A nurse in charge of a busy ward has a trained ward assistant (unlicensed) available. Which task can she safely delegate to the assistant?

Measuring and recording the oral intake of a stable patient

Teaching a newly diagnosed diabetic to inject insulin

Assessing a newly admitted patient's pain and pain history

Checking the response to IV furosemide given an hour ago

Under the Bolam test, which Indian courts also apply, a nurse's care is judged negligent only if it falls below the standard of:

A reasonably competent nurse accepted by a responsible body of peers

The most experienced nurse working in the same hospital

The highest standard described in current nursing textbooks

The written expectations of the patient and family

A patient slips in the ward bathroom and is found unhurt. Regarding the incident report, the nurse should:

Complete it with the facts and keep it out of the patient's chart

Fill it in only if the patient later develops an injury

Record in it which staff member she thinks caused the fall

Write in the nursing notes that an incident report has been filed

An alert adult is to have a planned hernia repair. He received IM midazolam premedication 20 minutes ago and is now drowsy. The surgeon notices that the consent form is unsigned and asks the nurse to get it signed now. What is the most appropriate action by the nurse?

Tell the surgeon that consent cannot be validly taken now

Take the patient's thumb impression on the form

Have the patient sign with a relative present as witness

Ask his wife to sign the form on his behalf

Nursing management, leadership and legal aspects

15 AIIMS NORCET (Nursing Officer) practice questions on Nursing management, leadership and legal aspects, part of Nursing Management, Research and Education. The first 15 are below; the first 5 with answers and explanations (tap Show answer after you have chosen), the rest in Learn with a free account.

