Mock-Chapter 22: Ethics and Values

Four patients in labor all request epidural analgesia to manage their pain at the same time. Which ethical principle is most compromised when only one nurse anesthetist is on call?

The patient reports to the nurse of being afraid to speak up regarding a desire to end care for fear of upsetting spouse and children. Which principle in the nursing code of ethics ensures that the nurse will promote the patient’s cause?

The patient’s son requests to view documentation in the medical record. What is the nurse’s best response to this request?

When professionals work together to solve ethical dilemmas, nurses must examine their own values. What is the best rationale for this step?

A nurse is experiencing an ethical dilemma with a patient. Recognizing what information as a factor indicates the nurse has a correct understanding of the primary cause of ethical dilemmas?

The nurse questions a health care provider’s decision to not tell the patient about a cancer diagnosis. Which ethical principle is the nurse trying to uphold for the patient?

The nurse finds it difficult to care for a patient whose advance directive states that no extraordinary resuscitation measures should be taken. Which step may help the nurse to find resolution in this assignment?

The nurse values autonomy above all other principles. Which patient assignment will the nurse find most difficult to accept?

A nurse must make an ethical decision concerning vulnerable patient populations. Which philosophy of health care ethics would be particularly useful for this nurse?

A nurse agrees with regulations for mandatory immunizations of children. The nurse believes that immunizations prevent diseases as well as prevent spread of the disease to others. Which ethical framework is the nurse using?

The nurse has become aware of missing narcotics in the patient care area. Which ethical principle obligates the nurse to report the missing medications?

A young woman who is pregnant with a fetus exposed to multiple teratogens consents to have her fetus undergo serial PUBS (percutaneous umbilical blood sampling) to examine how exposure affects the fetus over time. Although these tests will not improve the fetus’s outcomes and will expose it to some risks, the information gathered may help infants in the future. Which ethical principle is at greatest risk?

A nurse is discussing quality of life issues with another colleague. Which topic will the nurse acknowledge for increased attention paid to quality-of-life concerns?

Which action by the nurse indicates a safe and efficient use of social networks?

The nurse is caring for a dying patient. Which intervention is considered futile?

During a severe respiratory epidemic, the local health care organizations decide to give health care workers priority access to ventilators over other members of the community who also need that resource. Which philosophy would give the strongest support for this decision?

A nurse is teaching a patient and family about quality of life. Which information should the nurse include in the teaching session about quality of life?

The nurse is caring for a patient supported with a ventilator who has been unresponsive since arrival via ambulance 8 days ago. The patient has not been identified, and no family members have been found. The nurse is concerned about the plan of care regarding maintenance or withdrawal of life support measures. Place the steps the nurse will use to resolve this ethical dilemma in the correct order.

1. The nurse identifies possible solutions or actions to resolve the dilemma.
2. The nurse reviews the medical record, including entries by all health care disciplines, to gather information relevant to this patient’s situation.
3. Health care providers use negotiation to redefine the patient’s plan of care.
4. The nurse evaluates the plan and revises it with input from other health care providers as necessary.
5. The nurse examines the issue to clarify opinions, values, and facts.
6. The nurse states the problem.
7. Nurse confirms that the problem is ethical in nature.

A nurse is a member of the ethics committee. Which roles will the nurse fulfill in this committee? (Select all that apply.)