ATI LPN
Brunner & Suddarth's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing 14e (Hinkle 2017)
Chapter 3 : Critical Thinking, Ethical Decision Making and the Nursing Process Questions
Question 1 of 5
Critical thinking and decision-making skills are essential parts of nursing in all venues. What are examples of the use of critical thinking in the venue of genetics-related nursing?
Correct Answer: C,D,E
Rationale: Nurses use critical thinking and decision-making skills in providing genetics-related nursing care when they assess and analyze family history data for genetic risk factors, identify those individuals and families in need of referral for genetic testing or counseling, and ensure the privacy and confidentiality of genetic information. Nurses who work in the venue of genetics-related nursing do not notify family members of the results of an individuals genetic testing, and they do not provide written reports to insurance companies concerning the results of genetic testing.
Question 2 of 5
A student nurse has been assigned to provide basic care for a 58-year-old man with a diagnosis of AIDS-related pneumonia. The student tells the instructor that she is unwilling to care for this patient. What key component of critical thinking is most likely missing from this students practice?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Key components of critical thinking behavior are withholding judgment and being open to options and explanations from one patient to another in similar circumstances. The other listed options are incorrect because they are not components of critical thinking.
Question 3 of 5
A group of students have been challenged to prioritize ethical practice when working with a marginalized population. How should the students best understand the concept of ethics?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: In essence, ethics is the formal, systematic study of moral beliefs, whereas morality is the adherence to informal personal values.
Question 4 of 5
Your patient has been admitted for a liver biopsy because the physician believes the patient may have liver cancer. The family has told both you and the physician that if the patient is terminal, the family does not want the patient to know. The biopsy results are positive for an aggressive form of liver cancer and the patient asks you repeatedly what the results of the biopsy show. What strategy can you use to give ethical care to this patient?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Strategies nurses could consider include the following: not lying to the patient, providing all information related to nursing procedures and diagnoses, and communicating the patients requests for information to the family and physician. Ethically, you cannot tell the patient the results of the biopsy and you cannot lie to the patient.
Question 5 of 5
The nurse admits a patient to an oncology unit that is a site for a study on the efficacy of a new chemotherapeutic drug. The patient knows that placebos are going to be used for some participants in the study but does not know that he is receiving a placebo. When is it ethically acceptable to use placebos?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Placebos may be used in experimental research in which a patient is involved in the decision-making process and is aware that placebos are being used in the treatment regimen. Placebos may not ethically be used solely when there is a potential benefit, when the patient is unaware, or when a placebo replaces an active drug.