CNA Practice Test – Legal And Ethics

As a nursing assistant, you may need to leave the floor from time to time, for various reasons during your shift.  The other options are all mandatory responsibilities, which you have, to ensure the patient’s safety or to meet their basic needs.  Failure to do these things would be considered neglect.

When a nurse fails to perform their medical duties and in turn that results in harm to the patient; that is considered to be nursing malpractice.  The other options that were given are legal terms, but they do not apply to this circumstance.

Assault is the mere threat of harm upon another person, while battery is the actual infliction of harm upon another person.  Libel and slander are verbal assaults against another person’s character.

The safety of your patients should always be your number one priority.

If you were to deliberately harm your patient, you would be charged with battery because that is considered to be physical abuse.  All of the other options would be considered negligence.

It would be considered battery if a nursing assistant used restraints on their patient without the physician’s orders. Raising a hand as a threat to your patient would be considered assault.  Ignoring your patient’s calls for assistance would be considered negligence and administering medications to your patient as a nursing assistant would be considered malpractice.

The accurate answer would be liability. All the other options have different legal meanings.

When a patient’s caregiver knows that the patient’s rights have been violated by another caregiver, and they do absolutely nothing to help the patient, it is considered aiding and abetting or contributing to the offence.  If the caregiver who ignores the wrongdoing is upset with the patient, the action of ignoring the wrongdoing could be interpreted as a form of passive aggression.  However this is not the legal term, which would be used to describe that type of behaviour.

Slander is when you utter something malicious that can destroy someone’s reputation.  Discrimination is when someone is treated unfairly due to prejudice.  Insubordination is the refusal to obey the orders of a figure of authority.  Although the head nurse is gossiping, this is not a legal term.

Conspiracy is when two or more people create a plot or a secret plan.  Consequences are what follow after an action.  Collusion is a secret cooperation between two or more persons to commit an illegal act.  Therefore, the correct response is Coercion.

Since you are an employee and are being paid to care for your patients, it would be considered a violation of professional ethics to accept any kind of gifts from a patient or their family.  Some facilities allow monetary gifts to be donated to a fund that allows the facility to purchase items, which would benefit all the patients, but every facility has a different policy.  You must also be aware of other problems that are associated with accepting gifts from patients with dementia.

Defamation is when you make offensive and false statements about another person.  Accolades are when you give compliments and praise to someone.   Assault is when one person threatens to harm another.  Malpractice is unethical or illegal actions, which result in a failure to fulfill your duties and responsibilities of your position.

Nursing assistants need to understand that if they were ever to use restraints on one of their patients without the proper authorization, not only the action would be considered to be interpreted as false imprisonment and a violation of your patient’s rights; but even the mere threat of using restraints on your patient without the doctor’s permission can result in false imprisonment charges.

Leaving your patient alone without any means of communication would be considered involuntary seclusion because this is not the patient’s choice.  The other options were requested by the patient and are therefore not considered to be involuntary.

The nursing assistant must report any form of suspected abuse.  This is your duty, even if you suspect your patient’s family or friends.  The other options would not prevent this same problem from happening again.

A patient has the right to choose his own physician and this is clearly stated in the Patient’s Bill of Rights.  Patients have the right to remain free of restraints, but should the patient be harming himself or others, the doctor may order that restraints be used.  Non-payment is considered to be a valid reason for a patient to be transferred.  Patients cannot be transferred without reason.  Lastly, a patient has the right to wear their own clothes, however if they are hazardous, or infringing on the rights of others, alternate clothing will be supplied.