STNA Patient Rights and Communication 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A long-term care resident tells the nurse aide that they want to review their own medical records. The nurse aide should:
- Explain that records are confidential and cannot be shared
- Inform the charge nurse of the resident's request (Correct answer)
- Provide the records directly from the nursing station
- Tell the resident to wait until their next physician visit
Correct answer: Inform the charge nurse of the resident's request
Residents have a legal right to access their medical records, and the nurse aide should report the request to the charge nurse so the process can be facilitated properly.
Question 2: Which action by a nurse aide constitutes a violation of patient confidentiality (HIPAA)?
- Discussing a patient's condition with the charge nurse at the nursing station
- Sharing a patient's diagnosis with a friend outside of work (Correct answer)
- Documenting patient care in the medical record
- Reporting a change in a patient's condition to the nurse
Correct answer: Sharing a patient's diagnosis with a friend outside of work
Sharing a patient's health information with anyone outside the care team without the patient's written authorization is a direct HIPAA violation.
Question 3: A patient tells the nurse aide, 'I'm afraid I'm going to fall. I don't feel safe.' The nurse aide's best response is:
- 'You'll be fine — we check on you regularly.'
- 'I understand your concern. Let me make sure your call light is within reach and I will tell the nurse.' (Correct answer)
- 'Try not to worry about that.'
- 'I'll put the rails up so you can't fall.'
Correct answer: 'I understand your concern. Let me make sure your call light is within reach and I will tell the nurse.'
Acknowledging the patient's fear, ensuring the call light is accessible, and reporting to the nurse addresses both safety and the patient's right to communicate concerns.
Question 4: Which behavior by a nurse aide is an example of patient abuse?
- Repositioning a patient every 2 hours
- Threatening a patient with restricted meals if they don't cooperate with care (Correct answer)
- Reporting a skin tear to the charge nurse
- Using a gait belt during ambulation
Correct answer: Threatening a patient with restricted meals if they don't cooperate with care
Threatening a patient with punishment or withheld care is verbal/emotional abuse and a serious violation of the patient's rights.
Question 5: The Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) requires healthcare facilities to:
- Assign all patients a healthcare proxy automatically
- Inform patients of their right to make advance directives upon admission (Correct answer)
- Require all patients to complete a living will
- Allow only physicians to discuss end-of-life decisions
Correct answer: Inform patients of their right to make advance directives upon admission
The PSDA mandates that all healthcare facilities inform adult patients of their rights to create advance directives such as living wills and durable powers of attorney for healthcare.
Question 6: A nurse aide suspects a co-worker is abusing a patient. The nurse aide should:
- Confront the co-worker directly and warn them to stop
- Ignore it unless they witness the abuse directly
- Report the suspicion immediately to the charge nurse or supervisor (Correct answer)
- Wait to see if it happens again before reporting
Correct answer: Report the suspicion immediately to the charge nurse or supervisor
Suspected patient abuse must be reported immediately to the supervising nurse; nurse aides are mandated reporters and failure to report is itself a violation.
STNA Patient Rights and Communication 1
A long-term care resident tells the nurse aide that they want to review their own medical records.
The nurse aide should: