Ethical Considerations Flashcards

A nurse discovers that a coworker has been falsifying vascular access procedure records. The MOST appropriate first step is to:

Answer: Report the findings to the appropriate supervisor or compliance officer

Falsified records represent a serious breach of professional ethics and patient safety that must be reported through official channels.

Which situation BEST illustrates the ethical principle of beneficence in vascular access practice?

Answer: Selecting the smallest gauge catheter to minimize patient discomfort when clinically appropriate

Beneficence means acting in the patient's best interest; selecting the least traumatic appropriate device exemplifies this principle.

A patient asks the vascular access nurse not to share procedure details with their family. The nurse is ethically obligated to:

Answer: Honor the patient's confidentiality unless a legal exception applies

Patient confidentiality is a fundamental ethical and legal right that the nurse must protect except in legally defined circumstances.

In the context of VA nursing, 'moral distress' is BEST defined as:

Answer: Knowing the right action but being constrained from taking it

Moral distress occurs when a clinician knows the ethically correct action but institutional or situational constraints prevent them from taking it.

A patient with decision-making capacity refuses a blood transfusion for religious reasons despite life-threatening blood loss from a vascular complication. The nurse should:

Answer: Respect the refusal, document it, and ensure the care team is aware

A competent patient's informed refusal based on religious beliefs must be honored even in life-threatening situations.

When performing a vascular access procedure on a patient under correctional custody, the nurse's ethical duty is to:

Answer: Provide the same standard of care as any other patient, regardless of custody status

All patients are entitled to the same standard of care; incarcerated status does not diminish a patient's right to ethical, evidence-based treatment.

A nurse feels that placing a central line in a patient with a very poor prognosis is futile. The ethical course of action is to:

Answer: Raise the concern with the care team and pursue a goals-of-care discussion with the patient and family

Concerns about medical futility should be addressed through team communication and structured goals-of-care conversations rather than unilateral refusal.