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legal & ethical exam 2

Terms in this set (32)

t/f when federal and state law conflict each other, federal law always supersedes.
true
aspects of law affecting nursing practice
-to ensure that nurse's decisions and actions are consistent with current legal principles
-to protect the nurse from liability
The regulation of nursing is a function of the?
state law
State legislatures pass statutes that define and regulate ______?
nursing
functions of state board of nursing
-it provides a framework for establishing which nursing actions in the care of clients are legal
-it differentiates the nurse's responsibilities from those of others heath professionals
-it helps establish the boundaries of independent nursing action
-it assists in maintaining a standard of nursing practice by making nurse's accountable under the laws
liability
is the quality or state of being legally responsible for one's obligation and actions and for making financial restuition for wrongful acts.

For example, nurses are liable when they fail to carry out doctor's orders

-when nurse is asked to carry out an activity that the nurse believe will be injurious to the client, the nurse's responsibility is to refuse to carry out the order and report this to the nurse's supervisor
Torts
are civil laws that address the legal rights of patients and the responsibilities of the nurse in the nurse patient relationship. Some torts specific to nursing and nursing practice include things like malpractice, negligence and violations relating to patient confidentiality
Unintentional Torts:
Unintentional torts include things like malpractice and negligence.
malpractice
"professional negligence", negligence that occurred while the person was performing as a professional.

a nonintentional tort, has six elements. The elements of malpractice include a duty, a breach of duty as a nurse, reasonable foreseeability that the nurse's act has a connection with the patient injury that occurred, the patient was harmed, the link that act directly led to the harm and the patient has the right to financial compensation or damage
Negligence
nonintentional tort. Negligence occurs when the nurse fails to follow established policies, procedures and standards of care in the same manner that another "reasonable" nurse would do in the same situation. This conduct places another person at risk for harm.
Intentional Torts:
include things like false imprisonment, assault, battery, breaches of privacy and patient confidentiality, slander and libel.
assault
Intentional tort, is threatening to touch a person without their consent.

ex: a nurse who threatens a client with an injection after a clients refuses to take the medication orally would be committing assault
Battery
intentional tort, is touching a person(or the person's clothes or even something the person is carrying) without their consent.
Defamation
is making false statements about a person in writing or orally that leads to the destruction of a person's reputation
Slander
is oral defamation of character using false statements
Libel
is written defamation of character using false statements.
Good Samaritan Act
protects the actions performed by health care facility, as long as they act within the scope of their training
incident reports
...
t/f nursing student s are held to the same standards as licensed nurses and therefore need to make certain that they are prepared to provide the necessary care to assigned clients. it is important that students ask for help or supervision in situations for which they feel inadequately prepared
true
t/f the nurse is responsible for explaining the procedure
false
the nurse is responsible for witnessing the client's signature on the form
true
what e things the nurse signature confirms
client gave consent voluntary
signature is authentic
clients appears competent to give consent
t/f nurses can ask clients to state in their own words what they have been told about the procedure or treatment
true
t/f the right to refuse a procedure continues even after signing the consent
true
t/f documentation is an important aspect of informed consent
true
what are the 2 types consent?
express & implied
Express Consent
May be oral or written agreement

Usually the more invasive the more reason to obtain written consent
Implied Consent
Nonverbal behavior indicates agreement
incident report
all accidents are reported on an incident form

is an unusual occurrence report; it's something that happens out of the unusual.

needs to be done as soon as possible

incidents reported are NOT documented in the pts record.
for nurses: limit actions to those normally considered first aids
good Samaritan act
carrying out an order
question an order that is illegible, unclear, or incomplete
not a legal document, not part of the client's medical record
incident report
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