NSG 4800 COMPS Updated
Legal/Ethical Issues, Delegation, Prioritization & Case Management | Spring Comprehensive Exam
100 Questions — Review Set
Question 1
The nurse manager is preparing an in-service regarding legal issues and client care. Which
of the following is a correct example for the nurse manager to give during the in-service?
□ A. Battery is having security keep a client in their room when they want to leave
against medical advice (AMA)
□ B. Using a recliner's attached lap tray to keep the client in the chair is considered
assault
□ C. Malpractice is applying restraints without an order from the primary health care
provider (PHCP)
✓ D. Defamation is posting inaccurate information regarding a coworker on social
media
Correct Answer: D. Defamation is posting inaccurate information regarding a coworker on social
media
Feedback: Defamation involves communicating false statements that damage another person's reputation;
posting inaccurate information about a coworker publicly meets this definition. Keeping a client from leaving
AMA is more accurately false imprisonment, restraining a chair-bound client without consent is also false
imprisonment rather than assault, and applying restraints without an order is more precisely a restraint
violation than malpractice.
Question 2
The nurse is assessing assigned clients for hospice services. The nurse should recommend
hospice care for the client who:
□ A. Has diabetes mellitus and has developed chronic kidney disease (CKD)
✓ B. Has terminal cancer and needs assistance with pain management at home
□ C. Has dysphagia due to a stroke and needs administration of gastric tube (g-tube)
feedings
□ D. Has dementia and needs assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs)
Correct Answer: B. Has terminal cancer and needs assistance with pain management at home
Feedback: Hospice care is intended for clients with a terminal diagnosis, typically a prognosis of six months
or less, who need comfort-focused, symptom-management care such as pain control. The other clients have
chronic conditions better suited to home health or other supportive services rather than hospice.
,Question 3
The nurse working on a pediatric unit has received the change-of-shift report and is
reviewing client data and prescriptions. Which of the following clients should the nurse plan
to see first?
□ A. The school-aged child who has diabetes mellitus (type 1) and requires blood
glucose monitoring
□ B. The infant who has a diagnosis of pertussis and has a dry hacking cough
✓ C. The adolescent who was admitted with sickle cell crisis and reports visual
disturbances
□ D. The toddler who has bilateral arm casts and needs to be fed their breakfast
Correct Answer: C. The adolescent who was admitted with sickle cell crisis and reports visual
disturbances
Feedback: New visual disturbances in a client with sickle cell crisis may indicate a vaso-occlusive event
affecting the eye or a stroke, a potential neurological emergency requiring immediate assessment, making
this client the priority.
Question 4
The nurse working in an urgent care clinic is triaging the following clients. Which client
should the nurse have assessed immediately by the primary health care provider (PHCP)?
□ A. A 4-year-old client who has a laceration to the forehead and is screaming
□ B. A 17-year-old client who is suspected of having a right wrist fracture
□ C. A 32-year-old client with a painful sunburn to the face and arms
✓ D. A 46-year-old client who is diaphoretic and reports epigastric pain
Correct Answer: D. A 46-year-old client who is diaphoretic and reports epigastric pain
Feedback: Diaphoresis combined with epigastric pain are classic warning signs of an acute myocardial
infarction, a life-threatening emergency that requires immediate provider assessment, taking priority over
the other, non-life-threatening injuries.
Question 5
The registered nurse (RN) is planning care for clients and is assigning tasks to a licensed
practical/vocational nurse (LPN/VN) and unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP). Which of the
following tasks is best for the RN to assign to the LPN/VN?
✓ A. Collection of past medical history for a client who is admitted for cellulitis
□ B. Recording the output for a client who just urinated in the collection container of
the toilet
□ C. Assisting with the delivery of breakfast trays to the clients
□ D. Development of a plan of care for a client who is postoperative from a
cholecystectomy
,Correct Answer: A. Collection of past medical history for a client who is admitted for cellulitis
Feedback: Collecting focused history data for a stable client falls within the LPN/VN scope of practice.
Recording output and delivering meal trays are appropriately assigned to UAP, while developing the plan of
care requires RN-level assessment and clinical judgment and cannot be delegated.
Question 6
The nurse working in the emergency department (ED) has been made aware of the
following client situations. Which client information requires reporting by the nurse to an
outside public health agency?
□ A. 14-year-old female who was admitted with abdominal pain and has a positive
pregnancy test
✓ B. 27-year-old who was admitted with a confirmed sexually transmitted infection
(STI)
□ C. 45-year-old who was involved in a local factory fire and has 50% total body surface
area (TBSA) burns
□ D. 72-year-old who resides in a long-term care (LTC) facility and has a coccyx pressure
ulcer (stage 2)
Correct Answer: B. 27-year-old who was admitted with a confirmed sexually transmitted
infection (STI)
Feedback: Confirmed sexually transmitted infections are reportable conditions to public health departments,
enabling partner notification and disease surveillance. The other situations, while significant, are not
communicable disease reporting triggers for a public health agency.
