A nurse administers oxygen via nasal cannula and a nitroglycerin tablet per standing orders to a patient with chest pain and diaphoresis, but does not notify the health care provider. The patient then suffers from a myocardial infarction. The nurse may be liable for which of the following charges?

Explanation

•Nurses have a duty to assess, monitor, and communicate with the health care provider if the patient's situation changes. In this case, the nurse failed to communicate the patient's symptoms of chest pain and diaphoresis and the interventions provided, and the patient suffered a negative outcome as a result.

•This failure has resulted in negligence, or the failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would have in similar circumstances.

•Incorrect: The duty to 'protect from harm' requires the nurse to protect patients in a vulnerable state when they cannot distinguish harmless situations from harmful ones.

•Incorrect: Failure to react and failure to consult are made-up terms.

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