Ethics & Advocacy - 2026 Professional Nursing Standards:
Practice Test 2 (Units 8-13) - Questions with Correct Answers
100 questions
1. Shift report conducted at the bedside should protect privacy by:
A. Announcing all details to roommates
B. Discussing sensitive information discreetly and respecting patient preferences
C. Avoiding the patient
D. Using the hallway
Correct Answer: B. Discussing sensitive information discreetly and respecting patient
preferences
Rationale: Privacy can be maintained with care. Patients may choose what is shared.
2. Posting a photo of a unit celebration on social media requires checking that:
A. Coworkers look good
B. It gets many likes
C. It is posted quickly
D. No patients or patient information appear in the image
Correct Answer: D. No patients or patient information appear in the image
Rationale: Backgrounds may show patient information. Caution is needed.
3. A nurse who notices a colleague developing an inappropriate relationship with a patient
should:
A. Ignore it
B. Gossip about it
C. Address the concern and report it according to policy to protect the patient
D. Encourage it
Correct Answer: C. Address the concern and report it according to policy to protect the
patient
Rationale: Patient protection comes first. Early intervention prevents harm.
,4. Penalties for HIPAA violations can include:
A. Civil fines and, for knowing violations, criminal penalties
B. No penalties
C. Only warnings
D. Only retraining
Correct Answer: A. Civil fines and, for knowing violations, criminal penalties
Rationale: Penalties scale with intent and harm. Individuals may face consequences.
5. Adolescent confidentiality in health care is important because:
A. Adolescents have no privacy rights
B. Parents must know everything
C. Adolescents may avoid needed care if they fear disclosure to parents
D. It is illegal
Correct Answer: C. Adolescents may avoid needed care if they fear disclosure to parents
Rationale: Laws vary by service and state. Safety concerns may require disclosure.
6. Sexual relationships between nurses and current patients are:
A. Always a boundary violation and prohibited
B. Acceptable if consensual
C. Allowed after discharge in all cases
D. A private matter
Correct Answer: A. Always a boundary violation and prohibited
Rationale: Power imbalance negates consent. Boards impose serious discipline.
,7. Over-involvement with a patient can lead to:
A. Better care always
B. Loss of objectivity and harm to the patient and nurse
C. Improved boundaries
D. No effect
Correct Answer: B. Loss of objectivity and harm to the patient and nurse
Rationale: Over-involvement may meet the nurse's needs rather than the patient's. Team
support helps.
8. A Notice of Privacy Practices informs patients about:
A. How their health information may be used and disclosed and their privacy rights
B. Hospital prices
C. Staffing
D. Parking
Correct Answer: A. How their health information may be used and disclosed and their privacy
rights
Rationale: Providers must give it at the first encounter. Patients acknowledge receipt.
9. Electronic health record audit logs allow organizations to:
A. Delete records
B. Change entries
C. Track who accessed records and detect inappropriate access
D. Share records publicly
Correct Answer: C. Track who accessed records and detect inappropriate access
Rationale: Audits deter snooping. Staff should know access is monitored.
, 10. Professional boundaries in nursing are:
A. Physical walls
B. The spaces between the nurse's power and the patient's vulnerability that protect the
therapeutic relationship
C. Shift schedules
D. Pay limits
Correct Answer: B. The spaces between the nurse's power and the patient's vulnerability that
protect the therapeutic relationship
Rationale: NCSBN describes a continuum of professional behavior. Nurses are responsible for
maintaining boundaries.
11. Nursing students accessing patient records should:
A. Browse any record
B. Print records to take home
C. Share records with classmates
D. Access only information needed for their assigned patients and learning
Correct Answer: D. Access only information needed for their assigned patients and learning
Rationale: Students are bound by HIPAA. Violations can lead to dismissal.
12. Discussing a patient's condition with the patient's family requires:
A. The patient's permission or circumstances allowed by HIPAA, such as the patient not
objecting when given the opportunity
B. No consideration
C. Sharing everything with any relative
D. Refusing all communication
Correct Answer: A. The patient's permission or circumstances allowed by HIPAA, such as the
patient not objecting when given the opportunity
Rationale: HIPAA permits sharing with involved family unless the patient objects. Preferences
should be documented.
