Question 1
Question
1. The staff members in a local Emergency Department are experiencing stress and burnout as the result of excessive overtime. The staff decides to unionize to negotiate for better working conditions. The increase in unionization within health care may be attributed to the:
Answer
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a. movement from being “blue-collar workers” to being “knowledge workers.”
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b. excess profits in health care.
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c. level of risk that exists for health care.
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d. number of people who are involved in health care.
Question 2
Question
2. The Emergency Department nurses’ decision to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining is being driven by a desire to:
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a. establish the staffing pattern that will be used.
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b. determine the hours that one is willing to work.
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c. create a professional practice environment.
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d. protect against arbitrary discipline and termination.
Question 3
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3. The Emergency Department staff decides to use a collective bargaining model for negotiation rather than a traditional trade union model. A traditional trade union model is characterized by:
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a. positional conflict.
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b. management support of labor’s initiatives.
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c. a spirit of trust between management and labor.
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d. an ability to resolve complaints.
Question 4
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4. The chief nursing officer utilizes the hospital’s workplace advocacy to help the overwhelmed Emergency Department staff. Workplace Advocacy is designed to assist nurses by:
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a. creating professional practice climates in their institutions.
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b. equipping them to practice in a rapidly changing environment.
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c. negotiating employment contracts.
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d. representing them in labor-management disputes.
Question 5
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5. Nursing labor-management partnerships:
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a. engage nurses at all levels in problem solving for better patient care.
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b. require unions and management to negotiate in good faith regarding hours of work
and wages.
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c. have been shown to have negligible effects on nurse turnover and patient
outcomes.
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d. have typically resulted in increased polarization of nurses and management, leading to formation of collective bargaining units.
Question 6
Question
6. A Magnet® hospital surveys the staff about job satisfaction. This type of environment, in which nurses have authority and autonomy, is linked with:
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a. client satisfaction with the healthcare organization.
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b. organizations with a limited number of nurse managers.
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c. private, specialty organizations in urban areas.
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d. sophisticated academic health sciences universities.
Question 7
Question
7. In a nurse managers’ meeting, strategies for ways to help retain staff are discussed. One strategy for assisting nurses in developing collective action skills is:
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a. accepting the practice of “going along to get along.”
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b. attending as many workshops as practical.
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c. spending as much time as possible in clinical settings.
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d. taking the opportunity to work with a mentor.
Question 8
Question
8. While making rounds, a night supervisor finds a unit with a low census and too many staff members. The night supervisor is performing as a statutory supervisor when he or she:
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a. assigns nurses to care for specific clients.
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b. develops a protocol for unlicensed personnel.
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c. recommends transferring a nurse to another service.
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d. teaches a nurse to use a new piece of equipment.
Question 9
Question
9. The Emergency Department staff members are concerned that working long hours without rest puts patient safety at risk. One staff member decides that she will risk her job and become a whistleblower. Whistle-blowing is an appropriate recourse when management:
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a. disregards due process when disciplining a nurse.
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b. delays responding to repeated efforts to provide safe care.
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c. hires nurses who are not a part of the union during a strike.
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d. refuses to bargain in good faith with the elected bargaining agent.
Question 10
Question
10. As a new nurse manager who has “inherited” a unit with high nurse turnover and complaints of patient dissatisfaction, your first course of action would be to:
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a. determine levels of nurse engagement on the unit.
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b. review the personnel files of nurses who have resigned.
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c. interview upper management about their vision for the unit.
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d. meet with your staff to clarify your vision for the unit.
Question 11
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11. In an inner-city area, a group of nurses meet and develop a plan to negotiate with local businesses to support a breakfast program for young elementary schoolchildren. This is an example of:
Question 12
Question
12. Awareness and use of power have been challenging for nurses in general because of:
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a. incidences of punishment by authority figures.
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b. too little time in the workplace to collectively develop power strategies.
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c. lack of cohesiveness and unity among nurses.
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d. a tradition of obedience to authority.
Question 13
Question
13. Collective action is effective in:
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a. ensuring that needs of nurses are placed ahead of other disciplines.
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b. defining nursing as a profession.
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c. advising patients of the needs of nurses.
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d. amplifying the influence of individuals.
Question 14
Question
14. Nurses on the dialysis unit notice that changes in labeling of fluids have meant several alarming near miss in terms of wrong administration of fluids. They take this concern to the unit manager. As an advocate of nurse autonomy, the most appropriate response in this situation would be to:
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a. ensure that the nurses are aware of the reasons for the change and how the decision
was made about the new labels.
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b. discuss concerns about the labels and develop potential solutions that take into
account changes that can be made at the local level and those that need system
intervention.
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c. suggest that the staff wait until they have become more familiar with the labels
before taking further action.
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d. tell the staff that you will notify the pharmacy about these concerns and leave it up
to the pharmacy to decide what should be done.
Question 15
Question
15. Martin, the unit manager, receives complaints from community agencies that patients who
have been discharged from his unit seem to lack understanding about their disorder and
immediate strategies for managing elements of their care. Martin checks the patient teaching sheets and notes that the sheets are initialed by staff. He calls the agencies and indicates that teaching has been done. Martin’s follow-up to complaints from the community is:
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a. appropriate and indicates that he has assumed accountability for the actions of his
staff.