Question 1 · Easy
The National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) is a constituent board of the:
1. AIndian Nursing Council
2. BMedical Council of India
3. CQuality Council of India
4. DBureau of Indian Standards
Show answerHide answer
Answer: C · Quality Council of India
NABH was set up in 2006 as a constituent board of the Quality Council of India to run accreditation programmes for hospitals and other healthcare organisations. Accreditation is voluntary and checks that a hospital meets standards for patient safety, rights, infection control and quality improvement. NABH also has a separate nursing excellence certification. The Indian Nursing Council regulates nursing education, not hospital accreditation.
- A: The Indian Nursing Council regulates nursing education and registration, not hospital accreditation.
- B: The Medical Council regulated medical education; it never ran hospital accreditation.
- D: The Bureau of Indian Standards sets product and industrial standards, not hospital accreditation.
Question 2 · Medium
A nurse in charge of a busy ward has a trained ward assistant (unlicensed) available. Which task can she safely delegate to the assistant?
1. AMeasuring and recording the oral intake of a stable patient
2. BTeaching a newly diagnosed diabetic to inject insulin
3. CAssessing a newly admitted patient's pain and pain history
4. DChecking the response to IV furosemide given an hour ago
Show answerHide answer
Answer: A · Measuring and recording the oral intake of a stable patient
Routine, predictable tasks on stable patients with a standard procedure, such as measuring intake and output, can go to unlicensed staff. Assessment, health teaching and evaluating a patient's response need nursing judgement and stay with the registered nurse. The nurse who delegates remains accountable and must check that the task was done. The five rights of delegation are the right task, circumstance, person, direction and supervision.
- B: Teaching a new skill needs a nurse who can assess understanding and correct errors.
- C: Admission assessment requires nursing judgement and cannot be delegated.
- D: Evaluating a drug's effect is part of the nursing process and stays with the nurse.
Question 3 · Medium
Under the Bolam test, which Indian courts also apply, a nurse's care is judged negligent only if it falls below the standard of:
1. AThe most experienced nurse working in the same hospital
2. BThe highest standard described in current nursing textbooks
3. CA reasonably competent nurse accepted by a responsible body of peers
4. DThe written expectations of the patient and family
Show answerHide answer
Answer: C · A reasonably competent nurse accepted by a responsible body of peers
The Bolam test (Bolam vs Friern Hospital Management Committee, 1957) asks whether the professional acted in a way accepted as proper by a responsible body of practitioners skilled in that field. The standard is that of an ordinary competent practitioner, not the best possible one. The Supreme Court of India applied this standard in Jacob Mathew vs State of Punjab. A nurse is therefore compared with what a reasonable nurse of similar training would have done.
- A: The law expects ordinary competence, not the skill of the most expert colleague.
- B: Negligence is not judged against an ideal; reasonable care is enough.
- D: The patient's expectations do not set the legal standard of professional care.
Question 4 · Easy
A patient slips in the ward bathroom and is found unhurt. Regarding the incident report, the nurse should:
1. AFill it in only if the patient later develops an injury
2. BRecord in it which staff member she thinks caused the fall
3. CComplete it with the facts and keep it out of the patient's chart
4. DWrite in the nursing notes that an incident report has been filed
Show answerHide answer
Answer: C · Complete it with the facts and keep it out of the patient's chart
An incident report is a risk-management and quality document used to find and correct unsafe systems, so it is filled for every unusual event, with or without injury. It records objective facts: time, place, what was seen, the patient's condition and the action taken. The chart records the fall and the assessment, but it does not mention the report itself. Blame and opinion have no place in it.
- A: Near misses and falls without injury must be reported too; they reveal the same unsafe system.
- B: The report states facts only; opinions about fault are left out.
- D: Mentioning the report in the chart turns a confidential quality tool into part of the legal record.
Question 5 · Hard
An alert adult is to have a planned hernia repair. He received IM midazolam premedication 20 minutes ago and is now drowsy. The surgeon notices that the consent form is unsigned and asks the nurse to get it signed now. What is the most appropriate action by the nurse?
1. ATake the patient's thumb impression on the form
2. BHave the patient sign with a relative present as witness
3. CAsk his wife to sign the form on his behalf
4. DTell the surgeon that consent cannot be validly taken now
Show answerHide answer
Answer: D · Tell the surgeon that consent cannot be validly taken now
Valid informed consent needs a competent adult, adequate information and free choice. A patient under the effect of a sedative premedication cannot be considered competent to give consent for an elective procedure. Because this adult was competent before and the surgery is not an emergency, a relative cannot consent for him; the operation should wait until he can consent himself. Explaining the procedure and obtaining consent is the surgeon's duty, not the nurse's.
- A: A thumb impression replaces a signature for illiterate patients; it does not restore capacity.
- B: A witness does not make up for the patient's lack of capacity under sedation.
- C: Proxy consent by a relative is used for incompetent patients or emergencies, not to save time in elective surgery.
Question 6 · Medium
A critical care unit plans to buy two new ventilators that are expensive and will be used for many years. In the hospital budget, this purchase belongs to the:
1. ACash budget
2. BCapital budget
3. CPersonnel budget
4. DOperating budget
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 7 · Easy
In Luther Gulick's acronym POSDCORB for the functions of a manager, the letters "CO" stand for:
1. AControlling
2. BCoordinating
3. CCommunicating
4. DCounselling
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 8 · Medium
In a medical ward, one registered nurse is given total responsibility for planning the care of the same four patients for 24 hours a day, from admission to discharge, and associate nurses follow her plan on other shifts. This is:
1. AFunctional nursing
2. BTeam nursing
3. CCase method
4. DPrimary nursing
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 9 · Hard
A nurse gives a patient paracetamol 1 g at 1 pm instead of the prescribed 2 pm. She informs the doctor, monitors the patient, and he remains well with no adverse effect. His son later files a civil negligence claim. What is the most likely outcome?
1. AThe claim fails because the drug was given on the doctor's order
2. BThe claim succeeds because a duty was breached
3. CThe claim succeeds because the nurse admitted the error
4. DThe claim fails because no harm resulted
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 10 · Medium
In India, a patient who has paid for treatment may file a complaint of medical negligence under consumer protection law as a "deficiency in service". The Supreme Court case that brought medical services within the Consumer Protection Act is:
1. AAruna Shanbaug vs Union of India
2. BCommon Cause vs Union of India
3. CJacob Mathew vs State of Punjab
4. DIndian Medical Association vs V.P. Shantha
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 11 · Medium
A nurse forgets to raise the cot sides of a sedated patient, who falls and fractures his wrist. To prove negligence, the patient must show that the nurse owed a duty, breached it, that harm occurred, and that:
1. AThe breach of duty directly caused the harm
2. BThe nurse had acted with criminal intent
3. CThe nurse was not registered with the council
4. DThe hospital had no written fall-prevention policy
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 12 · Medium
A hospital's infection control committee tracks the monthly rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infections per 1,000 catheter days. In Donabedian's model, this indicator measures:
1. AStructure
2. BOutcome
3. CProcess
4. DInput
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 13 · Hard
A surgical ward has 36 patients who each need an average of 4 hours of nursing care per day. Each nurse works an 8-hour shift. Before any leave reserve is added, how many nursing staff are needed per day?
1. A6
2. B24
3. C18
4. D12
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 14 · Easy
The term "span of control" in nursing management refers to the:
1. ANumber of staff who report directly to one manager
2. BRange of tasks that one nurse may legally perform
3. CLength of time a supervisor is on duty each shift
4. DNumber of levels in the hospital's chain of command
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 15 · Easy
A ward sister gives her experienced team almost no direction and leaves nearly every decision to the staff themselves. Which leadership style is this?
1. ABureaucratic
2. BAutocratic
3. CLaissez-faire
4. DDemocratic
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account

