NUR 225 Professional Nursing Issues |
Week 2 Study Guide: Foundations of
Professional Practice, Ethics, and Law
(2026 Version)
Module 1: Evolution and Foundations of Nursing
1. Who is considered the founder of modern nursing and established its first philosophical
framework?
• A) Dorothea Dix
• B) Lillian Wald
• C) Florence Nightingale
• D) Clara Barton
Answer: C) Florence Nightingale. She established the Environmental Theory,
emphasizing the role of clean air, water, sanitation, and light in patient recovery,
transforming nursing into a respected profession during the Crimean War.
2. What was the primary significance of the American Nurses Association (ANA), founded in
1911?
• Answer: It established nursing as a self-governing profession by setting standards for
education, practice, and ethics, and advocating for nurses' welfare and professional
interests.
3. Differentiate between an occupation and a profession in the context of nursing.
• Answer: An occupation is a job or trade. A profession requires a specialized body of
knowledge, a prolonged education, autonomy in practice, a code of ethics, and a
commitment to public service. Nursing meets all criteria of a profession.
4. What are the four main concepts common to all nursing theories, as defined in
the Metaparadigm of Nursing?
• Answer: Person, Environment, Health, Nursing. These form the foundational concepts
that all nursing theories address.
,5. How did the Brown Report (1948) impact nursing education?
• Answer: It recommended that nursing education move away from hospital-based
diploma programs and into colleges and universities to strengthen the theoretical and
scientific foundation.
Module 2: Nursing Licensure, Credentials, and Roles
6. What is the primary purpose of the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX)?
• Answer: To ensure public safety by testing the minimum competency required for safe
and effective entry-level nursing practice.
7. What is the difference between licensure, certification, and accreditation?
• Answer: Licensure is a mandatory legal credential granted by a state BON to
practice. Certification is a voluntary credential in a specialty (e.g., oncology) from a
professional organization. Accreditation is a status granted to educational programs that
meet quality standards.
8. What is the role of a State Board of Nursing (BON)?
• Answer: To protect the public by regulating nursing practice within the state: issuing
licenses, enforcing the Nurse Practice Act, setting standards, and disciplining licensees
for violations.
9. Describe the core function of an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN).
• Answer: APRNs (Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse
Midwives) provide advanced, specialized patient care, including diagnosis, prescribing
medication, and managing treatments, often with a high degree of autonomy.
10. What is mandatory licensure?
- Answer: A law requiring any person practicing as a nurse to hold a valid, current license. It is
illegal to practice without one.
Module 3: Ethics and Bioethical Principles
11. Define ethics in nursing.
- Answer: The systematic study of principles of right and wrong conduct, virtue, and duty as
they relate to nursing practice and patient care.
, 12. List the four core principles of biomedical ethics according to Beauchamp and Childress.
- Answer: Autonomy, Beneficence, Nonmaleficence, Justice.
13. A patient with decision-making capacity refuses a life-saving blood transfusion due to
religious beliefs. Which ethical principle is most directly upheld by honoring this refusal?
- A) Justice
- B) Fidelity
- C) Autonomy
- D) Beneficence
Answer: C) Autonomy. This respects the patient's right to self-determination and make
decisions about their own body.
14. What is the difference between beneficence and nonmaleficence?
- Answer: Beneficence is the duty to do good and act in the patient's best
interest. Nonmaleficence is the duty to do no harm or inflict the least harm possible.
15. What is an ethical dilemma? Provide a classic nursing example.
- Answer: A situation where two or more clear moral principles apply but support mutually
inconsistent courses of action. Example: A family demands full resuscitation for a terminally ill,
suffering patient (respecting family wishes) versus the nurse's duty to provide comfort and avoid
futile, harmful interventions (beneficence/nonmaleficence).
16. What is the purpose of an Institutional Review Board (IRB)?
- Answer: To protect the rights, safety, and well-being of human subjects involved in research by
reviewing and monitoring all research protocols.
17. Define informed consent. What three elements are required for it to be valid?
- Answer: A patient's voluntary agreement to a procedure after receiving adequate information.
Required elements: Disclosure of risks/benefits/alternatives, Comprehension by the patient,
and Voluntariness (free from coercion).
18. What is moral distress in nursing?
- Answer: The psychological distress that occurs when a nurse knows the ethically correct action
to take but feels constrained from taking it due to institutional or systemic barriers.
19. What is the primary function of a Hospital Ethics Committee?
- Answer: To provide consultation, education, and conflict resolution on ethical issues arising in
patient care, often involving complex decisions about treatment.
