Threatening to Sedate a Disruptive Patient: Assault

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

Correct answer: Assault

Why this is the answer

Assault is the threat of an intentional act that causes the patient to fear harmful or offensive contact.

The bigger concept

Assault is the threat; battery is the touch. A verbal threat that makes a patient fear harmful or offensive contact is assault even if the nurse never follows through, and using medication as a threat is also a form of chemical-restraint coercion. False imprisonment would be confining the patient without justification. The therapeutic alternative is to lower stimulation, set calm limits, offer choices, and involve the charge nurse or security if safety is truly at risk. This scenario appears twice in the 21-question bank with identical answers.

Related Legal & Ethical Issues practice questions

• Staying Silent About a Doctor's Mistake: Non-Maleficence
• Unjustified Restraint: False Imprisonment
• Leaving Against Medical Advice (AMA): Nurse's Role
• Written Statement That Ruins a Reputation: Libel vs. Slander
• Giving a Medication the Patient Refused: Battery

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