555-Lippincott's Review for Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification, Fifth Edition-Lippincott-1451

Review questions ❍ 35Review questions1. The nurse leaves a patient who is elderly and confused to find someone to assist with transferring thepatient to bed. While the nurse is gone, the patient falls and hurts herself. The nurse is at fault because shehasn’t: A. properly educated the patient about safety measures. B. restrained the patient. C. documented that she left the patient. D. arranged for continual care of the patient.Correct answer: D By leaving the patient, the nurse is at fault for abandonment. The better coursesof action are to turn on the call bell or elicit help on the way to the patient’s room. Options A and C areincorrect because neither excuses the nurse from her responsibility for ensuring the patient’s safety.Option B is incorrect because restraints are only to be used as a last resort, when all other alternatives forensuring patient safety have been tried and have failed; moreover, restraints won’t ensure the patient’ssafety.2. The nurse is caring for a patient admitted to the emergency department after a motor vehicle accident.Under the law, the nurse must obtain informed consent before treatment unless the patient: A. is mentally ill. B. refuses to give informed consent. C. is in an emergency situation. D. asks the nurse to give substituted consent.Correct answer: C The law doesn’t require informed consent in an emergency situation when thepatient can’t give consent and no next of kin is available. Option A is incorrect because even though apatient who is declared mentally incompetent can’t give informed consent, mental illness doesn’t by itselfindicate that the patient is incompetent to give such consent. Option B is incorrect because a mentallycompetent patient may refuse or revoke consent at any time. Option D is incorrect because although thenurse may act as a patient advocate, the nurse can never give substituted consent.3. Which of the following acts committed by a nurse is an intentional tort? A. Battery B. Breach of confidentiality C. Negligence D. AbandonmentCorrect answer: A Battery, touching a patient without justification or permission, is an intentional tort.Option B is incorrect because although a nurse who breaches a patient’s confidentiality can be subject toa lawsuit or disciplinary action, the act isn’t an intentional tort. Option C is incorrect because negligence,the failure to exercise the degree of care that a person of ordinary prudence would exercise under thesame circumstances, is an unintentional tort. Option D is incorrect because although abandonment is aliability for nurses, the act isn’t an intentional tort.