More Nursing Management, Research and Education questions

Answer them one by one, keep your score and see your weak topics in Learn. Signed-out visitors try 25 per exam; sign in with Google to see them all.

Study Nursing Management, Research and Education

Nursing management, leadership and legal aspects

The National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) is a constituent board of the:

A nurse in charge of a busy ward has a trained ward assistant (unlicensed) available. Which task can she safely delegate to the assistant?

Under the Bolam test, which Indian courts also apply, a nurse's care is judged negligent only if it falls below the standard of:

A patient slips in the ward bathroom and is found unhurt. Regarding the incident report, the nurse should:

An alert adult is to have a planned hernia repair. He received IM midazolam premedication 20 minutes ago and is now drowsy. The surgeon notices that the consent form is unsigned and asks the nurse to get it signed now. What is the most appropriate action by the nurse?

A critical care unit plans to buy two new ventilators that are expensive and will be used for many years. In the hospital budget, this purchase belongs to the:

In Luther Gulick's acronym POSDCORB for the functions of a manager, the letters "CO" stand for:

In a medical ward, one registered nurse is given total responsibility for planning the care of the same four patients for 24 hours a day, from admission to discharge, and associate nurses follow her plan on other shifts. This is:

A nurse gives a patient paracetamol 1 g at 1 pm instead of the prescribed 2 pm. She informs the doctor, monitors the patient, and he remains well with no adverse effect. His son later files a civil negligence claim. What is the most likely outcome?

In India, a patient who has paid for treatment may file a complaint of medical negligence under consumer protection law as a "deficiency in service". The Supreme Court case that brought medical services within the Consumer Protection Act is:

A nurse forgets to raise the cot sides of a sedated patient, who falls and fractures his wrist. To prove negligence, the patient must show that the nurse owed a duty, breached it, that harm occurred, and that:

A hospital's infection control committee tracks the monthly rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infections per 1,000 catheter days. In Donabedian's model, this indicator measures:

A surgical ward has 36 patients who each need an average of 4 hours of nursing care per day. Each nurse works an 8-hour shift. Before any leave reserve is added, how many nursing staff are needed per day?

The term "span of control" in nursing management refers to the:

A ward sister gives her experienced team almost no direction and leaves nearly every decision to the staff themselves. Which leadership style is this?