A licensed practical/vocational nurse cared for a client who was bedridden at his home. The nurse did not regularly turn the client, or provide care after the client was incontinent of urine and stool
The client developed a stage 3 pressure ulcer on his buttocks. He became very ill and had to be admitted to the hospital with sepsis (the infected pressure ulcer infection spread throughout the bloodstream). The client died. Which best describes what occurred?
A) The nurse cared for the client in the particular situation the same way a prudent nurse would have.
B) The nurse committed gross negligence as a result of not providing care a prudent nurse would have provided in the same situation.
C) The nurse committed negligence because of not providing the care a prudent nurse would have provided in the same situation.
D) The nurse intentionally physically abused the client, resulting in death, which constitutes murder.
Ans: B
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The nurse did not act in a way that a prudent nurse (a nurse with the same level of education and experience in the same situation) would have acted because nursing students are taught from the beginning of the schooling to turn a client who cannot at least every 2 hours and to check a client with every turn for incontinence and cleanse and dry the skin. The definition of gross negligence is met by the nurse not providing adequate care resulting in significant harm to the client, and in this case death from sepsis resulting from the pressure ulcer that arises from not relieving pressure to dependent areas of the body lying in one position for too long of a time. The nurse shows no intent to physically abuse or murder the client.
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