Nurse's Legal Advisor
Self-Study Examination
Instructions: After studying the text answer the following true/false or multiple choice questions. Remember, there's only one answer to each question.
a) Patient signed consent forms without reading them; therefore, the nurses and hospitals were not liable. b) Obtaining a consent form was the doctor’s responsibility, not the hospital’s or nurse’s. c) The doctor had performed the same procedure successfully previously. d) Even if the correct procedure had been listed on the consent form, the patient would still have been injured; therefore, it was not the proximate cause of injuries.
a) The use of rubber catheter was not a proximate cause of baby’s cerebral palsy. b) The nurse had no way of knowing that the patient was allergic to rubber. c) Without the catheterization the patient would have had a complicated delivery. d) The nurse and the hospital did everything they could to ensure a safe delivery, but certain things are beyond their control.
a) The nursing staff at the hospital failed to review the patient’s past medical history and recognize that he was a high risk for aspiration. b) Florscheim did not do a full assessment of the patient’s respiratory and lung status. c) The nursing staff altered the documentation to make it appear that it had checked on the patient between 5:30p.m. and 6:45 p.m. on the 20th. d) The nursing staff failed to respond to the frantic calls of Lorena Ard and failed to provide the needed assistance. e) The hospital was seriously understaffed.
a) it seriously affects a person’s psychological well-being; b) causes the person to suffer injury; c) create hostile or abusive environment.
a) Mrs. Nichols had a history of choking on food while eating. b) Nursing-home employees were in the habit of leaving food for Mrs. Nichols, and not assist her with eating. c) Plaintiff’s expert witness testified that Mrs. Nichols’ death was caused by choking on food. d) Expert testimony is required to prove medical malpractice in most instances. e) Nursing home was negligent in not instructing its employees that Mrs. Nichols needed to be spoon-fed.
a) Hospital’s charting policy did not allow nurses to record qualitative observations in a patient’s condition. b) Hospital’s patient records were altered after the fact. c) Hospital failed to provide proper hygiene in patient care. d) Dr. Boarras should have prescribed conservative treatment before resorting to surgery. e) Dr. Boarras failed to detect and treat the infection in a timely manner.
a) The nurse had in the past failed to follow orders and she was warned that next infraction would result in termination. b) Her performance on the job had fallen below expectations. c) The hospital had the right to terminate her at the first serious infraction. d) The nurse failed to follow the procedure outlined in the Employee Handbook.
a) Dr. Pfeifer and Dr. Seidman wrote inconsistent orders in the patient’s chart. b) The court ruled that the nurse was not responsible to spot the inconsistent orders of the physicians. c) It was the responsibility of the doctors’ to communicate the correct orders to the nurses. d) To prove medical malpractice, the patient must prove three different conditions: nurse-patient relationship, below standard care, and resultant damage.
a) Paramedics failed to properly communicate with the patient and misdiagnosed his symptoms. b) The paramedic, Jones, had drug addiction problem which the officials should have detected and treated. c) Paramedics failed to transport the patient to the hospital. d) The decision not to transport the patient to the hospital was unrelated to uniquely governmental functions. e) The paramedics failed to seek advice from a medical physician to determine the potential seriousness of Pak’s condition.
a) Nurse Henley had good nursing credentials. b) The power to revoke a nurse’s license rests with the courts, not the boards of nursing. c) Henley’s problems may have been the result of her adjustment to her mother’s illness and subsequent death. d) Henley was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and public intoxication.
a) Employees-at-will can be discharged for cause or without cause. b) The patient died from the effects of massive internal infection as a result of toxic shock syndrome. c) The Nursing Practice Act requires that nurses serve the best interests of their patients. d) If a nurse ignores improper treatment of a patient under her care, she could be disciplined and prosecuted by the State Board of Nursing. e) When a nurse sees a patient being provided improper treatment by a physician her first course of action should be to contact the family of the patient.
a) The patient did not test positive for HIV, so the disclosure by the nurse that the patient had AIDS did not hurt him. b) The nurse did not owe any duty to the patient to keep the information confidential. c) Although the unauthorized disclosure by the nurse was an act of negligence, it did not constitute medical malpractice. d) When the nurse realized that the patient had tested negative for HIV, she corrected herself and informed her friend that the patient had tested negative and that he had multiple sclerosis.
a) Dr. Russo had entered the instruction in the hospital record: “No Code Blue.” b) The nurse resuscitated Winter by shocking his heart contrary to Dr. Russo’s orders. c) If potential patient expressly refuses treatment, even in an emergency, any medical treatment is battery. d) Patients can collect damages from hospitals and physicians for wrongful living just as for wrongful death.
