question

The legal guidelines that nurses follow come from

answer

statutory, regulatory, and common law

question

Who creates statuatory law?

answer

Elected legislative bodies such as state legislatures and U.S. congress.

question

Nurse Practice Acts

answer

describe and define the legal boundaries of nursing practice within each state.

question

Regulatory law is aka

answer

administrative law

question

Regulatory law

answer

reflects decisions made by administrative bodies such as State Boards of Nursing when they pass rules and regulations

question

Common law

answer

results from judicial decisions made in courts when individual legal cases are decided.

question

Informed consent, patient's right to refuse treatment, negligence, and malpractice are examples of what type of law?

answer

Common law

question

the requirement to report incompetent or unethical nursing conduct to the State Board of Nursing is an example of what type of law?

answer

Regulatory law

question

The Nurse Practice Acts found in all 50 states is an example of what type of law?

answer

state statute

question

The Americans with disabilities act is an example of what type of law?

answer

federal statute

question

Statutory law is either

answer

civil or criminal

question

Civil law:

answer

protect the rights of individuals within our society and provide for fair and equitable treatment when civil wrongs or violations occur

question

The consequences of civil law violations are:

answer

damages in the form of fines or specific performance of good works such as public service

question

T or F: negligence and malpractice are examples of a civil law violation for a nurse

answer

True

question

Criminal laws

answer

protect society as a whole and provide punishments for crimes, which are defined by municipal, state, and federal legislation.

question

Name the 2 classifications of crimes

answer

felony and misdemeanor

question

Felony

answer

a crime of a serious nature that has a penalty of imprisonment for longer than one year or even death

question

misdemeanor

answer

a less serious crime that has a penalty of a fine or imprisonment for less than one year.

question

T or F: An example of criminal conduct is misuse of a controlled substance.

answer

True

question

Describe the 4 phases in the anatomy of a lawsuit

answer

1. Pleadings phase 2. Discovery 3. Trial 4. Proof of negligence

question

What are the 2 parts of the pleading phase

answer

Petition-elements of the claim and Answer

question

Describe Petition-elements of the claim

answer

The plaintiff outlines what the defendant nurse did wrong and how, as a result of that alleged negligence, the plaintiff was injured

question

Describe Answer

answer

The nurse admits or denies each allegation in the petition

question

T or F: The prosecutor must prove anything that the nurse does not admit

answer

True

question

Interrogatories

answer

Written questions requiring answers under oath

question

Medical records

answer

The defendant obtains al of the plaintiff's relevant medical records for treatment before and after the incident

question

Witnesses depositions

answer

Questions are posed to the witness under oath to obtain all relevant, nonprivileged information about the case

question

Parties Depositions

answer

The plaintiff and defendants (physician, nurse, hospital personnel) are almost always deposed

question

Other witnesses:

answer

Factual witnesses, both neutral and biased, including family members on the plaintiff's side and other medical personnel on the defendants side, are deposed to obtain information and their version of the case

question

Treating physicians or health care providers' depositions

answer

Before subsequent treating, physicians' or health care providers' depositions are taken to establish issues such as those concerning preexisting conditions, causation, the nature and extent of injuries, and permanency

question

Experts:

answer

The patient selects experts to establish the essential legal elements of the case against the defendant. The defendant selects experts to establish the appropriateness of the nursing care

question

Describe the trial phase

answer

Following discovery phase of 1-3 years or longer, trial may last days to months

question

Standards of care

answer

legal requirements for nursing practice that describe minimum acceptable nursing care.

question

Who develops standards for nursing practice, policy statements, and simular resolutions?

answer

The American Nurses Association

question

T or F: In a malpractice lawsuit a nurse's actual conduct is compared to nursing standards of care to determine whether the nurse acted as any reasonably prudent nurse would act under the same or simular crcumstances.

answer

True

question

Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act

answer

This act provides that, when a patient comes to the emergency department or the hospital, an appropriate medical screening occurs within the capacity of the hospital. If an emergency condition exists the hospital is not to discharge or transfer the patient until the condition stabilizes

question

Mental Health Parity Act

answer

forbids health plans from placing lifetime or annual limits on mental health coverage that are less generous than those placed on medical or surgical benefits

question

Advance directives include

answer

living wills, health care proxies, and durable powers of attorney for health care.

question

Patient Self Determination Act

answer

requires health care institutions to provide written information to patients concerning their rights under state law to make decisions, including the right to refuse treatment and formulate advance directives

question

Decisional capacity

answer

the ability to make right choices for oneself as they relate to medical care

question

Living wills

answer

represent written documents that direct treatment in accordance with a patients wishes in the event of a terminal illness or condition

question

durable power of attorney for health care

answer

a legal document that designates a person or person of one's choosing to make health care decisions when the patient is no longer able to make decisions on his or her own behalf

question

durable power of attorney for health care is also known as

answer

a health care proxy

question

What allows patients the right to refuse medical treatment?