20. The principle of justice in healthcare most directly relates to:
- A) Keeping promises
Week 2 Study Guide: Foundations of
Professional Practice, Ethics, and Law
(2026 Version)
Module 1: Evolution and Foundations of Nursing
1. Who is considered the founder of modern nursing and established its first philosophical
framework?
• A) Dorothea Dix
• B) Lillian Wald
• C) Florence Nightingale
• D) Clara Barton
Answer: C) Florence Nightingale. She established the Environmental Theory,
emphasizing the role of clean air, water, sanitation, and light in patient recovery,
transforming nursing into a respected profession during the Crimean War.
2. What was the primary significance of the American Nurses Association (ANA), founded in
1911?
• Answer: It established nursing as a self-governing profession by setting standards for
education, practice, and ethics, and advocating for nurses' welfare and professional
interests.
3. Differentiate between an occupation and a profession in the context of nursing.
• Answer: An occupation is a job or trade. A profession requires a specialized body of
knowledge, a prolonged education, autonomy in practice, a code of ethics, and a
commitment to public service. Nursing meets all criteria of a profession.
4. What are the four main concepts common to all nursing theories, as defined in
the Metaparadigm of Nursing?
• Answer: Person, Environment, Health, Nursing. These form the foundational concepts
that all nursing theories address.
,5. How did the Brown Report (1948) impact nursing education?
• Answer: It recommended that nursing education move away from hospital-based
diploma programs and into colleges and universities to strengthen the theoretical and
scientific foundation.
Module 2: Nursing Licensure, Credentials, and Roles
6. What is the primary purpose of the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX)?
• Answer: To ensure public safety by testing the minimum competency required for safe
and effective entry-level nursing practice.
7. What is the difference between licensure, certification, and accreditation?
• Answer: Licensure is a mandatory legal credential granted by a state BON to
practice. Certification is a voluntary credential in a specialty (e.g., oncology) from a
professional organization. Accreditation is a status granted to educational programs that
meet quality standards.
8. What is the role of a State Board of Nursing (BON)?
• Answer: To protect the public by regulating nursing practice within the state: issuing
licenses, enforcing the Nurse Practice Act, setting standards, and disciplining licensees
for violations.
9. Describe the core function of an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN).
• Answer: APRNs (Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse
Midwives) provide advanced, specialized patient care, including diagnosis, prescribing
medication, and managing treatments, often with a high degree of autonomy.
10. What is mandatory licensure?
- Answer: A law requiring any person practicing as a nurse to hold a valid, current license. It is
illegal to practice without one.
Module 3: Ethics and Bioethical Principles
11. Define ethics in nursing.
- Answer: The systematic study of principles of right and wrong conduct, virtue, and duty as
they relate to nursing practice and patient care.
, 12. List the four core principles of biomedical ethics according to Beauchamp and Childress.
- Answer: Autonomy, Beneficence, Nonmaleficence, Justice.
13. A patient with decision-making capacity refuses a life-saving blood transfusion due to
religious beliefs. Which ethical principle is most directly upheld by honoring this refusal?
- A) Justice
- B) Fidelity
- C) Autonomy
- D) Beneficence
Answer: C) Autonomy. This respects the patient's right to self-determination and make
decisions about their own body.
14. What is the difference between beneficence and nonmaleficence?
- Answer: Beneficence is the duty to do good and act in the patient's best
interest. Nonmaleficence is the duty to do no harm or inflict the least harm possible.
15. What is an ethical dilemma? Provide a classic nursing example.
- Answer: A situation where two or more clear moral principles apply but support mutually
inconsistent courses of action. Example: A family demands full resuscitation for a terminally ill,
suffering patient (respecting family wishes) versus the nurse's duty to provide comfort and avoid
futile, harmful interventions (beneficence/nonmaleficence).
16. What is the purpose of an Institutional Review Board (IRB)?
- Answer: To protect the rights, safety, and well-being of human subjects involved in research by
reviewing and monitoring all research protocols.
17. Define informed consent. What three elements are required for it to be valid?
- Answer: A patient's voluntary agreement to a procedure after receiving adequate information.
Required elements: Disclosure of risks/benefits/alternatives, Comprehension by the patient,
and Voluntariness (free from coercion).
18. What is moral distress in nursing?
- Answer: The psychological distress that occurs when a nurse knows the ethically correct action
to take but feels constrained from taking it due to institutional or systemic barriers.
19. What is the primary function of a Hospital Ethics Committee?
- Answer: To provide consultation, education, and conflict resolution on ethical issues arising in
patient care, often involving complex decisions about treatment.
20. The principle of justice in healthcare most directly relates to:
- A) Keeping promises
