Chapter 3. Nursing Ethics and the Law
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____ 1. After providing a.m. care for his patient, a nurse forgot to put the bed in the
lowest position and left one of the bed rails down. The patient got out of bed
and fell. The nurse could be reported to the board of nursing for
1. Assault.
2. Battery.
3. Negligence.
4. Libel.
____ 2. A nurse has been reported to the board of nursing for performing skills that
are outside her scope of practice. The nurse should expect
1. A lawsuit by the institution for mal-
practice.
2. A hearing by the board of nursing to
determine whether the charges are
true.
3. Immediate revocation of her nursing
license.
4. Requirement to complete a mini-
mum of 10 continuing education
units (CEUs).
____ 3. A nurse witnesses a coworker taking a medication ordered for a patient. The
nurse’s first course of action is to
1. Ask the other nurses on the unit
what they would do.
2. Tell the coworker that the incident
will be reported the next time it
happens.
3. Offer to care for the nurse’s patients
until the medication is no longer ef-
fective.
4. Report the incident to the nurse su-
pervisor.
____ 4. A 17-year-old patient injured during a football game is in the emergency de-
partment. Before treatment, it is the responsibility of the nurse to
1. Have the step-parent sign the in-
formed consent.
, 2. Have the patient sign the informed
consent.
3. Obtain the custodial parent’s signa-
ture on the informed consent.
4. Solicit the signature of the noncus-
todial parent on the informed con-
sent.
____ 5. A mentally competent patient with a terminal illness refuses to take his medi-
cations, stating, “I don’t want to live like this.” The nurse will
1. Ask the physician to change the pa-
tient’s medications so they can be
given intravenously.
2. Speak to the patient’s family about
his refusal of medications so they
can discuss it with him.
3. Report the patient’s decision to the
physician and continue to provide
appropriate compassionate care.
4. Explain to the patient the unwise
nature of his decision and the effect
that it will have on his family.
____ 6. A nurse feels that his patient needs to be placed in a protective-restraint de-
vice to protect him from injury. To place a patient in restraints,
1. The patient must give his or her
consent for restraints to be used.
2. A family member must give his or
her consent to use restraints.
3. The nurse must have documenta-
tion that other methods have been
used and failed to protect the pa-
tient.
4. The patient must be alert and ori-
ented.
____ 7. A nurse explains to a patient that an instructional directive means
1. A family member has been ap-
pointed as having power of attorney.
2. A patient’s wishes must be followed
in the event of a major illness.
3. There is a do-not-resuscitate (DNR)
order for emergency personnel.
4. There are written guidelines specify-
, ing care desired and under what cir-
cumstances.
____ 8. A patient requests that a nurse copy his chart for his daughter. The nurse
replies:
1. “I’ll get a copy made right away.
How many copies do you need?”
2. “Only your lawyer can request a
copy, so you need to contact her.”
3. “The chart belongs to the hospital,
but if you give written permission, a
copy can be made for you.”
4. “The Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act, or HIPAA,
prevents the hospital from copying
your chart, but you could speak to
your physician about it.”
____ 9. A nurse explains to coworkers that care provided for a patient is based on the
Nurse Practice Act (NPA), which covers the
1. Patient’s Bill of Rights.
2. Rules and regulations that nurses
must practice.
3. American Nurses Association’s
(ANA) guidelines.
4. Reasons that nurses may have ac-
tion taken against their licenses.
____ 10. A patient has refused to take the medications brought in by a nurse. The
nurse will chart,
1. “Instructed patient that the medica-
tions will be taken now or later.”
2. “Explained to patient that unless
medications are taken, the physi-
cian will likely issue a discharge.”
3. “Medications refused; physician no-
tified.”
4. “Physician notified that patient is
uncooperative.”
____ 11. Following a discussion with a patient about treatment options given by the
primary care physician, a nurse assures the patient that the physician will
support whatever decision is made. This nurse is acting as the patient’s
1. Ethics board
, 2. Value system
3. Advocate
4. Conscience
____ 12. Aware that continuing education is a must in providing a high standard of pa-
tient care, a nurse will enhance her practice by
1. Taking a cooking class.
2. Becoming computer literate.
3. Studying the history of nursing.
4. Using research to improve practice.
____ 13. A nursing instructor is discussing the importance of a nurse’s responsibility to
serve as a patient’s advocate. The instructor recognizes that additional expla-
nation is warranted when a student nurse says:
1. “As a patient’s advocate, I must as-
sert myself in the patient’s best in-
terest.”
2. “As a patient’s advocate, I must sub-
jectively examine the patient’s val-
ues.”
3. “As a patient’s advocate, I must pro-
vide my patients with care and com-
fort.”
4. “As a patient’s advocate, I must de-
velop empathy for my patients and
their families.”
____ 14. In certain situations when a patient is in the terminal stages of a disease and
not expected to live much longer, a physician may be authorized to write a
do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order in the patient’s chart that limits life-extending
measures to
1. Tube feeding.
2. Use of a ventilator.
3. Comfort and dignity.
4. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
____ 15. A nursing instructor explains that a good nurse must make certain that the
professional nurse–patient relationship boundaries are never crossed. The in-
structor realizes that additional clarification is needed when a student nurse
says:
1. “I must be careful to never get emo-
tionally involved with my patients.”
