Contemporary Ethical Issues in Nursing

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A: Safety. The team of nurses developing algorithms and checklists aims to ensure standardization of procedures, which directly relates to patient safety. Safety is a fundamental competency in healthcare, as it involves minimizing harm to patients. Standardization through checklists helps reduce errors and promote consistency in care delivery. Timely care (B) focuses on providing care promptly, equitable care (C) emphasizes fairness and eliminating disparities, and patient-centered care (D) prioritizes individual preferences and needs. While these competencies are important in healthcare, in this scenario, the team's primary focus on standardization aligns with the safety competency.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A: Theories. Theories are comprehensive explanations that scholars use to understand commonly occurring events by organizing and explaining a set of principles or laws. Theories help in predicting and controlling events based on established frameworks. Constructs (B) refer to abstract concepts within theories, systems (C) are organized structures of elements, and propositions (D) are statements that describe relationships between concepts, but they do not provide the comprehensive explanations that theories do.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: The correct answer is C: ask, "What will happen if I don't complete the task now?" This is the best approach as it helps prioritize tasks based on their urgency and importance. By considering the consequences of not completing a task immediately, the nurse can focus on critical tasks first to ensure patient safety and efficient workflow. Choice A is incorrect because completing all tasks as they are thought of without prioritizing can lead to neglecting important tasks and compromising patient care. Choice B is incorrect as procrastination is not a professional or effective way to manage tasks in a healthcare setting. Choice D is incorrect as viewing large projects holistically is important, but it doesn't address the immediate need to prioritize individual tasks.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: Step-by-step rationale for why answer A is correct: 1. Federal legislation such as the Affordable Care Act has expanded Medicaid coverage and provided subsidies for health insurance. 2. This legislation has helped reduce the number of minorities lacking health insurance. 3. Consequently, fewer minorities than members of the general population now lack health insurance. 4. Therefore, the statement that federal legislation has resulted in fewer minorities lacking health insurance is true. Summary of why other choices are incorrect: B. This choice incorrectly attributes the lack of seeking health care by minorities solely to higher costs and lower wages, overlooking the impact of legislation. C. This choice makes a sweeping generalization about Mexican Americans without considering the broader context of health care access for minorities. D. This choice relies on stereotypes about Asians and does not take into account the complexities of the health care system and insurance coverage.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: The correct answer is C: Participatory. In participatory budget development, input is gathered from various levels within the organization, such as staff and managers. In this scenario, the nurse manager met with her staff to establish strategic goals before budget negotiations, indicating a participatory approach. This allows for staff buy-in and ownership of the goals. A: Iterative budget development involves refining a budget through multiple rounds of review, which is not explicitly mentioned in the scenario. B: Top-down budget development is characterized by decisions made by upper management without input from lower levels, contradicting the scenario where staff provided input. D: Zero-based budgeting starts from scratch without considering previous budgets, which is not evident in the scenario where goals were established based on staff input. In summary, the participatory budget development is the appropriate choice in this scenario as it aligns with the collaborative approach taken by the nurse manager and her staff in setting strategic goals before budget negotiations.