A nurse manager is providing information to a group of newly licensed nurses about regulation of nursing practice and healthcare.
Which of the following is mandated at the federal level?

Choice A rationale

Offering to meet with a client's home health nurse after discharge demonstrates appropriate interprofessional collaboration and continuity of care. This action facilitates a smooth transition for the client by ensuring that relevant health information is accurately conveyed and understood by the home health provider, promoting optimal post-discharge outcomes and preventing fragmented care.

Choice B rationale

Informing the client that she cannot accept a personal gift aligns with ethical nursing practice and professional boundaries. Nurses are obligated to maintain a professional relationship, avoiding situations that could lead to actual or perceived conflicts of interest, exploitation, or compromise the nurse-client therapeutic relationship.

Choice C rationale

Recommending the client contact clergy for spiritual counsel demonstrates an understanding of holistic care, addressing the client's spiritual needs. This action respects the client's autonomy and acknowledges the significant role that spiritual well-being can play in a client's coping mechanisms and overall health outcomes.

Choice D rationale

Sharing personal contact information with the client blurs professional boundaries and can compromise the nurse-client relationship. This action creates a risk for dependency, manipulation, and potential exploitation, undermining the therapeutic nature of the interaction and violating professional conduct standards.

Choice A rationale

While reporting the violation is a necessary step, the immediate priority in this situation is to halt the ongoing breach of confidentiality. Taking immediate action to stop the conversation directly addresses the ethical and legal violation occurring in real-time, preventing further disclosure of protected health information. Reporting would follow after the immediate cessation of the breach.

Choice B rationale

The most immediate and appropriate action is to remind the nurses of the need for confidentiality. This directly addresses the breach as it is occurring, potentially preventing further disclosure of sensitive patient information. This intervention upholds ethical principles, legal obligations under HIPAA, and professional responsibility by intervening to protect patient privacy without escalating the situation unnecessarily.

Choice C rationale

Completing an incident report is an important step for documenting and addressing the violation after it has occurred and been stopped. However, it is not the first action to take in the moment when the breach is actively happening. The priority is to stop the confidential information from being further disseminated, which directly protects the patient's privacy.

Choice D rationale

Joining the conversation to gather more information would be a serious breach of professional conduct and ethics. It would not only exacerbate the confidentiality violation but also demonstrate a lack of understanding of professional boundaries and patient privacy. The nurse's role is to protect patient information, not to participate in its unauthorized disclosure.