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b. indicative that he does not clearly understand the concept of accountability.
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c. indicative of strong support for his staff and their autonomy.
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d. important in clarifying the difference between his accountability and that of the
community in patient care.
Question 16
Question
16. Sarah determines, in partnership with her patient, that current medications are not enabling her patient, a married account executive with fibromyalgia, to continue with her employment and family responsibilities. After searching for additional information on fibromyalgia, Sarah finds nonpharmacologic interventions that are supported through credible evidence. Sarah suggests that the patient, her physician, and she meet to discuss the medications and possible options and a plan of care for the patient’s discharge. This action exemplifies which of the four historical concepts?
Question 17
Question
17. In looking at an organizational chart for her institution, Jennifer notes that nursing is led at the senior level by a non-nurse executive. Jennifer expresses concern that this is a
Answer
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a. a concern that resource allocation will be made on a business and not a
professional model.
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b. the dissatisfaction that occurs when lack of autonomy is given to nurses.
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c. concern with the nonadvancement of nursing practice in the institution.
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d. an awareness of how organizational culture is reflected in organizational structure.
Question 18
Question
18. Government and third-party payers announce reduction of compensation for the delivery of patient services. Hospital STV has a flat organizational structure. After the funding announcements, senior officials at the hospital meet and make decisions regarding cost containment of new revenue streams. This action is consistent with:
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a. the practice of leaving financial decisions with senior officials who understand the total context of funding.
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b. a tendency to concentrate decision making during economic downturns at the top administrative level.
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c. a need to make expedient decisions that are likely to be poorly received by staff.
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d. ensuring that decisions with regard to cost are made equitably across all
departments.
Question 19
Question
19. In Hospital STV, senior administration is strongly oriented toward fiscal and social conservatism. The nursing department is deeply concerned with the provision of quality to the community, which includes a high number of poor and unemployed. To accomplish the goals of the nursing department, resources need to be allocated that administration is not able to allocate. Nursing and administration:
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a. are engaged in shared governance.
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b. are involved in an irreconcilable conflict of interests.
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c. represent separate subcultures in the institution.
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d. represent union and nonunion conflict.
Question 20
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20. On Unit 62, the nurses and the unit manager have been involved in shared decision making related to the model of nursing care delivery that the unit will adopt. All individuals have participated and been involved in decision making and implementation of changes. When issues arise during implementation, it is expected that:
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a. accountability resides entirely with the unit manager.
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b. individual expertise will be utilized to provide solutions, but that responsibility for
the change is shared.
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c. no one really has any accountability or responsibility for the changes.
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D. this will contribute to widespread skepticism among the staff about the probability of success.
Question 21
Question
21. Senior executives at Hospital A determine that the hospital will engage in a strategic planning process after changes in healthcare funding and concerns expressed in the community about care that is being delivered at the hospital. The senior executives decide on a participatory process in which staff are widely consulted regarding input about the organization and the external environment and are actively invited to be part of decisions related to the mission statement, goals, and objectives. For true shared governance to be seen as part of this approach:
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a. it must be evident in the outcomes of the process that staff and senior executives have partnered on the decisions
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b. stakeholders must be assured of the value of their input even though final decisions rest with senior executives.
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c. publications must clearly outline how staff input was solicited and obtained.
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d. staff must be reassured that significant concerns will be kept in mind even if they
have not been addressed in planning documents.
Question 22
Question
22. Nurses in an Emergency Department, in an inner-city neighborhood characterized by high levels of violence, are concerned with low levels of security presence in their department. Security levels have recently been decreased and the nurses question why this has occurred. An appropriate action would be to:
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a. provide nurses with information about rationale for recent changes in security staffing.
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b. refer the matter to the head of security and let her deal with it.
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c. provide mentors who can help nurses diffuse aggressiveness.
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d. accept the security levels as a consequence of funding realities.
Question 23
Question
23. You are hired as a new manager. When the offer of employment is made, you agree to at-will employment. Later, you become very concerned about the policies and practices of your organization and their impact on patient care. You speak with your supervisor several times about your concerns, but no action is taken. In considering your next steps, you:
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a. consider your increased vulnerability under the terms of your employment.
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b. recognize that your supervisor is more vulnerable than you are because of her more
senior position.
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c. are more likely as a leader to take action because you are well protected from
repercussions by federal and state regulations.
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d. contact your union to discuss your concerns and review your options.
Question 24
Question
24. Sandra, an RN on the surgery unit, is assisting with a procedure in the patient examination room. The physician orders a medication to be given through IV. Sandra questions the order, based on her knowledge of the patient’s history and of other medications that the patient has been given. The physician reiterates the order and Sandra refuses to give it. In this instance, Sandra is demonstrating:
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a. autonomy.
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b. accountability.
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c. authority.
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d. best practice.
Question 25
Question
1. Martin, the unit manager, receives complaints from community agencies that patients who
have been discharged from his unit seem to lack understanding about their disorder and
immediate strategies for managing elements of their care. Martin checks the patient teaching
sheets and notes that the sheets are initialed by staff . He calls the agencies and indicates that teaching has been done. Potential outcomes of Martin’s actions include: (Select all that apply.)
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a. poor morale on the unit.
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b. disruption in community relationships.
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c. corruption of patient-staff relationships.
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d. patient outcomes for quality care are met.