If a nurse reduces a client’s pain medication dosage without a prescription, the nurse is liable for which legal violation?

The correct answer is gross negligence. Gross negligence occurs when a nurse's actions demonstrate a severe lack of care that shows a clear disregard for the safety and welfare of the client. In this situation, reducing a client’s pain medication dosage without a prescription is a significant deviation from the standard of care expected of a professional nurse. Such an action can lead to serious harm or suffering for the client, thus highlighting a profound failure in the duty to provide appropriate care.

Since the nurse acted outside the bounds of prescribed medical directives and did so in a manner that could potentially endanger the client's well-being, this behavior exemplifies gross negligence rather than just negligence. Negligence typically involves a deviation from the standard of care, but gross negligence implies a more blatant disregard for the client's safety.

Assault and battery relate to issues of intentional harm or the threat of harm. Assault refers to the act of causing a person to fear imminent harm, whereas battery pertains to actual physical contact that is harmful or offensive. The scenario described does not involve those elements, as it is about a failure in professional judgment and duty rather than an intentional act of harm.