The older adult wants to appoint an attorney-in-fact with durable power of attorney (DPA) for a specific period around forthcoming surgery. Which should the nurse implement?
a. Help the patient in finding a qualified attorney.
b. Explain legal rights and responsibilities of an attorney-in-fact with DPA.
c. Suggest using a guardian for the surgical period.
d. Offer to act as the patient's guardian during surgery.
A
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A Correct. The nurse provides safe, effective, and comprehensive care but should not provide legal advice to an older adult; instead, the nurse should refer the pa-tient to experts in the law and can assist the older adult with finding a suitable attorney. The nurse must avoid participating in the choosing of the individual attorney to avoid conflict of interest.
B Incorrect. The nurse can provide short general explanations about powers of at-torney in order to assist the patient in finding suitable legal counsel, but the nurse should leave explanations about the law surrounding a DPA to the attor-neys.
C Incorrect. The nurse should avoid providing legal advice to an older adult to avoid conflict of interest.
D Incorrect. The nurse should avoid offering to participate in or participating in an older adult's legal affairs to avoid conflict of interest.
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