Which situation exemplifies both assault and battery?
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A
The nurse becomes angry, calls the client offensive names, and withholds treatment.
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B
The nurse threatens to tie down the client and then does so against the clients wishes.
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C
The nurse hides the clients clothes and medicates the client to prevent elopement.
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D
The nurse restrains the client without just cause and communicates this to family.
The best way to answer the question is The nurse threatens to tie down the client and then does so against the clients wishes. .
A. The nurse becomes angry, calls the client offensive names, and withholds treatment.
This could seem tempting if the idea in “The nurse becomes angry, calls the client offensive names, and withholds treatment.” addresses a different mechanism or priority than the one emphasized by the stem The wording does not track the stem’s main cue, so selecting it would shift the nurse away from the most precise interpretation or priority.
B. The nurse threatens to tie down the client and then does so against the clients wishes.
This works since The nurse in this situation has committed both the acts of assault and battery. Assault refers to an action that results in fear and apprehension that the person will be touched without consent. Battery is the touching of another person without consent. Need: Safe and Effective Care Environment The underlying principle in the stem is best addressed by choosing the response that is both specific to the cue provided and consistent with evidence-informed psychiatric nursing practice. From a nursing standpoint, this selection guides assessment and interventions toward what is most clinically meaningful in the moment—risk reduction, safety, accurate appraisal, and support for adaptive coping.
C. The nurse hides the clients clothes and medicates the client to prevent elopement.
This might be chosen when the idea in “The nurse hides the clients clothes and medicates the client to prevent elopement.” addresses a different mechanism or priority than the one emphasized by the stem The wording does not track the stem’s main cue, so selecting it would shift the nurse away from the most precise interpretation or priority.
D. The nurse restrains the client without just cause and communicates this to family.
This sounds reasonable when the idea in “The nurse restrains the client without just cause and communicates this to family.” addresses a different mechanism or priority than the one emphasized by the stem The wording does not track the stem’s main cue, so selecting it would shift the nurse away from the most precise interpretation or priority.
Conclusion
Identify the stem’s key cue, then select the option that responds to it without overinterpreting the scenario. The distractors are broader and depend on assumptions that are not stated.