Author Question: A nurse is being sued for malpractice. Which of the following specific elements must be present for ... (Read 60 times)

ap345 · **on:** Jul 23, 2018

A nurse is being sued for malpractice. Which of the following specific elements must be present for the nurse to lose the case?

1. Negligence
2. Harm
3. Malpractice
4. Duty
5. Foreseeability
6. Breach of duty

Question 2

The nurse makes this entry in a client's medical record: The client is a drug addict and is always asking for more medication than what is necessary. In this situation, the nurse may be charged with which of the following?

1. Defamation
2. Slander
3. Libel
4. Incompetence

shewald78 · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 23, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Correct Answer: 2,4,5,6
Rationale 1: Negligence is a concept that is addressed in malpractice
Rationale 2: The client must demonstrate some type of harm or injury (physical, financial, or emotional) as a result of the breach of duty owed the client.
Rationale 3: Malpractice is professional negligence, that is, negligence that occurred while the person was performing as a professional.
Rationale 4: The nurse must have (or should have had) a relationship with the client that involves providing care and following an acceptable standard of care.
Rationale 5: A link must exist between the nurse's act and the injury suffered.
Rationale 6: There must be a standard of care that is expected in the specific situation but that the nurse did not observe.

Answer to Question 2

Correct Answer: 3
Rationale 1: Defamation is verbal communication that is false or made with a careless disregard for the truth and that result in injury to the reputation of a person.
Rationale 2: Slander is defamation by the spoken word.
Rationale 3: Libel is defamation of character by means of print, writing, or pictures. Putting a statement such as this in the client's medical record is, first, making a diagnosis which the nurse is not qualified to do and, second, making an assumption about the client's need for medication which is a personal attitude about how the client responds.
Rationale 4: Incompetence relates to the ineffective or improper execution of nursing tasks.