C HAPTER 03: E THICAL AND L EGAL I SSUES
IN N URSING
Yoder-Wise: Leading and Managing in Nursing, 8th Edition
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The parents of a toddler who dies after being brought to the ER launch a
lawsuit, claiming that the failure of nurses to pursue concerns related to
their son’s deteriorating condition contributed to his death. How is senior
nurse executive named in the suit?
a. As a global respondent
b. Under the doctrine of respondent superior
c. As a frivolous action
d. Under the element of causation
ANS: B
Known as vicarious liabilit y, the do ctrine of respondent superior makes
employers accountable for the negligence of their employees, using the
rationale that the employee could not have been in a position to have
caused the wrongdoing unless hired by the employer.
TOP: AONE competency: Know ledge of the Health Care
Environment
,2. During a staff shortage, you hire an RN from a temporary agency. The RN
administers a wrong IV medication that results in cardiac arrest and a
difficult recovery for the patient. Liability in this situation:
a. is limited to the temporary agency.
b. is restricted to the RN.
c. could include the RN, the agency, and your institution.
d. may depend on the patient‘s belief regarding the employment
relationship.
ANS: D
Apparent agency may appl y here because your liabilit y and that of your
institution could be established if it can be shown that the patient
believes that the RN was an employee of yours and of your institution.
TOP: AONE competency: Knowledge of the Health Care
Environment
3. You volunteer at a free communit y clinic. A 13 -year-old girl presents with
chlam ydia. The team leader at the clinic advises that:
a. the state-defined age of legal consent is 18; therefore, no treatment
can be delivered.
b. the teen is underage and should be referred to the famil y general
practitioner.
c. care can be provided as long as consent is voluntary and
information about treatment and options is provided.
d. treatment is provided as long as telephone consent is obtained from
a parent or legal guardian.
ANS: C
, All states have a legal age for consent; gene rall y, this age is 18.
However, emancipated minors, minors seeking treatment for substance
abuse, and minors seeking treatment for communicable diseases can
provide their own consent.
TOP: AONE competency: Knowledge of the Health Care
Environment
4. Three gravel y ill patients are candidates for the onl y available bed in the
ICU. As the supervisor, you assign the bed to the patient with the best
chance of recovery. This decision reflects which of the following ethical
principles?
a. Beneficence
b. Autonom y
c. Veracit y
d. Nonmaleficence
ANS: A
Beneficence refers to doing what ’s good for the patient; in this
situation, doing what‘s good means providing care to the patient with
the best likelihood of recovery.
TOP: AONE competency: Professionalism
5. Which ethical principle is primaril y involved in informed consent?
a. Veracit y
b. Autonom y
IN N URSING
Yoder-Wise: Leading and Managing in Nursing, 8th Edition
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The parents of a toddler who dies after being brought to the ER launch a
lawsuit, claiming that the failure of nurses to pursue concerns related to
their son’s deteriorating condition contributed to his death. How is senior
nurse executive named in the suit?
a. As a global respondent
b. Under the doctrine of respondent superior
c. As a frivolous action
d. Under the element of causation
ANS: B
Known as vicarious liabilit y, the do ctrine of respondent superior makes
employers accountable for the negligence of their employees, using the
rationale that the employee could not have been in a position to have
caused the wrongdoing unless hired by the employer.
TOP: AONE competency: Know ledge of the Health Care
Environment
,2. During a staff shortage, you hire an RN from a temporary agency. The RN
administers a wrong IV medication that results in cardiac arrest and a
difficult recovery for the patient. Liability in this situation:
a. is limited to the temporary agency.
b. is restricted to the RN.
c. could include the RN, the agency, and your institution.
d. may depend on the patient‘s belief regarding the employment
relationship.
ANS: D
Apparent agency may appl y here because your liabilit y and that of your
institution could be established if it can be shown that the patient
believes that the RN was an employee of yours and of your institution.
TOP: AONE competency: Knowledge of the Health Care
Environment
3. You volunteer at a free communit y clinic. A 13 -year-old girl presents with
chlam ydia. The team leader at the clinic advises that:
a. the state-defined age of legal consent is 18; therefore, no treatment
can be delivered.
b. the teen is underage and should be referred to the famil y general
practitioner.
c. care can be provided as long as consent is voluntary and
information about treatment and options is provided.
d. treatment is provided as long as telephone consent is obtained from
a parent or legal guardian.
ANS: C
, All states have a legal age for consent; gene rall y, this age is 18.
However, emancipated minors, minors seeking treatment for substance
abuse, and minors seeking treatment for communicable diseases can
provide their own consent.
TOP: AONE competency: Knowledge of the Health Care
Environment
4. Three gravel y ill patients are candidates for the onl y available bed in the
ICU. As the supervisor, you assign the bed to the patient with the best
chance of recovery. This decision reflects which of the following ethical
principles?
a. Beneficence
b. Autonom y
c. Veracit y
d. Nonmaleficence
ANS: A
Beneficence refers to doing what ’s good for the patient; in this
situation, doing what‘s good means providing care to the patient with
the best likelihood of recovery.
TOP: AONE competency: Professionalism
5. Which ethical principle is primaril y involved in informed consent?
a. Veracit y
b. Autonom y
