Which conduct related to professional boundaries can lead to disciplinary action?

• A. Strictly adhering to personal beliefs when providing care
• B. Boundary violations such as inappropriate relationships or dual relationships
• C. Following physician orders exactly
• D. Refusing to treat a patient due to bias

Answer: (B)

Maintaining professional boundaries is essential to protect patient welfare and keep the nurse–patient relationship focused on care, not personal advantage. When those boundaries are crossed—through inappropriate relationships or dual relationships where the nurse assumes multiple roles that compromise judgment or exploit the patient—disciplinary action can result. Boundary violations erode trust, create conflicts of interest, and put patients at risk, so most licensing standards, including Florida’s, hold them as grounds for discipline.

Other options don’t fit this focus as directly. Strictly adhering to personal beliefs can affect care and is unprofessional if it overrides patient needs, but it isn’t the boundary-violation conduct being tested. Following physician orders exactly is expected professional conduct. Refusing to treat a patient due to bias is discriminatory behavior and also unprofessional, but it describes bias-related care avoidance rather than a boundary violation between professional roles.