ATI LPN
Legal and Ethical Aspects of Healthcare Questions
Question 1 of 5
You are a fourth-year medical student on a subinternship in obstetrics. You notice that the resident has come in with alcohol on his breath and some abnormal behavior. No one except you seems to notice. What should you do?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Patient safety requires reporting impaired colleagues to the appropriate authority, such as the program director.
Question 2 of 5
A 65-year-old heavy smoker with a lengthy history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease comes to the office due to recent-onset hemoptysis. He reports 3-5 episodes of coughing up blood in the past month. He also reports a 9.1-kg (20-lb) weight loss in the past 2 months. Chest radiograph reveals a suspicious lesion, and a bronchoscopy followed by biopsy establishes the diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. When the patient is informed of his condition and the prognosis, he asks that no one in his family be told the news yet. He seems tearful but cognitively intact. His wife, who usually brings him to his visits and is also his health care proxy, calls the next day to inquire about the pathology report. She says she is deeply concerned because her husband is reluctant to discuss his condition. Which of the following is the most appropriate course of action?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Confidentiality must be respected, but the patient should be encouraged to share with his wife due to her role and impact.
Question 3 of 5
A 28-year-old married woman who works with you in the clinic as a nurse privately comes to you because she 'missed a period' this month. An over-the-counter urine pregnancy test confirms that she is pregnant. First-trimester laboratory testing reveals that she is also HIV positive. When you inform the patient of her HIV status, she is devastated. She hesitantly reveals that she had unprotected sexual intercourse with a former boyfriend several months ago. You explain that her husband's HIV status must be evaluated. The patient is horrified and says 'No, I cannot tell him about this. He would never forgive me!' Which of the following is the most appropriate first step?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: HIV is reportable, but encouraging her to inform her husband first respects her autonomy while meeting public health obligations.
Question 4 of 5
This type of law results from judicial decisions, is heard in court, and is the most common type of case a nurse is involved in.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Common law is the correct answer because it refers to a type of law that is developed through judicial decisions and is based on precedents set by previous court cases. Nurses often encounter common law cases as they involve legal disputes and issues that arise in healthcare settings. This type of law is different from statutory law, which is created by legislative bodies, and regulatory law, which is established by administrative agencies.
Question 5 of 5
This is the person being accused of the crime
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The correct answer is defendant. In a legal case, the defendant is the person who is being accused of the crime. They are the individual that the prosecution is trying to prove guilty. The jury is a group of individuals who listen to the evidence presented in court and determine the defendant's guilt or innocence. The criminal refers to the nature of the case, as it involves a crime. The plaintiff, on the other hand, is the person or party who brings a lawsuit against another in civil cases, not criminal cases.