NCLEX RN test bank - Chapter 3: Legal and Ethical Considerations

NCLEX RN test bank - Chapter 3: Legal and Ethical Considerations 1. A good friend of the LPN confides that she is in a serious romantic relationship with a man the LPN had as a patient when he was diagnosed with HIV. HIPPA policies prevent the nurse from warning her friend. This situation is a moral: 1. dilemma. 2. uncertainty. 3. distress. 4. outrage. - ANS-ANS: 3 Rationale=Moral distress occurs when a nurse feels powerless because moral beliefs cannot be honored because of institutional or other barriers. 2. The nurse reminds a resident in a long-term care facility that he has autonomy in many aspects of his institutionalization. One example is: 1. selection of medication times. 2. availability of his own small electrical appliances. 3. smoking in the privacy of his own room. 4. application of advance directives. - ANS-ANS: 4 Rationale=The application of advance directives is an autonomous decision. Agency protocols relative to medication times, access to private electrical devices, and smoking are rarely waived. 3. The LPN may exhibit accountability by: 1. adhering to agency policy. 2. working extra shifts during a staff shortage. 3. teaching clients skills for self-care. 4. joining NAPNES. - ANS-ANS: 1 Rationale=Adherence to agency policies demonstrates that the LPN is accountable to her obligations of employment. Working extra shifts, teaching, and membership in NAPNES are personal values, not accountability. 4. The LPN reminds a group of students that the values they demonstrate in their practice have their roots in: 1. nursing school education. 2. family influence. 3. peer relationships. 4. agency policies. - ANS-ANS: 2 Rationale=The family shapes values that are demonstrated in later life. These values may be enhanced or challenged by life experiences, but the base is forged in the family. 5. One OB nurse remarks, "I don't see how these young single women can keep on having babies without being married. Everyone knows a child needs a father." This nurse is exhibiting: 1. ethnocentrism. 2. moral uncertainty. 3. values clarification. 4. professional concern. - ANS-ANS: 1 Rationale=Ethnocentricity is the belief that one's own culture and values are superior to those of others. Such statements are based on values clarification and perhaps on moral outrage. 6. When a student asks the instructor to define the philosophical stand of utilitarianism, the instructor gives the example of: 1. an army officer sacrificing six paratroopers to save 100 prisoners of war. 2. a priest burning down his church because it was defiled by Satanists. 3. a mother jumping off a cliff with her baby to avoid being captured by Indians. 4. murdering captured enemies because they will not divulge military secrets. - ANS-ANS: 1 Rationale=The sacrifice of six to save 100 is an example of the "greater good." The other options are based on the philosophy of deontology. 7. The LPN explains to a client that the hospital has an Institutional Ethics Committee whose main function is to: 1. preside over policy implementation. 2. revoke the license of someone who violates the law. 3. solving personnel disputes. 4. ensure that hiring adheres to ethnic equality. - ANS-ANS: 1 Rationale=The Institutional Ethics Committee's main job is to preside over implementation of agency policy. 8. The LPN charted that "client was drunk and acted in a crazy manner." The team leader has cautioned that such documentation would leave the LPN open to charges of: 1. assault. 2. wrongful publication. 3. defamation of character. 4. slander. - ANS-ANS: 3 Rationale=Charting or saying unsupported defamatory statements can lead to tort litigation