What term describes the failure of a nurse to supervise medication administration appropriately, resulting in potential harm?

• A. Negligence
• B. Ethical violation
• C. Professional misconduct
• D. The charge nurse needs to pull her weigh

Answer: (A)

Negligence is about not meeting the expected standard of care in a given situation, such as supervising medication administration. Nurses have a duty to monitor how meds are given, verify dosages, check patient identifiers, watch for interactions, and intervene if something looks off. When that duty is not fulfilled—when supervision is inadequate—the result is a breach of the standard of care. Even if no actual harm occurs, the breach creates a foreseeable risk of harm, which is the essence of negligence in healthcare.

Think of it as failing to act as a reasonably prudent nurse would under those circumstances. The focus isn’t on intent to harm but on whether the chosen approach to supervision was appropriate and safe. If supervision or verification is skipped or lax and that could reasonably lead to harm, that qualifies as negligence.

Ethical violation and professional misconduct are broader or different concepts: ethics concerns principles of right and wrong in care, and professional misconduct covers broader rule violations by a professional body. The option about a nonterm used in practice isn’t a recognized concept. The strongest fit for describing a failure to supervise medication administration leading to potential harm is negligence.