a) The Hanuseks filed their legal action well within the two-year statute of limitations period. b) The Hanuseks’ reliance on the nurse’s statement was not reasonable. c) The Hanuseks consulted an attorney shortly after the nurse threatened about blacklisting and the attorney advised against any legal action. d) The Hanuseks confronted the hospital administrator about blacklisting, and the administrator confirmed the practice as a way to reduce lawsuits.
a) The call the nurse made to the mother of the patient was anonymous. b) The facility was a public mental institution. c) Her “speech” touched upon the matter of standard of care given to the patient. d) Her anonymous call did not impair her ability to perform her duties or disrupt the normal operation of the institution.
a) A nurse’s moral, medical and philosophical considerations take precedence over public policy. b) Nurse’s code of ethics takes precedence over public policy. c) All patients have a fundamental right to medical treatment. d) A nurse can refuse assignment to treat a terminally-ill patient.
a) There was no proof that the escaped patient killed Amadon. b) There was no proof that the escaped patient killed Amadon. c) To prove medical malpractice, plaintiff is required to produce expert testimony which the plaintiff failed to do in this case. d) The patient had never threatened anyone before, so his violent action could not be foreseen. e) The psychiatric center staff and the state police immediately tried to locate the escaped patient but could not because he had left the state.
a) Plaintiff’s expert testified that had the nurse reported the warning signs to Dr. Maxwell, he would have prescribed a diuretic and the patient would not have suffered brain damage. b) Defense experts testified that the nurse’s assessment and documentation of Ketchum’s condition met the applicable standard of care. c) According to the law, disagreement among health care providers as to what treatment should have been is not enough to establish negligence. d) There was agreement among experts that Ketchum suffered permanent damage prior to surgery. e) In establishing the standard of care, courts generally look at the learning, skill and care ordinarily possessed by others of the same profession in similar communities at that time.
a) who exercises control b) who provides supervision c) who pays d) can the nurse refuse work e) who provides supplies, uniforms, and equipment
a) the patient was a minor b) the rape occurred on the employer’s premises; c) the rape occurred during hours of employment; d) the patient was raped by the nursing assistant employed by the hospital.
a) Good Samaritan immunity applies only to the first medical personnel who come to the rescue of the patient in an emergency, not to subsequent providers who render emergency medical care. b) In this case the court relieved the physicians of professional negligence and wrongful death because they had done nothing wrong. c) The court dismissed the lawsuit because the physicians were rendering emergency care at all times. d) The court found that Mathew was in sufficiently stable condition after an artificial airway placed in Mathew’s throat.
a) PRN did not reimburse its employees for their travel expenses; b) employment contract included transportation to and from work; c) Peterson had no fixed place of work; d) Peterson was on a special mission for her employer. e) PRN did not file an Employer’s Report of Injury.
a) If the nurse is hired by the hospital and paid by the hospital, hospital is always liable for the negligent acts of the nurse. b) A nurse could be working for the hospital and the surgeon at the same time – in essence working for two masters. c) Patient’s primary physician is the captain of the ship. d) Once a patient is admitted to the hospital and the physician has assumed control of the care of the patient, the physician becomes the captain of the ship.
a) Status Epilepticus is a condition in which one major epileptic seizure succeeds another with little or no interruption. b) Anna Belle suffered brain damage as a result of the failure of the hospital staff to suction her airway. c) Charting was the weakest link in the hospital’s case. d) Deficient record keeping generally proves that the patient received substandard care.
a) Floating fulfils an important public policy function, that of maintaining an adequate staff on all patient floors in a cost-effective manner. b) The hospital had a written policy requiring nurses to float. c) Floating does not necessarily result in substandard care. d) The hospital forced Nurse Francis to float without providing proper training.
a) Euclid Manor failed to provide adequate training to the newly-hired nurse. b) The nurse deceived Euclid Manor about her abilities and experience. c) The nurse asked too many questions or too few. d) Her performance was equivalent to that of other nurses with similar experience. e) There was personality conflict between Gravel and Bak.
a) The hospital told him to leave if he did not like the way it was run. b) Hospital employees made belittling or derogatory remarks to the patient. c) The hospital constructively abandoned him without warning him of the possible dangers of his leaving the hospital. d) Delay in treatment worsened Bowen’s condition and caused irreparable damage.
a) The patient while in the cardiac unit smoked, argued with his wife and took pills against advice. b) Dr. Pennington followed one of the various recognized methods of treatment. c) Expert witnesses suggested alternative methods of treatment. d) When the patient had the heart attack, he was immediately attended by a physician and the nurse on duty.