Question 7
Which of the following actions by a nurse could result in a charge of false imprisonment?
□ A. Restraining a confused client after obtaining an appropriate provider order and
following facility protocol
✓ B. Preventing a client with full decision-making capacity from leaving the facility
against medical advice
□ C. Applying a properly ordered safety belt during a wheelchair transport
□ D. Documenting a client's refusal of treatment
Correct Answer: B. Preventing a client with full decision-making capacity from leaving the facility
against medical advice
Feedback: A competent adult has the right to leave against medical advice; physically preventing them from
doing so, without legal justification, constitutes false imprisonment.
Question 8
Negligence requires that a duty of care existed, the duty was breached, the breach caused
harm, and damages resulted. True or False?
, ✓ True
□ False
Correct Answer: True
Feedback: These four elements must generally be established to prove nursing negligence in a legal claim.
Question 9
Which of the following best describes informed consent?
□ A. A form the client signs before any procedure, regardless of understanding
✓ B. The client's voluntary agreement to a treatment after understanding its risks,
benefits, and alternatives
□ C. Verbal agreement obtained by the nurse on behalf of the provider
□ D. Consent obtained from a family member regardless of the client's own capacity
Correct Answer: B. The client's voluntary agreement to a treatment after understanding its risks,
benefits, and alternatives
Feedback: Valid informed consent requires that the client has adequate understanding and voluntarily
agrees to the proposed treatment, not simply a signature on a form.
Question 10
Which situation best represents an example of assault in a healthcare setting?
✓ A. A nurse threatens to give an injection to a client who refuses medication
□ B. A nurse administers a medication after obtaining consent
□ C. A nurse documents a client's vital signs accurately
□ D. A nurse restrains a client per a valid order
Correct Answer: A. A nurse threatens to give an injection to a client who refuses medication
Feedback: Assault involves the threat or attempt to cause harmful or offensive contact, creating fear of
imminent harm, even without actual physical contact occurring.
Question 11
Which of the following is an example of battery?
□ A. Threatening a client with a procedure they have refused
✓ B. Performing a procedure on a client after they have explicitly refused consent
□ C. Discussing a client's diagnosis with their assigned care team
□ D. Documenting a missed medication dose
Correct Answer: B. Performing a procedure on a client after they have explicitly refused consent
Feedback: Battery involves actual harmful or offensive physical contact without consent; performing a
procedure after refusal meets this definition.
Legal/Ethical Issues, Delegation, Prioritization & Case Management | Spring Comprehensive Exam
100 Questions — Review Set
Question 1
The nurse manager is preparing an in-service regarding legal issues and client care. Which
of the following is a correct example for the nurse manager to give during the in-service?
□ A. Battery is having security keep a client in their room when they want to leave
against medical advice (AMA)
□ B. Using a recliner's attached lap tray to keep the client in the chair is considered
assault
□ C. Malpractice is applying restraints without an order from the primary health care
provider (PHCP)
✓ D. Defamation is posting inaccurate information regarding a coworker on social
media
Correct Answer: D. Defamation is posting inaccurate information regarding a coworker on social
media
Feedback: Defamation involves communicating false statements that damage another person's reputation;
posting inaccurate information about a coworker publicly meets this definition. Keeping a client from leaving
AMA is more accurately false imprisonment, restraining a chair-bound client without consent is also false
imprisonment rather than assault, and applying restraints without an order is more precisely a restraint
violation than malpractice.
Question 2
The nurse is assessing assigned clients for hospice services. The nurse should recommend
hospice care for the client who:
□ A. Has diabetes mellitus and has developed chronic kidney disease (CKD)
✓ B. Has terminal cancer and needs assistance with pain management at home
□ C. Has dysphagia due to a stroke and needs administration of gastric tube (g-tube)
feedings
□ D. Has dementia and needs assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs)
Correct Answer: B. Has terminal cancer and needs assistance with pain management at home
Feedback: Hospice care is intended for clients with a terminal diagnosis, typically a prognosis of six months
or less, who need comfort-focused, symptom-management care such as pain control. The other clients have
chronic conditions better suited to home health or other supportive services rather than hospice.
,Question 3
The nurse working on a pediatric unit has received the change-of-shift report and is
reviewing client data and prescriptions. Which of the following clients should the nurse plan
to see first?
□ A. The school-aged child who has diabetes mellitus (type 1) and requires blood
glucose monitoring
□ B. The infant who has a diagnosis of pertussis and has a dry hacking cough
✓ C. The adolescent who was admitted with sickle cell crisis and reports visual
disturbances
□ D. The toddler who has bilateral arm casts and needs to be fed their breakfast
Correct Answer: C. The adolescent who was admitted with sickle cell crisis and reports visual
disturbances
Feedback: New visual disturbances in a client with sickle cell crisis may indicate a vaso-occlusive event
affecting the eye or a stroke, a potential neurological emergency requiring immediate assessment, making
this client the priority.
