CEN Professional Practices Flashcards

Parents may refuse life, limb or organ saving treatment on behalf of their children for religious reasons. a. True b. False ️️ B. According to a 1944 ruling by the US Supreme Court, a parent is not free to refuse life, limb or organ saving treatment for their child for religious reasons. Studies about the effects of family presence during treatment and resuscitation have found that: a. More than 50% of all providers support family presence. b. Nurses are less like to support family presence than physicians. c. Less experienced providers are more comfortable with family presence than the more experienced. d. Patients receive comfort with family presence. ️️ D. Many patients derive a sense of comfort from having family presence during treatments and resuscitation. However, less than 50% of all providers support family presence. Within that group of providers that support family presence, nurses are more likely to support the concept than physicians. Older and more experienced providers are more comfortable with family presence than their less experienced peers. Palliative care in the ED may include pharmacologic approaches to relieve dyspnea. The medications that may be given as palliative care include all the following EXCEPT: a. Opioids b. Anxiolytics c. Antibiotics d. Oxygen ️️ C. Dyspnea in this case is typically not caused by infection so antibiotics are generally not given for dyspnea in palliative care. The other three medications are very commonly used in the ED for palliative treatment. When caring for the victim of a reported crime, the ED nurse must be aware that anything brought in with the patient may be considered to be forensic evidence. The nurse must: a. Wear gloves to avoid contaminating evidence. b. Avoid touching the patient until the police arrive. c. Place all pieces of clothing into a clean plastic bag. d. All of the above. ️️ A. It is important to avoid contaminating the patient or his clothes by touching them with ungloved hands. The medical treatment of the patient must not be delayed while waiting for officials to arrive, but all personnel should be cognizant of the need to maintain forensic evidence. Place each piece of clothing in paper bags. Paper bags are permeable to air and allow damp clothes to dry more readily than impermeable plastic bags that may promote growth of bacteria or mold. In order to preserve the chain of custody, the ED nurse should not allow potential forensic evidence to leave his or her sight until collected by law enforcement officials. a. True b. False ️️ B. False. The ED nurse must assure that each piece of evidence collected is bagged and that the date and name of the nurse is written over the tape that seals the bag. The ED nurse should ensure that the bags of evidence are locked in a secure environment until collected by law enforcement. It is not necessary for the nurse to keep the evidence in his or her possession. In most cases, the police will accompany the patient to the ED or be available soon after arrival so chain of custody can be from nurse directly to police.