answer

the ethical doctrine of autonomy

question

The National Organ Transplant Act of 1984

answer

prohibits the purchase or sale of organs

question

United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)

answer

Has a contract with the government and sets policies and guidelines for the procurement of organs

question

Privacy

answer

the right of patients to keep personal information from being disclosed

question

Confidentiality

answer

protects private patient information once it has been disclosed in health care settings

question

Along with HIPPA health care information is also protected by standards set by

answer

The Health Care Financing Administration

question

The Federal Nursing Home Reform Act

answer

gave residents in certified nursing homes the right to be free of unnecessary and inappropriate restraints

question

When can restraints be used

answer

1. Only to ensure the physical safety of the resident or other residents 2. When less restrictive interventions are not successful 3. Only on the written order of a health care provider

question

Uniform Determination of Death Act

answer

It states that health care providers can use either the cardiopulmonary or whole brain definition to determine death.

question

Tort

answer

A civil wrong made against a person or property

question

Torts are classified as

answer

Intentional, quasi-intentional, or unintentional

question

Intentional torts

answer

willful acts that violate another's rights such as assault, battery, and false imprisonment

question

Quasi-intentional torts

answer

acts in which intent is lacking but volitional action and direct causation occur such as in defamation of character and invasion of privacy

question

Unintentional tort

answer

includes negligence and malpractice

question

Assault

answer

Any action that places a person in apprehension of a harmful or offensive contact without consent

question

Is it an assault to make a threat of contact?

answer

Yes

question

Battery

answer

any intentional touching without consent

question

Can an unconscious patient be fasely imprisoned?

answer

No

question

Defamation of character

answer

the publication of false statements that result in damage to a person's reputation

question

Slander

answer

When one speaks falsely about another

question

Libel

answer

written defamation of character

question

Negligence

answer

conduct that falls below a standard of care

question

Malpractice

answer

one type of negligence and often referred to as professional negligence

question

What criteria are necessary to establish nursing malpractice

answer

1. The nurse owed a duty to the patient 2. The nurse did not carry out that duty 3. The patient was injured, and 4. The nurse's failure to carry out the duty caused the injury

question

When is a signed consent form required?

answer

For all routine treatment, hazardous procedures such as surgery, some treatment programs such as chemotherapy, and research involving patients

question

T or F: If a patient is deaf, illiterate, or speaks a foreign language an interpreter an official interpreter must be present to explain the terms of consent. A family member can not do it.

answer

True

question

A person's agreement to allow something to happen such as surgery or an invasive diagnostic procedure, based on full disclosure of risks, benefits, alternatives, and consequences of refusal

answer

Informed consent

question

Can informed consent be obtained while the patient is under the influence of opioids?

answer

No

question

Risk management

answer

an organization's system of ensuring appropriate nursing care by identifying potential hazards and eliminating them before harm occurs

question

The steps involved in risk management include:

answer

identifying possible risks, analyzing them, acting to reduce the risks, and evaluating the steps taken.

question

A tool used in risk management is

answer

the occurrence report, or incident report

question

Law

answer

The sum total of rules and regulations by which a society is governed

question

Name the 4 sources of law

answer

Consitiutional, statutory, regulatory, and common law

question

Another term for statutory law is

answer

legislation law

question

What three thing are responsible for the regulation of nursing practice?

answer

Nurse Practice Acts Standards of Care Credentialing

question

T or F: Nurse Practice Acts are: -Legal acts for professional nursing practice -Regulate the practice of nursing in the U.S. -Each U.S. state has its own practice act -All have a common purpose

answer

True

question

Name some legal aspects of the nursing practice:

answer

-Informed consent -Delegation -Violence, abuse and neglect -Impaired nurse -Advanced directives -Death and related issues

question

Fraud

answer

Appropriation of information in billing practices, receipts of payments and provision of medically necessary services

question

Veracity

answer

Conformity to facts; accuracy

question

A nurse's primary commitment is to

answer

the client

question

Altruism

answer

Unselfish concern for the welfare of others; selflessness

question

Patient's Bill of Rights was established by

answer

American Hospital Association

question

The Patient's Bill of Rights was developed from an __________ and is based on principle of ____________

answer

ethical standpoint; autonomy

question

The learned, shared, and transmitted, values, beliefs, norms and lifeway practices of a particular group that guides thinking, decisions and actions in a patterned way

answer

Culture

Chapter 23: Legal Implications in Nursing Practice – Flashcards

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