2. “I should avoid serving as the pa-
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____ 1. After providing a.m. care for his patient, a nurse forgot to put the bed in the
lowest position and left one of the bed rails down. The patient got out of bed
and fell. The nurse could be reported to the board of nursing for
1. Assault.
2. Battery.
3. Negligence.
4. Libel.
____ 2. A nurse has been reported to the board of nursing for performing skills that
are outside her scope of practice. The nurse should expect
1. A lawsuit by the institution for mal-
practice.
2. A hearing by the board of nursing to
determine whether the charges are
true.
3. Immediate revocation of her nursing
license.
4. Requirement to complete a mini-
mum of 10 continuing education
units (CEUs).
____ 3. A nurse witnesses a coworker taking a medication ordered for a patient. The
nurse’s first course of action is to
1. Ask the other nurses on the unit
what they would do.
2. Tell the coworker that the incident
will be reported the next time it
happens.
3. Offer to care for the nurse’s patients
until the medication is no longer ef-
fective.
4. Report the incident to the nurse su-
pervisor.
____ 4. A 17-year-old patient injured during a football game is in the emergency de-
partment. Before treatment, it is the responsibility of the nurse to
1. Have the step-parent sign the in-
formed consent.
, 2. Have the patient sign the informed
consent.
3. Obtain the custodial parent’s signa-
ture on the informed consent.
4. Solicit the signature of the noncus-
todial parent on the informed con-
sent.
____ 5. A mentally competent patient with a terminal illness refuses to take his medi-
cations, stating, “I don’t want to live like this.” The nurse will
1. Ask the physician to change the pa-
tient’s medications so they can be
given intravenously.
2. Speak to the patient’s family about
his refusal of medications so they
can discuss it with him.
3. Report the patient’s decision to the
physician and continue to provide
appropriate compassionate care.
4. Explain to the patient the unwise
nature of his decision and the effect
that it will have on his family.
____ 6. A nurse feels that his patient needs to be placed in a protective-restraint de-
vice to protect him from injury. To place a patient in restraints,
1. The patient must give his or her
consent for restraints to be used.
2. A family member must give his or
her consent to use restraints.
3. The nurse must have documenta-
tion that other methods have been
used and failed to protect the pa-
tient.
4. The patient must be alert and ori-
ented.
____ 7. A nurse explains to a patient that an instructional directive means
1. A family member has been ap-
pointed as having power of attorney.
2. A patient’s wishes must be followed
in the event of a major illness.
3. There is a do-not-resuscitate (DNR)
order for emergency personnel.
4. There are written guidelines specify-
, ing care desired and under what cir-
cumstances.
____ 8. A patient requests that a nurse copy his chart for his daughter. The nurse
replies:
1. “I’ll get a copy made right away.
How many copies do you need?”
2. “Only your lawyer can request a
copy, so you need to contact her.”
3. “The chart belongs to the hospital,
but if you give written permission, a
copy can be made for you.”
4. “The Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act, or HIPAA,
prevents the hospital from copying
your chart, but you could speak to
your physician about it.”
____ 9. A nurse explains to coworkers that care provided for a patient is based on the
Nurse Practice Act (NPA), which covers the
1. Patient’s Bill of Rights.
2. Rules and regulations that nurses
must practice.
3. American Nurses Association’s
(ANA) guidelines.
4. Reasons that nurses may have ac-
tion taken against their licenses.
____ 10. A patient has refused to take the medications brought in by a nurse. The
nurse will chart,
1. “Instructed patient that the medica-
tions will be taken now or later.”
2. “Explained to patient that unless
medications are taken, the physi-
cian will likely issue a discharge.”
3. “Medications refused; physician no-
tified.”
4. “Physician notified that patient is
uncooperative.”
____ 11. Following a discussion with a patient about treatment options given by the
primary care physician, a nurse assures the patient that the physician will
support whatever decision is made. This nurse is acting as the patient’s
1. Ethics board
, 2. Value system
3. Advocate
4. Conscience
____ 12. Aware that continuing education is a must in providing a high standard of pa-
tient care, a nurse will enhance her practice by
1. Taking a cooking class.
2. Becoming computer literate.
3. Studying the history of nursing.
4. Using research to improve practice.
____ 13. A nursing instructor is discussing the importance of a nurse’s responsibility to
serve as a patient’s advocate. The instructor recognizes that additional expla-
nation is warranted when a student nurse says:
1. “As a patient’s advocate, I must as-
sert myself in the patient’s best in-
terest.”
2. “As a patient’s advocate, I must sub-
jectively examine the patient’s val-
ues.”
3. “As a patient’s advocate, I must pro-
vide my patients with care and com-
fort.”
4. “As a patient’s advocate, I must de-
velop empathy for my patients and
their families.”
____ 14. In certain situations when a patient is in the terminal stages of a disease and
not expected to live much longer, a physician may be authorized to write a
do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order in the patient’s chart that limits life-extending
measures to
1. Tube feeding.
2. Use of a ventilator.
3. Comfort and dignity.
4. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
____ 15. A nursing instructor explains that a good nurse must make certain that the
professional nurse–patient relationship boundaries are never crossed. The in-
structor realizes that additional clarification is needed when a student nurse
says:
1. “I must be careful to never get emo-
tionally involved with my patients.”
2. “I should avoid serving as the pa-
