Health Care Law

Question 1

What does the Nurse Practice Act define?

Answer 1

1. Scope of practice
2. Standards for education programs
3. Licensure requirements
4. Grounds for disciplinary actions

Question 2

A nurse working on a medicine unit is mentoring a new graduate. The new nurse asks why it is necessary to perform an assessment on the same client twice during a 12-hour shift. What would be the nurse’s best response to the new graduate

1. It is policy and we have to follow the facility’s rules
2. Ongoing data collection is critical to the deletion or modification of old problems and finding new ones
3. We have always done it this way for as long as I have worked here
4. It will give you lots of chances to practice your assessment skills

Answer 2

The correct answer is: It is policy and we have to follow the facility’s rules.

It is impossible to give quality care without knowledge of changes in the client’s status. Ongoing data collection is critical to the deletion or modification of old problems and the identification of new problems. Even though it will give the new graduate experience, this is not why the assessment is done twice during a 12-hour shift. The policy is developed to maintain agency consistency. Nurses have professional accountability and should not blindly follow agency policy.

Question 3

An experienced nurse is mentoring a graduate nurse and critiquing the graduate’s shift handoff. Which statement requires clarification?

1. The client is experiencing lower back pain and I gave a backrub
2. I changed the client position from her back to her side
3. The client reports a pain level of 8. She has a low pain tolerance
4. I instructed the client to ring if she felt the need to move her bowels

Answer 3

The correct answer is: “The client reports a pain level of 8. She has a low pain tolerance.”

Shift handoff includes a report of the client’s pain assessment. Pain is a perceptive experience as individual pain tolerances vary. The nurse must do a complete pain assessment and not assume that the client has a low pain tolerance. Pain is an indication that a complication of labor is occurring.

All of the other options are appropriate.

Question 4

The nurse is mentoring a newly licensed nurse in the health clinic, talking with the single mother of an infant. The mother was 10 minutes late to the appointment and is concerned the clinic will not allow the health visit to be conducted today. Which statement by the newly licensed nurse would alert the nurse to provide additional teaching to the newly licensed nurse?

1. I know work schedules can make getting to an appointment on time difficult and I glad you are here now
2. Why don’t you plan to have your retired neighbor bring the baby next time since having the parent with the baby isn’t necessary?
3. It is important to be current with your baby’s progress, so we will see her today
4. Follow me into the private exam room so we can discuss any concerns you have about your baby?

Answer 4

The correct answer is: “Why don’t you plan to have your retired neighbor bring the baby next time since having the parent with the baby isn’t necessary?”

The nurse should not indicate to the mother that she is not necessary at the child’s health promotion visits. The nurse would instead validate the role of the mother and her influence on the child’s concept of wellness.

The other choices support the mother in taking an active role in her child’s health and decrease the barriers to clinic access.

Question 5

The nurse is considering medical-surgical certification after working on a medical-surgical floor for the past five years. Nursing specialty certification is given by which group?

1. American Nurses Credentialing center
2. American Nurses Association
3. National League for Nursing
   4 American Association of Colleges of Nursing

Answer 5

The correct answer is: American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)

Nurses can choose to become certified in a nursing specialty. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC, 2014) states that certification validates nursing specialty knowledge. Also, it builds confidence in nurses as professionals, demonstrating that they meet nationally recognized standards in the specialty. Certification is a voluntary process to provide professional recognition of the knowledge, skills, and abilities of certified nurses.

The American Nurses Association is a professional organization to advance and protect the profession of nursing. It started in 1896 as the Nurses Associated Alumnae and was renamed the American Nurses Association in 1911. The National League for Nursing is a national organization for faculty nurses and leaders in nurse education.
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is the national voice for baccalaureate and graduate nursing education.