Nursing Law and Ethics Quiz

Legal Understanding in Nursing

• Enhances critical thinking in nurses.
• Protects nurses from liability and upholds client rights.
• Clarifies societal expectations for healthcare providers.

Types of Law Relevant to Nursing

• Statutory Law: Laws established by legislative bodies.
• Regulatory Law: Derived from decisions of administrative agencies, such as State Boards of Nursing.
• Common Law: Formed through judicial opinions and case law in appellate courts.
• Criminal Law: Aims to prevent societal harm and imposes penalties; includes felonies and misdemeanors.
• Civil Law: Protects individual rights, addressing negligence and malpractice.

Nursing Practice Acts

• Governed under state laws, defining nurse practice regulations.

Federal Laws Impacting Nursing

• Americans with Disabilities Act: Protects rights of disabled individuals.
• Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act: Ensures medical screenings in emergency departments to prevent "patient dumping."
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA): Safeguards patient privacy and data.

Legal Concepts in Nursing

• Advance Directives: Include living wills and durable power of attorney for healthcare decisions.
• Torts: Refers to civil wrongs affecting persons or property, can be intentional or unintentional.

Malpractice and Negligence

• Negligence: Failure to act with reasonable care.
• Malpractice: Specialized negligence by a professional due to inadequate performance of duties.
• Elements to Prove Malpractice: Duty owed to patient, breach of that duty, actual harm caused, and proximate cause linking breach to injury.

Frequent Allegations Against Nurses

• Common claims include failure to ensure patient safety, improper treatment, inadequate monitoring, medication errors, and failing to follow agency policies.

Special Types of Negligence

• Gross Negligence: Reckless disregard for patient welfare, may result in punitive damages.
• Criminal Negligence: Actions are so negligent they result in significant harm or death.

Consequences of Negligence

• Can lead to loss of job, license suspension, fines, and large legal fees; patient harm incidents are prevalent.

Liability in Nursing

• Personal liability requires nurses to accept responsibility for any negligent acts; cannot delegate responsibility.

Patient Rights and Decisions

• Informed Consent: Nurses facilitate informed choices by patients after disclosing necessary information about treatments.
• Right to Refuse Treatment: Patients are entitled to refuse treatment after understanding the risks and consequences.

Restraint Use in Nursing

• Use of restraints must be justified, following strict guidelines to avoid allegations of assault or false imprisonment.

Confidentiality in Healthcare

• Nurses must maintain patient confidentiality, only sharing information with authorized personnel.

Legal Terms Relevant to Nurses

• Battery: Unauthorized touching leading to harm.
• Defamation: Communicating false statements about a patient; includes slander and libel.
• Abandonment: Leaving a patient without appropriate care; can result in legal repercussions.