Chapter 4: Ethics in Community-Oriented Nursing Practice

Chapter 4: Ethics in Community-Oriented Nursing Practice

Complete Chapter Questions With Answers

Sample Questions Are Posted Below

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Nursing’s first code of ethics was written in:

ANS:   A

The Nightingale Pledge, considered nursing’s first code of ethics, was written by Lystra Gretter in 1893.

DIF:    Cognitive Level: Knowledge             REF:    p. 52

2. A nurse didn’t know what to do when faced with a particular ethical dilemma because an option that would have a good outcome didn’t seem possible. The nurse finally decided to talk to the agency supervisor and let the supervisor decide what action to take. In terms of ethics, this approach would be considered:

ANS:   C

Ethically, each nurse is responsible for his or her own decisions and cannot avoid ethical accountability by relying on obedience to a supervisor or any external rule or policy.

DIF:    Cognitive Level: Application             REF:    p. 52

3. What is the first and most crucial step in the ethical decision-making process?

ANS:   C

The first step in the ethical decision-making framework is to carefully identify the ethical issue or dilemma.

DIF:    Cognitive Level: Application             REF:    p. 53 (Table 4-1)

4. A nurse is asked to meet with a family who recently emigrated from Botswana (Africa). After the clinical doctor tells the husband the wife’s diagnosis of breast cancer, the family thanks the physician and starts to leave. Ethically, what is the nurse’s most important action?

ANS:   D

Any of the actions might be taken. However, America is a multicultural nation with diverse ethnic groups and diverse values. Before any intervention can be made, the health care professionals must understand the family’s cultural, psychological, social, communal, and environmental contexts, because these contexts affect the way issues are formulated and decisions are made. Consequently, it is crucial to interview the family to determine their understanding of the situation before deciding what, if any, intervention needs to be made. In many cultures the family, rather than the individual, is the unit of primary concern.

DIF:    Cognitive Level: Synthesis     REF:    p. 53 (Table 4-1)