ATI LPN
Timby's Introductory Medical-Surgical Nursing Thirteenth, North American Edition
Chapter 5 : Legal and Ethical Issues Questions
Question 1 of 5
Which of the following is a true statement about a living will?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: A living will states the client's wishes regarding healthcare if terminally ill. It does not specify information regarding nontreatment only, it is not a legal consent, and it is not a type of financial agreement.
Question 2 of 5
The nurse understands that laws and ethics are made in order to maintain order and harmony within society. What is the difference between laws and ethics?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Laws are written rules for conduct and actions and ensure the protection of rights, and ethics are moral principles and values that guide the behavior of honorable people. Ethical standards dictate the rightness or wrongness of human behavior. The other answers do not address this as clearly.
Question 3 of 5
The nursing student asks the instructor why it is important for them to know about the law and ethics when they will be taking care of client's physical and psychosocial needs and not be practicing law. What is the best response by the instructor?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The healthcare delivery system affects and is affected by societal beliefs, values, and laws. Nurses today require a basic understanding of laws and ethics that may affect their practice. Issues related to competence, safety, and optimal care; protecting client's rights; and practicing according to professional standards of care are of most concern to nurses. Being sued is not the only issue that a nurse may face in their practice and does not cover the ethical portion of practice. The answer regarding the curriculum does not answer the question and demeans the importance of the topic.
Question 4 of 5
The LPN has been fired from their job at the nursing home and reported to the state board of nursing for giving medication to a client without a physician's prescription. The LPN states not being aware that this was a violation of scope of practice. What is the LPN's responsibility regarding knowing how to practice within their scope?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Nurse practice acts define nursing practice and set standards for nurses in each state. These legal statues regulate the practice of nursing to protect the health and safety of citizens. Although each state has its own nurse practice act, they all share common components. The LPN should have accessed this information directly from the board website or asked for a written nurse practice act from the state of practice. The nurse practice act does not designate what specific tasks the nurse can and cannot perform. The LPN should not ask others who may not have the answers.
Question 5 of 5
The LPN is working in a perioperative setting, and formalin is being used in an unvented room that could result in a health hazard to the other staff as well as clients. The nurse is aware that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an agency that will fine the hospital for this type of infraction. What type of law does the LPN understand empowers OSHA to regulate for the health, welfare, and safety of federal and state citizens?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Statutory law empowers regulatory agencies to create and carry out the laws. These federal and regulatory agencies practice administrative law, the rules and regulations that concern the health, welfare, and safety of federal and state citizens. For example, OSHA is the federal agency that develops the rules and regulations governing workplace safety. Common law is based on earlier court decisions, judgments, and decrees. Civil law applies to disputes that arise between individual citizens. Criminal law concerns offenses that violate the public's welfare.