1. A nurse who is caring for a patient with a pressure ulcer applies the

recommended dressing according to hospital policy. Which standard is thenurse following?a. Fairness

b. Intellectual standards

c. Independent reasoning

d. Institutional practice guidelines

ANS: D

The standards of professional responsibility that a nurse tries to achieve arethe standardscited in Nurse Practice Acts, institutional practice guidelines (hospital/facility policy), andprofessional organizations’ standards of practice (e.g., The American Nurses AssociationStandards of Professional Performance). Intellectual standards are guidelines or principlesforrationalthought. Fairness and independent reasoning are two examples of critical thinkingattitudes that are designed to help nurses make clinical decisions. 2. A nurse is reviewing care plans. Which finding, if identified in a plan of

care, should the registered nurse revise?

a. Patient’s outcomes for learning

b. Nurse’s assumptions about hospital discharge

c. Identification of several actual health problems

d. Documentation of patient’s ability to meet the goal

ANS: B

The nurse should not assume when a patient is going to be discharged and document thisinformation in a plan of care. Making assumptions is not an example of a critical thinkingskill. The purpose of the nursing process is to diagnose and treat human responses (e.g.,

patient symptoms, need for knowledge) to actual or potential health problems. Use of theprocess allowsnurses to help patients meet agreed-on outcomes for better health. The

patient’s outcomes, having several actual health problems, and a description 1

of the patient’s abilities to meet the goal are all appropriate to document in the