Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse Practice Exam

The act of battery qualifies as an intentional tort because it involves a purposeful and willful action that causes harmful or offensive contact with another person. In a healthcare context, battery can occur when a nurse performs a procedure or treatment on a patient without their consent, thus violating the patient's autonomy and rights. The key aspect of an intentional tort is the intention behind the act; the individual must have acted with the intent to cause harm or to engage in the act that results in harm.

Negligence, on the other hand, involves failing to exercise an appropriate level of care, which typically lacks the element of intent. Breach of confidentiality relates to the mishandling of patient information and does not meet the criteria for intent to cause damage. Similarly, abandonment refers to a nurse's failure to continue care, but it does not inherently involve an intention to harm or act offensively against a patient. Therefore, battery stands out as the clear example of an intentional tort in this context.