Practice Test 2 (Units 8-13) - Questions with Correct Answers
100 questions
1. Shift report conducted at the bedside should protect privacy by:
A. Announcing all details to roommates
B. Discussing sensitive information discreetly and respecting patient preferences
C. Avoiding the patient
D. Using the hallway
Correct Answer: B. Discussing sensitive information discreetly and respecting patient
preferences
Rationale: Privacy can be maintained with care. Patients may choose what is shared.
2. Posting a photo of a unit celebration on social media requires checking that:
A. Coworkers look good
B. It gets many likes
C. It is posted quickly
D. No patients or patient information appear in the image
Correct Answer: D. No patients or patient information appear in the image
Rationale: Backgrounds may show patient information. Caution is needed.
3. A nurse who notices a colleague developing an inappropriate relationship with a patient
should:
A. Ignore it
B. Gossip about it
C. Address the concern and report it according to policy to protect the patient
D. Encourage it
Correct Answer: C. Address the concern and report it according to policy to protect the
patient
Rationale: Patient protection comes first. Early intervention prevents harm.
,4. Penalties for HIPAA violations can include:
A. Civil fines and, for knowing violations, criminal penalties
B. No penalties
C. Only warnings
D. Only retraining
Correct Answer: A. Civil fines and, for knowing violations, criminal penalties
Rationale: Penalties scale with intent and harm. Individuals may face consequences.
5. Adolescent confidentiality in health care is important because:
A. Adolescents have no privacy rights
B. Parents must know everything
C. Adolescents may avoid needed care if they fear disclosure to parents
D. It is illegal
Correct Answer: C. Adolescents may avoid needed care if they fear disclosure to parents
Rationale: Laws vary by service and state. Safety concerns may require disclosure.
6. Sexual relationships between nurses and current patients are:
A. Always a boundary violation and prohibited
B. Acceptable if consensual
C. Allowed after discharge in all cases
D. A private matter
Correct Answer: A. Always a boundary violation and prohibited
Rationale: Power imbalance negates consent. Boards impose serious discipline.
,7. Over-involvement with a patient can lead to:
A. Better care always
B. Loss of objectivity and harm to the patient and nurse
C. Improved boundaries
D. No effect
Correct Answer: B. Loss of objectivity and harm to the patient and nurse
Rationale: Over-involvement may meet the nurse's needs rather than the patient's. Team
support helps.
8. A Notice of Privacy Practices informs patients about:
A. How their health information may be used and disclosed and their privacy rights
B. Hospital prices
C. Staffing
D. Parking
Correct Answer: A. How their health information may be used and disclosed and their privacy
rights
Rationale: Providers must give it at the first encounter. Patients acknowledge receipt.
9. Electronic health record audit logs allow organizations to:
A. Delete records
B. Change entries
C. Track who accessed records and detect inappropriate access
D. Share records publicly
Correct Answer: C. Track who accessed records and detect inappropriate access
Rationale: Audits deter snooping. Staff should know access is monitored.
, 10. Professional boundaries in nursing are:
A. Physical walls
B. The spaces between the nurse's power and the patient's vulnerability that protect the
therapeutic relationship
C. Shift schedules
D. Pay limits
Correct Answer: B. The spaces between the nurse's power and the patient's vulnerability that
protect the therapeutic relationship
Rationale: NCSBN describes a continuum of professional behavior. Nurses are responsible for
maintaining boundaries.
11. Nursing students accessing patient records should:
A. Browse any record
B. Print records to take home
C. Share records with classmates
D. Access only information needed for their assigned patients and learning
Correct Answer: D. Access only information needed for their assigned patients and learning
Rationale: Students are bound by HIPAA. Violations can lead to dismissal.
12. Discussing a patient's condition with the patient's family requires:
A. The patient's permission or circumstances allowed by HIPAA, such as the patient not
objecting when given the opportunity
B. No consideration
C. Sharing everything with any relative
D. Refusing all communication
Correct Answer: A. The patient's permission or circumstances allowed by HIPAA, such as the
patient not objecting when given the opportunity
Rationale: HIPAA permits sharing with involved family unless the patient objects. Preferences
should be documented.
