Contemporary Ethical Issues in Nursing

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A: aspirin order within 24 hours of discharge. This is a key clinical indicator for evaluating care of heart attack patients as aspirin is a standard treatment to prevent further cardiac events. It is crucial for patient safety and adherence to national guidelines. Choice B is incorrect as patient teaching on smoking cessation, although important, is not a direct clinical indicator for evaluating care of heart attack patients. Choice C is incorrect as beta blocker administration upon arrival is important for heart attack patients, but it is not specific to evaluating the hospital's care compared to national standards. Choice D is incorrect as employer support for stress modification is not a clinical indicator relevant to evaluating care of heart attack patients.

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: B

Rationale: The correct answer is B: punitive damages. Punitive damages are awarded to punish the defendant for their wrongful actions. In this case, the hospital's negligence in performing wrong site surgery resulted in harm to the client, even though the hospital reversed the charges. The court awarded $5 million to punish the hospital for their negligence, as the client suffered emotional distress and the potential risk of harm. The other choices are incorrect because: A: res ipsa loquitur is a legal doctrine used to shift the burden of proof from the plaintiff to the defendant in cases where the negligence is obvious. C: vicarious liability holds an employer responsible for the actions of their employees, which is not directly applicable in this scenario. D: immunity refers to protection from legal liability, which is not relevant in a case where the court awarded monetary compensation.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The correct answer is B: applying productivity metric. The nurse manager is calculating the ratio of direct nursing care hours to total hours worked, which is a productivity metric. This metric helps assess the efficiency of the nursing staff in delivering care. Developing the capital budget (A) involves planning for long-term investments, not daily staffing calculations. Monitoring the labor budget (C) involves tracking expenses related to staff salaries and benefits, but not necessarily productivity metrics. Incremental budgeting processes (D) refer to budgeting based on past budgets with incremental changes, not specific productivity metrics. Therefore, the nurse manager is primarily involved in applying a productivity metric to assess nursing staff efficiency.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A: lobbyists. The nurses are acting as lobbyists by advocating for a specific cause (allowing RNs to sign death certificates) to the state representative. They are not policymakers (B) because they are not directly making decisions or creating policies. They are also not officials with regulatory power (C) as they are not in a position to enforce regulations. Lastly, they are not advocating for the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (D) specifically in this scenario.