Nursing Elites

1. The staff on a medical-surgical unit is in conflict with the occupational therapy department. What type of communication will be used to discuss the problems?

• A. Downward communication
• B. Lateral communication
• C. Distorted communication
• D. Upward communication

Correct answer: B

Rationale: The correct answer is B: Lateral communication. Lateral communication occurs between individuals or departments of the same hierarchical level, making it suitable for addressing conflicts between the staff on a medical-surgical unit and the occupational therapy department. Upward communication involves communication from staff to management or from lower management to middle or upper management. Downward communication is typically directive communication from an authority figure or manager to staff. Distorted communication is not a recognized type of communication and does not apply to this scenario.

2. A nurse is caring for a client after knee replacement surgery. The nurse discovers that the consent was not signed before the surgery. Which of the following charges could be filed?

• A. False imprisonment
• B. Libel
• C. Battery
• D. Malpractice

Correct answer: C

Rationale: The correct answer is C: Battery. Battery occurs when an individual is touched without consent. Performing surgery without a signed consent constitutes battery as it involves touching the patient's body without proper authorization. False imprisonment (choice A) involves restraining someone against their will, which is not applicable in this scenario. Libel (choice B) refers to written defamation, which is not relevant to the situation described. Malpractice (choice D) involves negligence or incompetence in providing professional services, which is different from the lack of consent issue presented in this case.

3. After her evaluation, a staff nurse exclaims: 'I'm not sure if my manager knows much about my performance, really. He only had three specific examples to give me, two good performance examples and one to work on, and they all happened in the last month. I don't feel like he can see the whole picture.' What kind of performance appraisal rating does this statement exemplify?

• A. Recency error
• B. Leniency error
• C. Halo error
• D. Absolute judgment

Correct answer: A

Rationale: The statement exemplifies a recency error. Recency error occurs when a manager assesses an employee's performance primarily based on recent events, rather than considering the entire evaluation period. In this case, the staff nurse feels that her manager focused only on recent examples, leading to an incomplete assessment of her overall performance. Choice B, Leniency error, refers to a rater consistently giving high ratings to all employees regardless of performance, which is not evident in this scenario. Choice C, Halo error, involves allowing one positive attribute of an individual to overshadow other characteristics during appraisal, which is not the case here. Absolute judgment, Choice D, is when a rater evaluates an employee without reference to any specific criteria, which is not reflected in the staff nurse's feedback.

4. The manager of a medical-surgical unit is very task-motivated. Using Fiedler's Contingency Theory, under what circumstances would the manager be most effective?

• A. Only during highly stressful situations.
• B. When there is little to no stress.
• C. Under highly structured situations.
• D. When the situation is loosely structured.

Correct answer: C

Rationale: According to Fiedler's Contingency Theory, task-motivated managers are most effective under highly structured situations. This is because in such environments, where priorities are clear and tasks are well-defined, task-oriented managers can excel in organizing and accomplishing objectives efficiently. Choices A and B are incorrect because the effectiveness of a task-motivated manager is not solely linked to stress levels but rather to the structure of the situation. Choice D is also incorrect as a loosely structured situation would not provide the clarity and direction that a task-motivated manager thrives in.

5. A nurse manager has two out of six staff nurses call in sick for one shift. Because of reduced availability of staff, the manager decides to manage the unit with the three remaining nurses, which keeps the unit at minimal staffing standards. What type of decision-making strategy would this be?

• A. Satisficing
• B. Routine
• C. Adaptive
• D. Rationalizing

Correct answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A: Satisficing. Satisficing is a decision-making strategy where the person chooses an alternative that is good enough given the circumstances. In this scenario, the nurse manager is making a satisfactory decision by managing the unit with the three remaining nurses to meet minimal staffing standards despite the reduced availability of staff. Choice B, Routine, does not apply as the decision made in the scenario is not part of a regular or standard procedure. Choice C, Adaptive, is not the best fit as the decision is more about making do with the available resources rather than adapting to a new situation. Choice D, Rationalizing, does not align with the scenario as it refers to justifying decisions rather than making a practical choice under constraints.

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