SSN 101 Week 3 Study Guide: Professionalism, Law, Ethics, and Interprofessional Team

Vocabulary flashcards covering nursing scope of practice, legal frameworks, documentation, delegation, ethical principles, and interprofessional team member roles.

Scope of Practice

The specific activities and boundaries of care legally permitted for a designated nursing licensure level.

Nurse Practice Act

State legislation that, together with board rules, establishes the authoritative legal framework governing nursing practice.

Standards of Practice

Authoritative professional statements describing the expected level and quality of competent nursing care.

Facility Policies and Procedures

Approved local protocols explaining organizational processes, which cannot expand the nurse's legal scope of practice.

Accountability

Individual responsibility for actions and omissions, including arranging appropriate care coverage and delivering a clear handoff prior to leaving the unit.

Civil Law

The legal domain that addresses disputes and claims for compensation between private parties.

Criminal Law

The legal domain that addresses unlawful conduct and offenses committed against society as a whole.

Administrative Law

The branch of law governing regulatory agencies, including nursing board operations, regulations, and licensure discipline.

Statutory Law

Laws formally enacted and passed by a legislative body.

Case Law

The body of law developed and established through judicial interpretations and court decisions.

Constitutional Law

The branch of law that defines government powers and protects fundamental individual rights.

Privacy

An individual's personal space and their legal right to exercise control over their personal information.

Confidentiality

The professional and ethical duty to protect entrusted patient health information from unauthorized disclosure.

Protected Health Information (PHI)

Individually identifiable health data created, transmitted, or maintained in oral, written, or electronic formats.

Informed Consent

A patient's voluntary choice to accept care based on understandable information regarding risks, benefits, and alternatives, provided by a clinician to a patient with decision-making capacity.

Living Will

An advance directive that communicates an individual's specific preferences regarding medical treatments.

Healthcare Power of Attorney

A legal advance directive designating a surrogate decision maker to make medical choices if the patient becomes incapacitated.

Incident Report

An internal, confidential record used to support hospital quality improvement and risk management that does not replace clinical charting in the medical record.

Five Rights of Delegation

A clinical safety framework requiring the right task, right circumstance, right person, right direction/communication, and right supervision/evaluation.

Negligence

A failure to provide the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances, involving an action or an omission.

Malpractice

Professional negligence that fails to meet the standard of care and causes actual patient injury or loss.

Duty

The legal malpractice element establishing an obligation to provide competent care to a patient.

Breach of Duty

The malpractice element characterized by a failure to meet the established standard of care.

Causation

The malpractice element establishing a direct, causal link between a breach of standard care and the resulting patient injury.

Damages

The resulting harm, physical injury, or financial loss suffered by a patient in a malpractice claim.

Assault

An intentional act that creates an apprehension or fear of immediate harmful or offensive contact.

Battery

Unauthorized, intentional harmful or offensive physical contact with another person.

False Imprisonment

The unjustified confinement, detention, or physical restraint of an individual without legal justification.

Libel

Defamation conveyed through written, published, or recorded statements.

Slander

Defamation conveyed through spoken or oral communication.

Autonomy

The ethical principle of honoring and respecting a patient's informed choices and self-determination.

Beneficence

The ethical principle requiring healthcare professionals to promote well-being and act in the patient's best interest.

Nonmaleficence

The ethical principle of preventing, avoiding, or reducing harm to patients.

Justice

The ethical principle of treating individuals equitably and using fair criteria without favoritism.

Veracity

The ethical principle of telling the truth and communicating honestly with patients.

Fidelity

The ethical principle of honoring commitments, keeping promises, and maintaining professional loyalty.

Altruism

A core professional nursing value defined as acting for another person's well-being and welfare.

Human Dignity

A professional value defined as unconditional respect for the inherent worth and individuality of every person.

Integrity

A professional value defined as acting honestly, ethically, and consistently within professional standards.

Social Justice

A professional value that upholds fair treatment, equality, and equal access to healthcare resources for all individuals.

Values Clarification

The process of examining one's own beliefs and attitudes to prevent imposing personal values on patient decisions.

Ethical Dilemma

A complex clinical situation involving competing ethical principles, duties, or choices with no clear optimal solution.

Moral Distress

The distress experienced when a nurse recognizes the ethically correct action to take but faces internal or external barriers preventing them from acting.

MORAL Model

A systematic ethical decision-making model consisting of: Massage the dilemma, Outline options, Resolve the dilemma, Act, and Look back.

Occupational Therapist

An interprofessional team member who develops strategies and provides adaptive tools for activities of daily living such as dressing and grooming.

Physical Therapist

An interprofessional team member specializing in gait, balance, and functional gross mobility training.

Speech-Language Pathologist

An interprofessional team member who assesses and treats speech, language communication barriers, and swallowing disorders.

Registered Dietitian

An interprofessional team member who performs comprehensive nutritional assessments and develops individualized meal plans.

Medical Social Worker

An interprofessional team member who connects patients to community resources, coordinates discharge needs, and resolves transportation barriers.

Respiratory Therapist

An interprofessional team member who manages airway support, delivers inhalation treatments, and oversees mechanical ventilation.

Radiologist

A specialized interpreting physician clinician who reviews diagnostic medical images and officially reports clinical findings.