Professional Issues Questions and Answers

Who certifies nurse practitioners? Answer- a nurse practitioner's certifying body AANC or AANP A nurse practitioner's scope of practice is influenced by a number of factors. Which one does NOT influence scope of practice ? Answer- Court of Law What 3 factors influence a nurse practitioner's scope of practice ? Answer- Code of ethics State and federal laws governing practice Educational Preparation Standards of practice are established to: Answer- regulate and control nurse practitioner practice Licensure is: Answer- used to establish a designated level of professional competence Certification is: Answer- validates competence A nurse practitioner has worked for a large hospital as an RN. As a new nurse practitioner she has developed a NP managed clinic for hospital employees and is employed by the hospital. The nurse practitioner is described as an Answer- Intrapreneur Prescriptive authority: Answer- varies from state to state Legal authority to practice as a nurse practitioner in any state is determined by: Answer- state legislatures A nurse practitioner gives a patient 2 weeks of a sample medication that will be taken once daily by the patient. The sample medications are packaged by the drug manufacturer. The nurse practitioners actions are an example of: Answer- Dispensing The name given to subjects in a research study who no have the disease or condition being studied but who are included in the study for comparison are: Answer- controls The nurse practitioner decides to study a group of patients who are trying to quit smoking. They will all be taking the same type of medication for 42 days to help them stop smoking. They agree to return to the clinic once a week for the study's duration. This type of study is Answer- COHORT study Cohort study is Answer- an observational study that is prospective in nature. such as a group of smokers. Cohort studies usually ask the question "What will happen" Case control study looks Answer- backwards in time (Retrospectively) Case control studies usually ask the question "What happened?" A control trial is an Answer- experimental study, not observational. A nurse practitioner knows that she is HIV positive. She is employed in a private clinic and performs wellness exams on ambulatory adults. The nurse practitioner: is under no obligation to inform anyone. Answer- The nurse practitioner's health information is protected health information. She is not obligated to inform her employer patient or state board of nursing as long as the performance of her job does not impose unnecessary risk to anyone. A nurse practitioner is working in a minor care area of an ED. An illegal immigrant has a puncture wound cause by an unknown sharp object in a trash container. A dirty needle is suspected. The NP: Answer- should prescribe appropriate medications for HIV exposure even though the NP knows the patient can't afford them. The NP is examining an elderly patient with dementia. She is noted to have bruises on her arms and posterior thoracic area. The NP suspects elder abuse but cannot be certain. The daughter of this patient is her caregiver. The daughter of the patient is an NP. What should the NP do? Answer- report it to the appropriate authorities An NP examined a patient who had been injured by a cat. There was a 4 centimeter gaping laceration on the patient's forearm. The NP sutured the laceration. The patient subsequently became infected, needed hospital admission and required IV antibiotics with incision and drainage. How can this situation be characterized? M Answer- Malpractice This is malpractice. Cat bites known to be dirty bites with a high probability of infection should not be sutured. Malpractice usually describes having multiple elements all of which must be satisfied for malpractice to occur. There must be a duty, subsequent injury due to the break. Comparison of performance is based on the standard of care delivered by the nurse practitioner. A NP is examining a patient who has been bitten by her husband during an assault. There were numerous bite marks and lacerations on the patient's forearms. The mp sutured the laceration although this was contraindicated because of the highly infectious nature of human bites. The patient suffered no ill effects after suturing. How can this be described. N Answer- This is not malpractice this is NEGLIGENCE. Negligence occurs when one fails to exercise the care that a reasonable person would exercise. Injury does NOT have to occur for negligence to occur. Human bites with a high probability of infection should not be sutured. A np works in an HIV exclusive practice. In talking with a patient, the NP learns that the patient's sister lives next to the NP. When the NP sees her neighbor (the patient's sister) The NP states that she met her sister in clinic today. The neighbor states "Don't you work in an HIV clinic?" How can this situation be characterized? Answer- This is a breach of patient confidentiality. Anna and Laura work as NP partners in and NP practice. Anne learns that Laura frequently changes patient's narcotic perscripitons to a different dosage and then requests that the patient give her the remaining narcotic medications. Some patients have called Anne aside to tell her of this. How can Laura's actions best be described? Laura admits to ann that she keeps the medications and takes them occasionally. She states that sometimes she gives them to patients who can't afford these medications. What is Ann's first responsibility? Answer- This appears to be diversion of medications. Report to the STATE BOARD OF NURSING. A liability policy that pays claims only during the period that the policy is active is termed claims made Answer- Liability insurance that covers the holder only during the time of the active policy is known as "claims made" policy. This kind of policy is usually less expensive than other policies that will protect the policy holder agist claims not known about at the end of the policy period.