Ch 9 Legal & Ethical Issues Book Key Points

Question 1

Clients can be involuntarily hospitalized if they ___.

Answer 1

present an imminent threat of harm to themselves or others.

Question 2

Patients’ rights include:

Answer 2

the right to receive and refuse treatment;
to be involved in the plan of care;
to be treated in the least restrictive environment;
to refuse to participate in research;
and to have unrestricted visitors, mail, and phone calls.

Question 3

The use of __(2)__ falls under the domain of the patient’s right to the least restrictive environment.

Answer 3

seclusion (confinement in a locked room) and restraint (direct application of physical force)

Short-term use is permitted only if the client is imminently aggressive and dangerous to him or herself or to others.

Question 4

Mental health clinicians have a legal obligation to breach client confidentiality to:

Answer 4

warn a third party of direct threats made by the client.

Question 5

Nurses have the responsibility to provide:

Answer 5

safe, competent, legal, and ethical care as outlined in nurse practice acts, the Scope and Standards of Psychiatric–Mental Health Nursing Practice, and the Code of Ethics for Nurses.

Question 6

A tort is a:

Answer 6

wrongful act that results in injury, loss, or damage.

Negligence is an unintentional tort causing harm through failure to act.

Question 7

Malpractice is:

Answer 7

negligence by health professionals in cases in which they have a duty to the client that is breached, thereby causing injury or damage to the client.

Question 8

Intentional torts include:

Answer 8

assault, battery, and false imprisonment.

Question 9

Ethical theories are sets of principles used to decide what is morally right or wrong, such as __(2)__, to make ethical decisions.

Answer 9

utilitarianism (the greatest good for the greatest number) and deontology (using principles such as autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, veracity, and fidelity)

Question 10

Ethical dilemmas are:

Answer 10

situations that arise when principles conflict or when there is no single clear course of action in a given situation.

Question 11

Many ethical dilemmas in mental health involve a conflict between:

Answer 11

the client’s autonomy and concerns for the public good (utilitarianism).