According to the ethical guidelines for a number of professional organizations, incompetence, corruption, or dishonest conduct on the part of health care practitioners is unethical and never acceptable. In addition to posing a real or possible threat to patients, such actions undermine the public's confidence in the health care system and could cause adverse events that in turn could lead to lawsuits. Look at the following two questions and determine whether each of the behaviors described is unethical, illegal, or both, and explain how each might lead to liability."

1. A nursing assistant slaps an elderly patient in a skilled nursing care facility for calling the nursing assistant a name.

2. An anesthesiologist has never administered anesthesia to a child but conceals this fact from the surgeon who likes the anesthesiologist and requests them for an upcoming procedure on a 6-year-old.

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