without consent violates privacy laws and professional ethics codes.
Question 7: During a mass casualty incident, a nurse triages a patient with severe head trauma and no respiratory effort after airway repositioning. Under START triage, this patient is categorized as:
- Immediate (Red)
- Delayed (Yellow)
- Minor (Green)
- Expectant (Black) (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Expectant (Black)
Under START triage, patients with no respirations after airway repositioning are categorized as Expectant (Black), indicating survival is unlikely given available resources.
Saudi Prometric Nursing Patient Safety and Ethics 5
Which ethical principle is the nurse applying when withholding painful information from a patient to prevent distress?