PROFESSIONAL NURSE
A nurse is expected to practice according to the technical and ethical standards of the nursing profession. This is known as being ______.
What is professional?
Teaching point: Professionalism means behaving in a way that meets the standards of nursing practice.
This ethical principle means the patient's right to make their own decisions, including refusing treatment.
What is autonomy?
This state law defines what nurses are legally permitted to do within their level of education and licensure
What is the Nurse Practice Act?
A nurse discusses a patient's diagnosis with the patient's healthcare team in an appropriate private location. Is this a confidentiality violation?
What is no?
A competent patient has the right to say “no” to a medication or treatment.
What is autonomy/right to refuse treatment?
You hear a nurse loudly announce in the hallway, “Mrs. Smith's HIV test came back positive!” What do you do?
What is protect patient confidentiality and address/report the inappropriate disclosure according to policy
A nurse is struggling with a personal problem but must still provide safe, respectful care to patients. What should the nurse do?
What is handle personal problems outside the work environment and maintain professional behavior at work?
The nurse provides care intended to promote the patient's welfare and well-being.
What is beneficence?
A nurse agrees to perform a task but realizes they don't know how to safely perform it. What should the nurse do?
What is stop and seek appropriate assistance or clarification?
A nursing student talks about an interesting psychiatric patient in the elevator while other people are present. Why is this dangerous?
What is a breach of confidentiality because unauthorized people may hear protected patient information?
A patient who does not speak English is handed a surgical consent form. The patient nods but clearly does not understand what is being explained. What should the nurse do?
What is advocate for an appropriate qualified interpreter and ensure the patient understands before signing?
Your friend asks, “You had that patient with the drug overdose today, didn't you? What happened?” You know your friend doesn't work at the hospital. What do you say?
What is “I can't discuss patients or their care.”
A nurse notices another nurse violating a safety standard but says nothing because they are friends. According to the chapter, what professional responsibility is being ignored?
What is the responsibility to report professional infractions?
“Do no harm” describes this ethical principle.
What is nonmaleficence?
A nurse is responsible for knowing their own actions, knowing when to ask for help, and providing safe care. This is called ______.
What is accountability?
A nurse leaves an electronic medical record open on the computer and walks away to answer a call light. What should the nurse have done?
What is secure/log out of the computer before leaving it unattended?
A patient asks the nurse to explain a procedure, but the nurse realizes the patient doesn't understand the provider's explanation. What should the nurse do?
What is reinforce appropriate information and notify the provider if further explanation is needed for informed consent?
You make a medication error. You realize it immediately, and the patient appears fine. What is your priority?
What is assess the patient and take immediate steps to protect the patient, then notify the appropriate healthcare provider/supervisor and follow reporting procedures?
A nurse says, “That's my personal belief, so my patient needs to follow it too.” What professional principle is this nurse violating?
What is respect for the patient's beliefs and autonomy?
A nurse treats two patients equally regardless of race, religion, gender identity, sexuality, language, or ability to pay.
What is justice?
An LPN is asked to perform a procedure they are unsure they are legally allowed to perform. The facility policy says it's okay. What should the nurse check first?
What is the state Nurse Practice Act?
Teaching point: Facility policy does not expand a nurse's legal scope of practice.
A nurse's report sheet accidentally falls out of their pocket in the hallway. What should the nurse recognize?
What is patient information may have been exposed, creating a confidentiality/privacy risk?
A psychiatric patient is being restrained. The nurse should first remember that restraints are:
What are a safety intervention used only when necessary and according to law, provider orders, and facility policy?
You suspect a coworker may be diverting narcotics. The nurse has recently been acting strangely and frequently volunteers to administer other nurses' narcotics. What should you do?
What is follow the facility's reporting process and report your concerns through the appropriate chain of command?
A nurse wants to remain professionally competent after graduation. Name two actions that demonstrate professional responsibility.
What are continuing education, participating in professional organizations, staying current with evidence, maintaining competency, or following current standards of practice?
A nurse makes a medication error. Nobody has noticed. The nurse reports the error, assesses the patient, and takes corrective action. Which ethical principle is most clearly demonstrated?
What is veracity?
Teaching point: Veracity = truthfulness/honesty. Reporting errors protects the patient and the nurse.
A nurse discovers an unfamiliar medication on the MAR. The nurse doesn't recognize it but gives it anyway because “the provider ordered it.” What principle of accountability has been violated?
What is the responsibility to obtain the information necessary to provide safe care?
A patient tells the nurse, “I'm going to hurt someone when I get out of here, but you can't tell anyone because you're my nurse.” What should the nurse do?
What is explain that confidentiality has limits and follow facility policy and applicable legal requirements for reporting threats?
Teaching point: Nurses cannot promise absolute confidentiality when information must legally or clinically be shared.
A patient is being denied access to their attorney because staff believe the patient is “too mentally ill to understand.” What patient right is being violated?
What is the right to legal access/courts and attorneys?
You are supervising a nurse whose documentation is consistently difficult to read because of poor spelling and grammar. You know the nurse is well-liked by patients and coworkers, so you decide not to say anything. Later, a patient is injured and the nurse's documentation becomes part of a lawsuit. Question: What professional responsibility did you fail to fulfill, and why could your decision affect you as well as the other nurse?
What is accountability and responsibility for safe professional practice?
The supervising nurse had a responsibility to address a known problem affecting the quality and legal defensibility of patient care. Ignoring the problem does not eliminate responsibility.