ATI RN
Contemporary Ethical Issues in Nursing Questions
Question 1 of 5
Florence Nightingale is attributed with being intelligent (she developed statistical methods to evaluate health care), dependable (she often worked long hours to care for the injured), and ambitious (she fought against society's perception of nursing). Those who depict her as a leader on the basis of these qualities are practicing which leadership theory?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Step 1: Identify the qualities attributed to Florence Nightingale: intelligent, dependable, ambitious. Step 2: Recognize these qualities as traits. Step 3: Trait theory states that effective leaders possess certain traits. Step 4: Florence Nightingale's leadership qualities align with trait theory. Step 5: Therefore, depicting her as a leader based on her traits falls under trait theory. Summary: A: Trait theory focuses on inherent qualities of leaders, which align with Florence Nightingale's qualities. B: Chaos theory emphasizes unpredictability and complexity, not relevant here. C: Bureaucracy theory centers on structured organizations, not applicable to Nightingale's personal traits. D: Organizational theory addresses structure and management within organizations, not related to individual leadership attributes like traits.
Question 2 of 5
A nurse manager wants his nursing unit to be a place where all nurses want to work, where patient satisfaction is high, and care is innovative and interdisciplinary. Staff are encouraged to chair taskforces to improve quality of care and he counsels staff in areas of measuring patient outcomes. Other managers want to mimic this manager's approach to improve their own units. This nurse is which type of leader?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The correct answer is A: Transformational. This nurse manager is focused on creating a positive work environment, encouraging innovation, empowering staff, and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration. Transformational leaders inspire and motivate followers to achieve high levels of performance by emphasizing shared vision, personal growth, and values. This nurse manager's approach aligns with the characteristics of a transformational leader. Incorrect Choices: B: Transactional leaders focus on rewards, punishments, and exchanges with followers based on performance. This nurse manager's approach goes beyond transactional interactions. C: Laissez-faire leaders are hands-off and provide little guidance or direction. This nurse manager is actively involved in guiding and supporting staff. D: Authoritative leaders make decisions independently and expect followers to follow orders. This nurse manager encourages staff involvement and input in decision-making processes.
Question 3 of 5
A nurse manager plans the fiscal budget to include salaries for two RNs for two 12-hour shifts with a patient census of 6 in the short-stay observation room. The nurse manager reviews the budget report 3 months later and notes that the salary expenses are higher than was budgeted because of higher-than-planned RN staff salaries. This additional RN staff is necessary to meet patient care needs because the census has remained constant at 10 patients rather than the 6 projected when the budget was developed. The difference between the planned budget and the actual cost is known as:
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The correct answer is B: variance. In this scenario, the nurse manager planned a budget based on a patient census of 6 but the actual census remained constant at 10, leading to higher-than-planned RN staff salaries. The difference between the planned budget and the actual cost is known as a variance. Variances help identify discrepancies between planned and actual expenses, enabling managers to adjust budgets accordingly. Revenue (A) refers to income generated, not the difference between planned and actual expenses. Monitoring (C) is the process of overseeing and evaluating activities, not specifically related to budget discrepancies. Capital expenditures (D) are long-term investments in assets, not related to budget variances.
Question 4 of 5
Which component of budgeting might normally be addressed in the annual performance evaluation for a nurse manager?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Step 1: Managing variances in nursing overtime costs and supply usage is crucial for a nurse manager's performance evaluation as it demonstrates their ability to control expenses effectively. Step 2: This component directly relates to the nurse manager's responsibility in budgeting and financial management. Step 3: Analyzing and managing variances show the nurse manager's skill in monitoring and adjusting budgetary allocations to meet targets. Step 4: Other choices are not directly related to the nurse manager's core responsibilities in budgeting or evaluating performance. Step 5: Labor budget costs for overtime and benefits (Choice A) and predicting revenues (Choice C) are important but not as directly tied to performance evaluation as managing variances in costs. Step 6: Providing qualitative analysis for variances in the capital budget (Choice D) is not typically a key aspect of a nurse manager's evaluation, as it focuses more on long-term investments rather than day-to-day operational budgeting.
Question 5 of 5
The nurse manager meets with upper management to share strategic goals agreed upon by her staff for their individual nursing unit as the first step to begin budget negotiations. One strategic goal is that staff will have access to technology that will allow them to incorporate point-of-care devices for all RNs. The second goal is to improve RNs' ability to recognize critical indicators that a patient's health status is deteriorating through advanced health assessment skills. During the meeting the manager discusses the strategy options and selecting the one that works for the unit. Which type of budget development is used?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The correct answer is C: Participatory. In participatory budget development, input is gathered from various levels within the organization, such as staff and managers. In this scenario, the nurse manager met with her staff to establish strategic goals before budget negotiations, indicating a participatory approach. This allows for staff buy-in and ownership of the goals. A: Iterative budget development involves refining a budget through multiple rounds of review, which is not explicitly mentioned in the scenario. B: Top-down budget development is characterized by decisions made by upper management without input from lower levels, contradicting the scenario where staff provided input. D: Zero-based budgeting starts from scratch without considering previous budgets, which is not evident in the scenario where goals were established based on staff input. In summary, the participatory budget development is the appropriate choice in this scenario as it aligns with the collaborative approach taken by the nurse manager and her staff in setting strategic goals before budget negotiations.