The nurse makes this entry in a client's medical record: "The client is a drug addict and is always asking for more medication than what is necessary." In this situation, the nurse may be charged with which of the following?

Question

1. Defamation
2. Slander
3. Libel
4. Incompetence

Answer 1

Correct Answer: 3
Rationale 1: Defamation is verbal communication that is false or made with a careless disregard for the truth and that result in injury to the reputation of a person.
Rationale 2: Slander is defamation by the spoken word.
Rationale 3: Libel is defamation of character by means of print, writing, or pictures. Putting a statement such as this in the client's medical record is, first, making a diagnosis which the nurse is not qualified to do and, second, making an assumption about the client's need for medication which is a personal attitude about how the client responds.
Rationale 4: Incompetence relates to the ineffective or improper execution of nursing tasks.