Question 4
The nurse working in an urgent care clinic is triaging the following clients. Which client
should the nurse have assessed immediately by the primary health care provider (PHCP)?
□ A. A 4-year-old client who has a laceration to the forehead and is screaming
□ B. A 17-year-old client who is suspected of having a right wrist fracture
□ C. A 32-year-old client with a painful sunburn to the face and arms
✓ D. A 46-year-old client who is diaphoretic and reports epigastric pain
Correct Answer: D. A 46-year-old client who is diaphoretic and reports epigastric pain
Feedback: Diaphoresis combined with epigastric pain are classic warning signs of an acute myocardial
infarction, a life-threatening emergency that requires immediate provider assessment, taking priority over
the other, non-life-threatening injuries.
Question 5
The registered nurse (RN) is planning care for clients and is assigning tasks to a licensed
practical/vocational nurse (LPN/VN) and unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP). Which of the
following tasks is best for the RN to assign to the LPN/VN?
✓ A. Collection of past medical history for a client who is admitted for cellulitis
□ B. Recording the output for a client who just urinated in the collection container of
the toilet
□ C. Assisting with the delivery of breakfast trays to the clients
□ D. Development of a plan of care for a client who is postoperative from a
cholecystectomy
,Correct Answer: A. Collection of past medical history for a client who is admitted for cellulitis
Feedback: Collecting focused history data for a stable client falls within the LPN/VN scope of practice.
Recording output and delivering meal trays are appropriately assigned to UAP, while developing the plan of
care requires RN-level assessment and clinical judgment and cannot be delegated.
Question 6
The nurse working in the emergency department (ED) has been made aware of the
following client situations. Which client information requires reporting by the nurse to an
outside public health agency?
□ A. 14-year-old female who was admitted with abdominal pain and has a positive
pregnancy test
✓ B. 27-year-old who was admitted with a confirmed sexually transmitted infection
(STI)
□ C. 45-year-old who was involved in a local factory fire and has 50% total body surface
area (TBSA) burns
□ D. 72-year-old who resides in a long-term care (LTC) facility and has a coccyx pressure
ulcer (stage 2)
Correct Answer: B. 27-year-old who was admitted with a confirmed sexually transmitted
infection (STI)
Feedback: Confirmed sexually transmitted infections are reportable conditions to public health departments,
enabling partner notification and disease surveillance. The other situations, while significant, are not
communicable disease reporting triggers for a public health agency.
Question 7
Which of the following actions by a nurse could result in a charge of false imprisonment?
□ A. Restraining a confused client after obtaining an appropriate provider order and
following facility protocol
✓ B. Preventing a client with full decision-making capacity from leaving the facility
against medical advice
□ C. Applying a properly ordered safety belt during a wheelchair transport
□ D. Documenting a client's refusal of treatment
Correct Answer: B. Preventing a client with full decision-making capacity from leaving the facility
against medical advice
Feedback: A competent adult has the right to leave against medical advice; physically preventing them from
doing so, without legal justification, constitutes false imprisonment.
Question 8
Negligence requires that a duty of care existed, the duty was breached, the breach caused
harm, and damages resulted. True or False?
, ✓ True
□ False
Correct Answer: True
Feedback: These four elements must generally be established to prove nursing negligence in a legal claim.
Question 9
Which of the following best describes informed consent?
□ A. A form the client signs before any procedure, regardless of understanding
✓ B. The client's voluntary agreement to a treatment after understanding its risks,
benefits, and alternatives
□ C. Verbal agreement obtained by the nurse on behalf of the provider
□ D. Consent obtained from a family member regardless of the client's own capacity
Correct Answer: B. The client's voluntary agreement to a treatment after understanding its risks,
benefits, and alternatives
Feedback: Valid informed consent requires that the client has adequate understanding and voluntarily
agrees to the proposed treatment, not simply a signature on a form.
Question 10
Which situation best represents an example of assault in a healthcare setting?
✓ A. A nurse threatens to give an injection to a client who refuses medication
□ B. A nurse administers a medication after obtaining consent
□ C. A nurse documents a client's vital signs accurately
□ D. A nurse restrains a client per a valid order
Correct Answer: A. A nurse threatens to give an injection to a client who refuses medication
Feedback: Assault involves the threat or attempt to cause harmful or offensive contact, creating fear of
imminent harm, even without actual physical contact occurring.
Question 11
Which of the following is an example of battery?
□ A. Threatening a client with a procedure they have refused
✓ B. Performing a procedure on a client after they have explicitly refused consent
□ C. Discussing a client's diagnosis with their assigned care team
□ D. Documenting a missed medication dose
Correct Answer: B. Performing a procedure on a client after they have explicitly refused consent
Feedback: Battery involves actual harmful or offensive physical contact without consent; performing a
procedure after refusal meets this definition.
