Legal and Ethical Issues in Psychiatric Nursing (NURS 222) - 2026/2027
Update WCU
1. A nurse respects a patient’s decision to refuse a prescribed psychotropic
medication despite knowing the medication would likely improve the patient’s
symptoms. Which ethical principle is the nurse primarily demonstrating?
A. Beneficence
B. Autonomy
C. Justice
D. Fidelity
Answer: B
Rationale: Autonomy refers to the right of patients to make their own decisions about
their medical care. Even if the nurse believes the treatment is beneficial, the patient’s right
to self-determination takes precedence unless they are deemed incompetent or a danger to
themselves or others.
2. Which legal precedent established the ‘duty to warn’ a third party of
potential threats made by a patient?
A. M’Naghten Rule
B. Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California
C. Rogers v. Okin
D. Rennie v. Klein
Answer: B
Rationale: The Tarasoff case established that mental health professionals have a duty to
protect individuals who are being specifically threatened with harm by a patient, which
may include warning the intended victim.
,3. An involuntary admission to a psychiatric facility is typically based on which
of the following criteria?
A. The patient has a diagnosed personality disorder and refuses therapy.
B. The patient is unable to manage their finances independently.
C. The patient is a danger to themselves, a danger to others, or is gravely disabled.
D. The patient has been non-compliant with outpatient medication for one month.
Answer: C
Rationale: Legal standards for involuntary commitment generally require evidence of
imminent danger to self or others, or an inability to provide basic personal needs (grave
disability) due to mental illness.
4. A nurse tells a patient, ‘If you don’t take your medication, I will put you in
seclusion.’ This statement can be legally categorized as:
A. Assault
B. Battery
C. Negligence
D. False Imprisonment
Answer: A
Rationale: Assault is an intentional act that causes a person to fear an imminent harmful or
offensive contact. Threatening a patient with seclusion to force compliance constitutes
assault.
5. Which ethical principle involves the nurse’s obligation to be truthful and
honest with patients?
A. Autonomy
B. Nonmaleficence
C. Justice
D. Veracity
Answer: D
, Rationale: Veracity is the duty to communicate truthfully. This is essential for building a
therapeutic relationship and maintaining professional integrity.
6. A patient is admitted voluntarily but later requests discharge. Under what
condition can the hospital legally detain the patient?
A. The patient has not yet completed the full 14-day treatment program.
B. The staff determines through assessment that the patient meets the criteria for involuntary commitment.
C. The patient’s insurance has already paid for a full week of care.
D. The treatment team believes the patient would benefit from more therapy.
Answer: B
Rationale: While voluntary patients have the right to request discharge, if an assessment
shows they have become a danger to themselves or others, the facility can initiate a legal
hold to convert the status to involuntary.
7. In the context of psychiatric nursing, ‘malpractice’ is a type of:
A. Intentional tort
B. Criminal law violation
C. Ethical dilemma
D. Unintentional tort
Answer: D
Rationale: Malpractice is professional negligence, which falls under unintentional torts. It
involves a breach of the standard of care that results in injury to the patient.
8. Which of the following must be documented first when a nurse applies
emergency mechanical restraints to a violent patient?
A. The specific time the restraints were removed.
B. The less restrictive interventions attempted prior to restraint.
C. The patient’s family’s consent to the procedure.
D. The patient’s past history of substance abuse.
Answer: B
Update WCU
1. A nurse respects a patient’s decision to refuse a prescribed psychotropic
medication despite knowing the medication would likely improve the patient’s
symptoms. Which ethical principle is the nurse primarily demonstrating?
A. Beneficence
B. Autonomy
C. Justice
D. Fidelity
Answer: B
Rationale: Autonomy refers to the right of patients to make their own decisions about
their medical care. Even if the nurse believes the treatment is beneficial, the patient’s right
to self-determination takes precedence unless they are deemed incompetent or a danger to
themselves or others.
2. Which legal precedent established the ‘duty to warn’ a third party of
potential threats made by a patient?
A. M’Naghten Rule
B. Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California
C. Rogers v. Okin
D. Rennie v. Klein
Answer: B
Rationale: The Tarasoff case established that mental health professionals have a duty to
protect individuals who are being specifically threatened with harm by a patient, which
may include warning the intended victim.
,3. An involuntary admission to a psychiatric facility is typically based on which
of the following criteria?
A. The patient has a diagnosed personality disorder and refuses therapy.
B. The patient is unable to manage their finances independently.
C. The patient is a danger to themselves, a danger to others, or is gravely disabled.
D. The patient has been non-compliant with outpatient medication for one month.
Answer: C
Rationale: Legal standards for involuntary commitment generally require evidence of
imminent danger to self or others, or an inability to provide basic personal needs (grave
disability) due to mental illness.
4. A nurse tells a patient, ‘If you don’t take your medication, I will put you in
seclusion.’ This statement can be legally categorized as:
A. Assault
B. Battery
C. Negligence
D. False Imprisonment
Answer: A
Rationale: Assault is an intentional act that causes a person to fear an imminent harmful or
offensive contact. Threatening a patient with seclusion to force compliance constitutes
assault.
5. Which ethical principle involves the nurse’s obligation to be truthful and
honest with patients?
A. Autonomy
B. Nonmaleficence
C. Justice
D. Veracity
Answer: D
, Rationale: Veracity is the duty to communicate truthfully. This is essential for building a
therapeutic relationship and maintaining professional integrity.
6. A patient is admitted voluntarily but later requests discharge. Under what
condition can the hospital legally detain the patient?
A. The patient has not yet completed the full 14-day treatment program.
B. The staff determines through assessment that the patient meets the criteria for involuntary commitment.
C. The patient’s insurance has already paid for a full week of care.
D. The treatment team believes the patient would benefit from more therapy.
Answer: B
Rationale: While voluntary patients have the right to request discharge, if an assessment
shows they have become a danger to themselves or others, the facility can initiate a legal
hold to convert the status to involuntary.
7. In the context of psychiatric nursing, ‘malpractice’ is a type of:
A. Intentional tort
B. Criminal law violation
C. Ethical dilemma
D. Unintentional tort
Answer: D
Rationale: Malpractice is professional negligence, which falls under unintentional torts. It
involves a breach of the standard of care that results in injury to the patient.
8. Which of the following must be documented first when a nurse applies
emergency mechanical restraints to a violent patient?
A. The specific time the restraints were removed.
B. The less restrictive interventions attempted prior to restraint.
C. The patient’s family’s consent to the procedure.
D. The patient’s past history of substance abuse.
Answer: B
