Pressure Injury From Failing to Turn a Patient: Malpractice

Legal & Ethical Issues · Question from the ATI RN Leadership 2023 Proctored Exam study set

Correct answer: Malpractice

Why this is the answer

Malpractice is professional negligence—failing to provide the standard of care that results in injury to a patient.

The bigger concept

Malpractice is negligence committed by a professional that causes actual injury. Turning every two hours is an accepted standard of care; skipping it is the breach, the pressure injury is the damage, and the link between them is causation — all four elements are present, so the answer is malpractice rather than plain negligence. Battery and assault involve intent, and slander is spoken defamation. This scenario appears twice in the 21-question bank with identical answers.

Related Legal & Ethical Issues practice questions

• Unjustified Restraint: False Imprisonment
• Giving a Medication the Patient Refused: Battery
• Leaving Against Medical Advice (AMA): Nurse's Role
• Charting a Task That Was Never Done: Falsification of Records
• The 'Reasonable and Prudent Nurse' Standard: Negligence

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