Chapter 15 Legal And Ethical Issues in Nursing 6th Edition by Ginny Wacker Guido

Chapter 15 Legal And Ethical Issues in Nursing 6th Edition by Ginny Wacker Guido

Complete Chapter Questions With Answers

Sample Questions Are Posted Below

Question 1

Type: MCSA

The court found a nurse manager liable for failure to warn. Which option reflects a failure to warn scenario?

1. The nurse manager did not advise a newly hired nurse that continuing education was an annual requirement for promotion.
2. The nurse manager did not notify the physician regarding worsening of a patient’s respiratory status.
3. The nurse manager did not tell a potential employer that a former employee was asked to resign for incompetence.
4. The nurse manager did not adequately supervise a newly hired nurse who had not practiced nursing in five years.

Correct Answer: 3

Rationale 1: Failure to warn is not associated with failure to tell new employees about job requirements.

Rationale 2: Failure to warn is not related to patient condition.

Rationale 3: Failure to warn is a newer area of potential liability for nurse managers in which the manager fails to warn a potential employer of staff incompetence or impairment. If the institution has sufficient information and suspicion on which to discharge an employee or force a letter of resignation, then subsequent employers should be aware of those issues.

Rationale 4: Failure to warn is not related to supervision of new nurses.

Global Rationale:

Cognitive Level: Applying

Client Need: Safe Effective Care Environment

Client Need Sub: Management of Care

Nursing/Integrated Concepts: Nursing Process: Implementation

Learning Outcome: 15.1 Analyze the concept of corporate liability, including the nurse manager’s role in preventing such liability.

Question 2

Type: MCMA

Which strategies should the nurse manager employ when asked to float staff from one area to another?

Note: Credit will be given only if all correct choices and no incorrect choices are selected.

Standard Text: Select all that apply.

1. Consider the patient care delivery systems on each unit.
2. Float staff in alphabetical order of their last name.
3. Float nurses to areas with similar patient care requirements if possible.
4. Cross-train staff to various units.

Correct Answer: 1,3,4

Rationale 1: Significant differences in patient care delivery systems can make competent and efficient care more difficult. The nurse manager should try to match these care delivery systems as much as possible.

Rationale 2: Choosing to float nurses according to their name does not support quality care.

Rationale 3: The more closely the home unit and float unit match in patient care requirements, the more comfortable the floated nurse is likely to be.

Rationale 4: If floating is a common need in a facility, it is best overall to cross-train nurses between units. That will allow for nurses to become accustomed to and comfortable providing care on more than one unit.

Global Rationale:

Cognitive Level: Applying

Client Need: Safe Effective Care Environment

Client Need Sub: Management of Care

Nursing/Integrated Concepts: Nursing Process: Implementation

Learning Outcome: 15.2 Define three separate issues concerning staffing from the aspect of the nurse manager’s legal liability.

Question 3

Type: MCSA

A group of nurses are concerned about the chronic understaffing and mandatory overtime requirements of their state’s hospitals. How could this group best help solve this issue?

1. Advise nurses to go home after their assigned shift instead of working overtime.
2. Talk to state legislatures about establishing staffing ratios.
3. Lobby for legislation supporting safe staffing measures.
4. Develop policies whereby nurse managers are the only ones required to work overtime.

Correct Answer: 3

Rationale 1: If the nurses go home and there is not adequate staff to care for patients, the nurses may be guilty of abandonment.

Rationale 2: Staffing ratios are not the answer to mandatory overtime. Mandatory overtime generally occurs when there is not enough staff to provide care. Staffing ratios will not address this problem.

Rationale 3: Due to the most recent movement toward adequate numbers of nurses, many states are now moving toward the concept of safe staffing. State legislation for safe staffing helps to bring the issue to light and to protect patients from the dangers associated with this practice.

Rationale 4: Exclusive use of nurse managers for overtime work is illogical as there are not enough nurse managers to fill the staffing slots.

Global Rationale:

Cognitive Level: Applying

Client Need: Safe Effective Care Environment

Client Need Sub: Management of Care

Nursing/Integrated Concepts: Nursing Process: Planning

Learning Outcome: 15.11 Identify some of the ethical concerns in the area of corporate and contract law.