Legal and Ethical Considerations Flashcards
Which determines the scope of practice for RN employed in a psychiatric inpatient facility?
A. National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
B. State law, which may vary from state to state
C. Federal law, which applies nationwide
D. National League of Nursing (NLN)
B. State law, which may vary from state to state
The right to determine one's own destiny is to "autonomy" as the duty to benefit or promote the good of others is to: A. nonmaleficence B. justice C. veracity D. beneficence
D. Beneficence
Which statement reflects the ethical principle of utilitarianism?
A. the end justifies the means
B. if you mean well, you will be justified
C. do unto others as you would have them do you
D. what is right is what is best for me
A. the end justifies the means
A nursing student observes an incorrect dosage of medication being given to a client receiving electroconvulsive therapy. To implement the ethical principle of veracity, which action would the nursing student take?
A. keep the information confidential to avoid harm to others
B. inform the student’s instructor and the client’s primary nurse and document the situation
C. tell only the client about the incident because the decision about actions would be determined only by the client
D. because the client was not harmed, the incident would not need to be reported
B. inform the student’s instructor and the client’s primary nurse and document the situation
A nurse is pulled from a medical/surgical floor to the psychiatric unit. Which of the following clients would the nurse manager assign to this nurse?
A. a chronically depressed client
B. an actively psychotic client
C. a client experiencing paranoid thinking
D. a client diagnosed with cluster B personality disorder traits
E. a client diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder
A,E
A nursing student states to the instructor “I’m afraid of clients with mental illness. they are all violent.” Which of the following statements would the instructor use to clarify this perception for the student? select all that apply
A. even though most clients with a mental illness are violent, there are ways to de-escalate these behaviors
B. a very few clients with mental illness exhibit violent behaviors
C. there are medications that can be given to clients to prevent violent behaviors
D. only paranoid clients exhibit violent behaviors
E. there is little difference in violence statics between clients diagnosed with mental illness and the general population
B, E
A client’s husband is visiting his wife during visiting hours. a nurse walking by hears him verbally abuse the client. which nursing response is appropriate?
A. ask the client to ask her husband to leave the unit
B. remind the client’s husband of the unit rules
C. ask the husband to come to the nurse’s station to talk about his feelings
D. sit with the client and her husband to begin discussing anger issues
B
On which client would a nurse on an inpatient psychiatric unit appropriately use four-point restraints?
A. a client who is hostile and threatening the staff and other clients.
B. a client who is intrusive and demanding and requires added attention.
C. a client who is noncompliant with medication and treatment.
D. a client who splits staff and manipulates
A
A client has been placed in seclusion because the client has been deemed a danger to
others. Which is the priority nursing intervention for this client?
A. Have little contact with the client to decrease stimulation.
B. provide the client with privacy to maintain confidentiality
C. Maintain contact and assure the client that seclusion will maintain the client’s safety
D. Teach the client relaxation techniques and effective coping strategies to deal with
anger
C
Which of the following clients retain the right to give informed consent? Select all apply.
A. 21-year-old client who is hearing and seeing things that others do not.
B. A 32-year-old client who is diagnosed with a severe intellectual development
disorder.
C. A 65-year-old client was declared legally incompetent.
D. A 14-year-old client with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).-minor
E. An 80-year-old client who wants to participate in a medical research study.
A, E
A client has the right to treatment in the least restrictive setting. Number the fol-
lowing restrictive situations in the order of hierarchy from least restrictive to most
restrictive.
Restriction of the ability to use money and control resources.
Restriction of emotional or verbal expression (censorship).
Restriction of decisions of daily life (what to eat, when to smoke).
Restriction of body movement (four-point restraints).
Restriction of movement in space (seclusion rooms, restrictions to the unit)
The treatment team is recommending disulfiram (Antabuse) for a client who has had
multiple admissions for alcohol detoxification. Which nursing question directed to the treatment team would protect the client’s right to informed consent?
A. does this client have the cognitive ability to be prescribed this medication?
B. Will this client be adherent with this medication?”
C. “Will the team be liable if this client is harmed by this medication?”
D. “Is this the least restrictive means of meeting this client’s needs?”
A
Which of the following clients does not have the ability to refuse medications or treatments? Select all that apply.
A. An involuntarily committed client.
B. A voluntarily committed client.
C. A client who has been deemed incompetent by the court.
D. A client who has a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder.
E. A client who is an imminent danger to him- or herself.
C,E
When a client makes a written application to be admitted to a psychiatric facility, which
statement about this client applies?
A. The client may retain none, some, or all civil rights depending on state law.
B. The client cannot make discharge decisions. These are initiated by the hospital or
court or both.
C. The client has been determined to be a danger to self or others.
D. The client makes decisions about discharge unless he or she is determined to be a
D
Which of the following situations may put a nurse on an inpatient unit and legal jeopardy for battery? select all that apply
A. A nurse rental client with bodily harm if the client refuses medications.
B. A client is injured while being forcibly placed in a four-point restraint because of low staffing.
C. A nurse gives three times the ordered medication dosage because of calculation error and does not report the incident, resulting in harm to the client.
D. a client out against his or her will because of medication nonadherence
E. A frustrated nurse pushes a client who refuses to take ordered medications
B, E
