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This is a complete assessment as a licensee receives it, followed by the rubric graders apply to it. Both are the working documents rather than summaries written for boards, so what your board reads here is what the licensee and the graders read.
The instructions, as the licensee sees them
Compose an essay response for the case scenario below. The essay response is divided into four components: introductory opinion statements, consequences, public protection, and solutions. One hour is allotted for completion. While grammar, punctuation, and spelling are considered, the content and expression of your response carry more weight in scoring.
Introductory opinion statements. Present statements about the ethical issues and concerns involved in the given scenario. Additionally, identify when and how the licensee in the scenario disregarded professional conduct standards.
Consequences. Discuss the consequences that could arise from the scenario to all direct and indirect parties.
Public protection. Explain how and why the actions of the licensee in the scenario compromise community safety and welfare.
Solutions. Identify the actions needed to resolve the ethical violation or violations described in the scenario, and include what could prevent such violations from occurring in the future.
The scenario
A physician engaged in a personal relationship with a patient. During the course of the personal relationship, the physician prescribed Ativan, Tylenol III, Lorazepam, and Vicodin medications. The physician wrote a prescription order to the patient for Ativan on a prescription order form from one of the medical offices which had been closed for some time. The physician did not record or maintain a patient record of his evaluation and treatment of this patient, nor chart prescription orders prescribed to this patient.
This is one of more than 700 scenarios, each written to a specific occupation and violation type, so a nurse in a Boundaries case receives a different scenario than this one.
The rubric
Each section is scored 1 to 4 against these criteria, for a total of 4 to 16. Twelve is required to pass.
| Score | Introductory opinion statements | Consequences | Public protection | Solutions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Outstanding | Comprehensively identifies and summarizes the ethical issues. Comprehensively explains when and how they are problematic. Identifies embedded or implicit issues and how they relate to each other | Comprehensively identifies short-term, long-term, tangible, and intangible consequences, including those implicit in the assumptions and implications of positions and arguments. Identifies all directly involved parties and comprehensively identifies indirectly involved parties | Provides a comprehensive explanation of how and why the violations compromise community safety and welfare | Comprehensively explains how, why, and which main methods are needed to resolve and prevent the violations. Describes potential alternative approaches to the problem |
| 3 Sufficient to pass | Identifies and summarizes the main ethical issues. Explains when and how they are problematic | Identifies the main short-term, long-term, tangible, and intangible consequences. Identifies all directly involved parties and the majority of indirectly involved parties | Explains how and why the violations compromise community safety and welfare | Explains how, why, and which methods are most relevant for resolving and preventing the violations |
| 2 Insufficient to pass | Identifies the main ethical issues but fails to summarize or adequately explain when and how they are problematic | Fails to adequately identify the main consequences. Identifies all directly involved parties but fails to adequately identify indirectly involved parties | Provides an incomplete explanation of how and why the violations compromise community safety and welfare | Incompletely explains how, why, and which methods are most relevant for resolving and preventing the violations |
| 1 Extremely insufficient | Fails to identify, summarize, and explain any of the ethical issues | Fails to identify any of the consequences. Fails to identify all directly involved parties and any indirectly involved parties | Provides no explanation of how or why the violations compromise community safety and welfare | Provides no explanation of how, why, or which methods are relevant for resolving and preventing the violations |
There is no zero band, so the lowest possible score for a section is 1.
Using it
The rubric is published for boards and for licensees, and it is the same document graders work from. Boards use it to read a score report; licensees use it to understand what a response has to do.
For how the scores are produced and how consistency is maintained across graders, see How an Assessment Is Scored. For reading a report your board has received, see How to Read a Score Report.
