Chapter 09 Ethical and Bioethical Issues in Nursing and Health Care

Chapter 09  Ethical and Bioethical Issues in Nursing and Health Care

Complete Chapter Questions And Answers
 

Sample Questions

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Ethics applied to nursing can best be defined as:
a.
doing what is best for the client.
b.
making good decisions about care.
c.
care based on what should be done in keeping with the values of the client.
d.
rules for providing competent care that is based on scientific principles.

ANS: C
Nursing ethics is a system of principles intended to guide the actions of the nurse in his or her relationships with clients, clients’ family members, other health care providers, policymakers, and society as a whole. A nurse must make an attempt to understand what values are inherent in the situation.

DIF: Knowledge REF: p. 164

2. A family requests that no additional heroic measures be instituted for their terminally ill mother who has advance directives in place. The nurse respects this decision in keeping with the principle of:
a.
accountability.
b.
autonomy.
c.
nonmaleficence.
d.
veracity.

ANS: B
Autonomy is the principle of respect for the individual person. Within the concept of autonomy, people are free to form their own judgments and perform whatever actions they choose. They are self-determining agents who are entitled to decide their own destiny.

DIF: Comprehension REF: p. 4 |pp. 169-170, Table 9-1

3. An older adult client is comatose and had one electroencephalogram that indicated no activity. The daughter is very distraught and notices her mother’s hand moves when she is talking to her. The daughter asks the nurse, “Is mother responding to my voice?” The nurse, attempting to console the daughter, knows the movement was involuntary but states, “It does appear she did.” The nurse is violating which principle of ethics?
a.
Autonomy
b.
Veracity
c.
Utilitarianism
d.
Deontology

ANS: B
Veracity is the principle of telling the truth in a given situation.

DIF: Comprehension REF: p. 171

4. In attempting to decide which services should be offered to a community, the public health nurse decides to implement hypertension screening and treatment because most of the residents are hypertensive. This decision is based on the principle of:
a.
veracity.
b.
values.
c.
utilitarianism.
d.
autonomy.

ANS: C
Utilitarianism is an approach that is rooted in the assumption that an action or practice is right if it leads to the greatest possible balance of good consequences or to the least possible balance of bad consequences. On the basis of this principle, an attempt is made to determine which actions will lead to the greatest ratio of benefit to harm for all persons involved in the situation.

DIF: Application REF: p. 162 |p. 169