Safe and Effective Care Environment Q 3
The nurse caring for a client in the neonatal intensive care unit administers adult-strength Digitalis to the 3-pound infant. As a result of her actions, the baby suffers permanent heart and brain damage. The nurse can be charged with:
A. Negligence
B. Tort
C. Assault
D. Malpractice
Correct Answer: D. Malpractice
The nurse could be charged with malpractice, which is failing to perform, or performing an act that causes harm to the client. Giving the infant an overdose falls into this category. In the United States, a patient may allege medical malpractice against a clinician, which is typically defined by the failure the provide the degree of care another clinician in the same position with the same credentials would have performed that resulted in injury to the patient.
Option A: Negligence is failing to perform care for the client. a tort is a wrongful act committed. Negligence, in law, the failure to meet a standard of behaviour established to protect society against unreasonable risk. Negligence is the cornerstone of tort liability and a key factor in most personal injury and property-damage trials.
Option B: A tort is a wrongful act committed on the client or their belongings. A tort is a civil wrong that causes harm to another person by violating a protected right. A civil wrong is an act or omission that is intentional, accidental, or negligent, other than a breach of contract. The specific rights protected give rise to the unique “elements” of each tort. Tort requires the presence of four elements that are the essential facts required to prove a civil wrong.
Option C: Assault is a violent physical or verbal attack. Assault is the intentional act of making someone fear that you will cause them harm. You do not have to actually harm them to commit assault. Threatening them verbally or pretending to hit them are both examples of assault that can occur in a nursing home.