a) Sandra Taylor was a registered nurse employed by the hospital. b) On February 23, 1987 Dr. Huang examined a patient in the lobby of the hospital instead of in a treatment room or private area. c) Dr. Huang entered Nurse Taylor’s office without knocking. d) Dr. Huang verbally abused and threatened Nurse Taylor.
a) The patient filed the suit within 2 years of the surgeon leaving the sponge inside her body. b) The patient filed the suit within 2 years of learning that a sponge was left in her body. c) The sponge was left by some other surgeon subsequent to her original gall bladder operation in 1968. d) According to the court decision, the lawsuit must commence within 2 years from the time a physician negligently leaves a foreign object in a patient’s body.
a) A hospital has a duty to make its premises safe for patients. b) A hospital has a duty to inspect its equipment and maintain it in good operating order. c) The hospital was found liable in this case, because the nurse momentarily panicked and attempted to pull the patient through the door instead of acting immediately to release the doors. d) Since all equipment may fail at some time, hospitals cannot be held liable if an equipment malfunctions and a patient is injured.
a) Decedent Lawrence Brown had left behind a valid organ donation card. b) The family had not seen the decedent in years and had no contact with him prior to his death. c) The hospital made a good faith effort to locate the family before obtaining a court order. d) This was an emergency and there was very little time to contact the relatives. e) The family suffered no real damage since they hardly knew the decedent.
a) Nurse Anderson failed to call the physician in a timely manner. b) The hospital failed to provide a specially trained registered professional nurse in the care of newborn infants. c) Dr. Stein failed to monitor the oxygen rate in the isolator. d) Nurse Anderson did not have proper training to care for newborn babies.
a) Generally worker’s compensation is not allowed when an employee gets injured while traveling to and from work, although there are some exceptions. b) The worker was denied compensation for her injuries because the accident occurred on her way home, away from the workplace. c) The Workers’s Compensation Board decided that her falling asleep was a direct result of the unusually long hours which caused the accident, thus entitling her to benefits. d) The claimant-nurse worked 28 out of 40 hours during the July 4 weekend.
a) Under the Pregnancy Disability Act (PDA), employers are required to reassign pregnant employees to ensure that the health of the women or the unborn fetus is not put at risk. b) It is lawful for a hospital to require each and every nurse to treat the patients assigned to that nurse. c) both of the above d) none of the above
a) Ms. Basten was never informed about AFB testing. b) Ms. Basten was told that the burden to request AFB testing resided with the patient. c) Ms. Basten was informed of AFB testing but it was after the critical window period. d) Ms. Basten refused AFB testing because she was against abortion. e) Her chart contained AFB testing form and brochure.
a) all medical records of the nurse b) records containing information relevant to the practice of nursing rendered by the licensee; c) records of medical (including psychiatric) treatment received by the licensee; d) records only if the board has “reasonable cause” to believe that the nurse is unable to practice nursing with reasonable skill and safety.
a) The hospital did not have an “English-only” rule. b) The use of Tagalog by the Filipina nurses made other nurses and even patients feel uncomfortable and excluded. c) The management was not primarily concerned with the use of Tagalog, but rather with the breakdown of cohesion on the unit and dissension among nurses. d) The hospital did not intentionally discriminate against the plaintiff on the basis of her national origin. e) Since there was no intentional discrimination, the plaintiff could not recover any damages.
a) Nurse Free was terminated for her insubordinate behavior. b) The Illinois Right of Conscience Act protects sincerely held moral convictions arising from religious beliefs and ethical concerns of a registered nurse. c) The nurse would have been protected if she had refused to participate in an abortion procedure.
a) The obstetrician rendered necessary medical care to the patient. b) The bed communicator unit in the room was not disconnected by the nursing staff. c) Nurses’ conduct, though lacking in compassion, was not so extreme and outrageous as to be beyond all decency. d) The hospital and its personnel acted within its policies and procedures.
a) immediately upon the occurrence of the injury; b) soon thereafter as is reasonable and practicable; c) within 10 days d) within 30 days
a) Provide a medical screening to any person requesting treatment to determine whether an emergency medical condition exists. b) Determine if the patient has health insurance or personal resources to pay for the treatment; if not, transfer the patient to a public facility. c) If treatment is required, stabilize the patient’s condition prior to any transfer. d) Do nothing further if the patient refuses to consent to treatment.
a) There was no sexual contact and the patient suffered no harm. No harm, no foul. b) The hospital could not have reasonably foreseen the assault, and so could not be held liable. c) It would have cost hospital too much money to post security guards to protect patients around the clock. d) There was no special relationship existing between Riverside and K.L., giving K.L. the right to protection. e) The patient was suffering from alcohol withdrawal symptoms and could not accurately recollect the incident.