The nurse is aware that an ethics committee in a health care facility

The nurse is aware that an ethics committee in a health care facility serves to:

1. Interview all persons involved in a case
2. Illustrate circumstances that demonstrate malpractice
3. Serve as a resource for specific situations that may occur
4. Examine similar previous instances for comparison of outcome decisions

ANSWER

ANS: 3
Ethics committees serve as a resource to support the processing of ethical dilemmas. Ethics com-mittees serve several purposes: education, policy recommendation, and case consultation or re-view. Although an ethics committee may gather further information, ethics committees do not interview all persons involved in a case. Rather, they offer consultation or case review. Illustrat-ing circumstances that demonstrate malpractice is not a purpose of an ethics committee. Examin-ing similar previous instances for comparison of outcome decisions may be part of data gathering to help process an ethical dilemma or for policy recommendation, but it is not the purpose of an ethics committee.