Final answer:
A medical assistant witnessing a coworker commit an unlawful and wrongful act should identify it as intentional negligence or malfeasance, especially in severe cases such as causing patients to contract HIV due to tampering with medication.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a medical assistant witnesses a coworker knowingly commit an unlawful and wrongful act, this act can be identified as intentional negligence or malfeasance. In the clinical scenario where a healthcare worker was caught stealing syringes and replacing them with syringes filled with unknown substances, leading to patients contracting HIV, this behavior goes beyond negligence to willful wrongdoing. Such actions constitute a serious breach of the trust placed in healthcare professionals and can lead to both criminal charges and civil liability for the healthcare worker involved.