Which situations qualify as abandonment on the part of a nurse? ...

[londonang]

Which situations qualify as abandonment on the part of a nurse? (Select all that apply.) The nurse:
 
  a. allows a patient with acute mania to refuse hospitalization without taking further action.
  b. terminates employment without referring a seriously mentally ill for aftercare.
  c. calls police to bring a suicidal patient to the hospital after a suicide attempt.
  d. refers a patient with persistent paranoid schizophrenia to community treatment.
  e. asks another nurse to provide a patient's care because of concerns about countertransference .

Question 2

A patient with mental illness asks a psychiatric technician, What's the matter with me? The technician replies, Your wing nuts need tightening. The patient looks bewildered and wanders off.
 
  The nurse who overheard the exchange should take action based on:
 
  a. violation of the patient's right to be treated with dignity and respect.
  b. the nurse's obligation to report caregiver negligence.
  c. preventing defamation of the patient's character.
  d. supervisory liability.

[Pariscourtney]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: A, B
Abandonment arises when a nurse does not place a patient safely in the hands of another health professional before discontinuing treatment. Calling the police to bring a suicidal patient to the hospital after a suicide attempt and referring a patient with schizophrenia to community treatment both provide for patient safety. Asking another nurse to provide a patient's care because of concerns about countertransference demonstrates self-awareness.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: A
Patients have the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Patients should never be made the butt of jokes about their illness. Patient emotional abuse has been demonstrated, not negligence. The technician's response was not clearly defamation. Patient abuse, not supervisory liability, is the issue.