Exam 9: Nursing Law and Liability

Select all the items from the list below that are considered appropriate when giving a deposition.

The newborn nursery is desperately short of staff. A nurse agrees to work an extra shift. During the 14th hour on duty, the nurse makes a medication error. Because the nurse was filling a "desperate" staffing need and therefore was fatigued, what is the legal responsibility of the nurse?

Which statement is most accurate regarding nursing students and the legal responsibilities they incur?

If the nurse is sued for negligence after the administration of an injection, which one of the following persons will most likely be asked to serve as an expert witness to describe standards of care?

Identify the best description of "battery" from the standpoint of civil law.

Based on accepted standards of care for documentation, identify all the elements that nurses should include in clients' medical records.

Identify the situation in which a nurse would likely be charged with negligence.

In which situation might the tort of "invasion of privacy" most likely exist?

Which statement made by a nursing student about the term "tort" during a class about legal issues in health care indicates that the student requires additional instruction?

Clients' charts are considered legal documents that are of vital importance in the care of clients. Which of these statements should the nurse avoid charting?

Mr. Smith, a former client of the hospital, alleges that a surgical instrument was left inside his abdominal cavity after surgery. A radiograph reveals the presence of a hemostat in his abdomen. Under which legal principle will the client's lawyer most likely base his lawsuit?

What is another term that can be used for professional negligence?

Under which category are nursing licensure laws included?

A nurse tells several friends and coworkers that a client, who is also a physician, is unsafe for medical practice because he is paralyzed from the waist down and acts "slightly silly." What type of tort does the nurse's action represent?

How can the legal term "tort" best be defined?

Ms. Jones, RN, is the night charge nurse on your unit. She has come to work obviously drunk. What would your legal obligations be as a professional nurse?

An 18-month-old infant is brought into the emergency room with several recent cigarette burns on his chest and legs. He cannot move his left arm, which is edematous. What is the nurse's legal responsibility in this case?

The nurse working in an emergency room is of the opinion that to carry out a certain order written by a physician could possibly constitute unethical or illegal behavior. Which one of the following courses of action would be best for the nurse to take in this situation?

Identify the primary role that the SBAR system (Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation) plays in the clinical setting.

A nurse is accused of professional negligence. In determining if he or she is guilty or not, a jury would compare the nurse to what standard?