Legal implications of nursing

Question 1

accreditation

Answer 1

process by which an educational program is evaluated and then recognized as having met certain predetermined standards of education

Question 2

assault

Answer 2

threat or an attempt to make bodily contact with another person without that person’s permission

Question 3

battery

Answer 3

assault that is carried out

Question 4

cerification

Answer 4

process by which a person who has met certain criteria established by a nongovernmental association is granted recognition

Question 5

common law

Answer 5

law resulting from court decisions that is then followed when other cases involving similar circumstances and facts arise; common law is as binding as civil law

Question 6

credentialing

Answer 6

general term that refers to ways in which professional competence is maintained

Question 7

crime

Answer 7

offense against people or property; the act is considered to be against the government, referred to in a lawsuit as “the people” and the accused is prosecuted by the state

Question 8

defamation of character

Answer 8

an intentional tort in which one party makes derogatory remarks about another that diminishes the other party’s reputation

Question 9

defendant

Answer 9

the one being accused of a crime or tort

Question 10

expert witness

Answer 10

nurse who explains to the judge and jury what happened based on the patient’s record and who offers an opinion as to whether the nursing care met acceptable standards of practice

Question 11

fact witness

Answer 11

nurse who has knowledge of the actual incident prompting a legal case; bases testimony on firsthand knowledge of the incident, not on assumptions

Question 12

felony

Answer 12

crime punishable by imprisonment in a state or federal penitentiary for more than 1 year

Question 13

fraud

Answer 13

willful and purposeful misrepresentation that could cause, or has caused, loss or harm to people or property

Question 14

liability

Answer 14

legal responsibility for one’s acts (and failure to act); includes responsibility for financial restitution or harms resulting from negligent acts

Question 15

licensure

Answer 15

to be given a license to practice nursing in a state or province after successfully meeting the requirements

Question 16

litigation

Answer 16

process of lawsuit

Question 17

malpractice

Answer 17

act of negligence as applied to a professional person such as a nurse, physician, or dentist

Question 18

misdemeanor

Answer 18

crime of lesser offense than a felony and punishable by fines, imprisonment (usually for less than a year) or both

Question 19

negligence

Answer 19

performing an act that has a reasonably prudent person under similar circumstances would not do, or failing to perform an act that a reasonably prudent person under similar circumstances would do

Question 20

plaintiff

Answer 20

person or government bringing a law suit against another

Question 21

sentinel event

Answer 21

an unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or psychological injury, or the risk of thereof

Question 22

statutory law

Answer 22

law enacted by a legislative body

Question 23

tort

Answer 23

wrong committed by a person against another person or that person’s property

Question 24

whistle-blowing

Answer 24

term generally used to refer to employees who report their employee’s violation of the law to appropriate law enforcement agencies outside the employers’ facilities