A nurse with a moral objection to a scheduled procedure should state the refusal early enough for another nurse to be assigned.
Correct Answer
True
True. A conscience-based refusal is expressed in advance and in a timely way so that care can be reassigned and the patient is not left without a nurse.
Category: Refusing Care
Question 2
Making a conscientious objection does not always protect a nurse from consequences at work.
Correct Answer
True
True. Conscientious objection may not shield a nurse from formal or informal consequences, which is one reason the refusal must be handled through proper channels.
Category: Refusing Care
Question 3
The risk of retaliation releases a nurse from the obligation to report threats to patient safety.
Correct Answer
False
False. Fear of retaliation or job loss is a real risk, but it does not remove the duty to report unsafe practice. Professional organizations are responsible for protecting nurses who report through formal channels.
Category: Reporting and Advocacy
Question 4
Reports of suspected unethical practice should be supported by factual documentation and accurate data.
Correct Answer
True
True. Facts and accurate records make a report credible and allow the organization or outside authority to investigate fairly.
Category: Reporting and Advocacy
Question 5
Saying a patient's name aloud while standing in another patient's room can be a violation of privacy.
Correct Answer
True
True. Other patients and visitors can overhear, so naming a patient or discussing care in another patient's room discloses information to people with no need to know.
Category: Privacy and Confidentiality
Question 6
A nurse's duty to protect patient confidentiality ends when the nurse goes off duty.
Correct Answer
False
False. Confidentiality applies to all personal and clinical information at all times, both at work and off duty.
Category: Privacy and Confidentiality
Question 7
Nurses may post photos of patients on personal social media as long as the patient's name is left out.
Correct Answer
False
False. Patient information of any kind, including photos, does not belong on a nurse's personal social media, even without a name, because patients can still be identified and trust is broken.
Category: Privacy and Confidentiality
Question 8
A hospital ethics committee is expected to protect the confidentiality of information shared during its discussions.
Correct Answer
True
True. Ethics committees protect the confidentiality of what is disclosed in their discussions and respect the privacy of everyone involved.
Category: Ethical Decision Making
Question 9
A hospital ethics committee is the body that disciplines nurses by suspending their licenses.
Correct Answer
False
False. Ethics committees advise, educate, and help with decisions in individual cases. License discipline is carried out by the state board of nursing.
Category: Ethical Decision Making
Question 10
A discussion of resuscitation wishes is needed only for patients who are expected to die soon.
Correct Answer
False
False. Resuscitation preferences are discussed with every patient on admission, because any patient's heart or breathing can stop unexpectedly. If the patient has an advance directive, a copy is placed in the record.
Category: Practice Challenges
Question 11
Every encounter with a patient can be an opportunity for health teaching.
Correct Answer
True
True. Teaching is part of nursing's function, and education should begin at admission and continue at each encounter rather than waiting for discharge.
Category: Ethical Patient Education
Question 12
To be fair, patient teaching should be given only in English so that every patient receives identical materials.
Correct Answer
False
False. Ethical education is provided in the patient's preferred or native language whenever possible, with health literacy in mind, so the patient can understand it.
Category: Ethical Patient Education
Question 13
Patient education that accounts for health literacy, culture, and health disparities can help reduce hospital readmissions.
Correct Answer
True
True. Education tailored to the patient's needs helps patients manage their health more effectively, which improves outcomes and lowers readmissions.
Category: Ethical Patient Education
Question 14
Duty-to-warn requirements for potentially violent patients are identical in every state.
Correct Answer
False
False. Most states require or permit disclosure about potentially violent patients, but the rules differ by state, so nurses involve the risk management department when the issue arises.
Category: Ethical Decision Making
Question 15
Short staffing is a common source of ethical dilemmas for nurses.
Correct Answer
True
True. Too few staff can force nurses to choose among patients' needs, which creates conflicts between what nurses believe is right and what they are able to do.
Category: Ethical Decision Making
Question 16
A nurse who gives a medication despite a clear safety concern can face discipline from the state board of nursing.
Correct Answer
True
True. Administering a drug that the nurse knows may harm the patient risks patient injury and the nurse's license, and boards of nursing can suspend or revoke a license.
Category: Practice Challenges
Question 17
Including family members in teaching, when the patient agrees, can support the patient's self-care after discharge.
Correct Answer
True
True. Family members often help with care at home, so teaching them the same information, with the patient's agreement, reinforces learning and safety.
Category: Ethical Patient Education
Question 18
In national polls on honesty and ethics, nurses rank near the bottom of the professions.
Correct Answer
False
False. Nurses have consistently received the highest honesty and ethics ratings of any profession in national polls, which reflects the public's trust in nursing.
Category: Reporting and Advocacy
Question 19
The ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses has stayed unchanged since it was first written.
Correct Answer
False
False. The Code has been revised over time to reflect changes in how health care is structured, financed, and delivered, while the foundation of nursing care stays the same.
Category: Ethical Principles
Question 20
The goal of health education is limited to treating illness that is already present.
Correct Answer
False
False. Nursing aims to promote, maintain, and restore health, prevent illness, and help people adapt to the lasting effects of illness, and health education serves all of these goals.
Category: Ethical Patient Education