CPC Ethical and Legal Principles 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A community paramedic visits a patient who has a valid DNR order but whose family members are demanding resuscitation be attempted. What is the legally and ethically correct action?
- Honor the DNR order and explain its legal validity to the family (Correct answer)
- Attempt resuscitation to satisfy the family's wishes
- Contact medical direction to override the DNR
- Document the family's request and defer the decision to the hospital
Correct answer: Honor the DNR order and explain its legal validity to the family
A valid DNR order is a legally binding document that must be honored regardless of family wishes.
Question 2: Which legal doctrine holds that a community paramedic may be held liable for the negligent acts of unlicensed personnel they supervise?
- Respondeat superior (Correct answer)
- Res ipsa loquitur
- Proximate cause
- Comparative negligence
Correct answer: Respondeat superior
Respondeat superior ('let the master answer') holds supervisors liable for the negligent acts of those they supervise.
Question 3: A community paramedic discovers during a home visit that a patient's medication was stolen by a family member. What is the primary ethical obligation?
- Ensure patient safety and report suspected elder or vulnerable adult abuse per mandatory reporting laws (Correct answer)
- Confront the family member directly and recover the medications
- Document the finding only and make no report
- Ignore the situation as it is a family matter
Correct answer: Ensure patient safety and report suspected elder or vulnerable adult abuse per mandatory reporting laws
Suspected theft of medications from a vulnerable patient triggers mandatory reporting obligations and patient safety responsibilities.
Question 4: The ethical principle of justice in community paramedicine most directly relates to which of the following?
- Equitable distribution of healthcare resources and services across populations (Correct answer)
- Ensuring patient confidentiality at all times
- Obtaining valid informed consent before treatment
- Acting in the patient's best interest regardless of their wishes
Correct answer: Equitable distribution of healthcare resources and services across populations
Justice refers to fair and equitable distribution of healthcare resources and treatment without discrimination.
Question 5: A patient with schizophrenia refuses a recommended intervention. Under what condition may a community paramedic override this refusal?
- When the patient is determined to lack decision-making capacity at that time (Correct answer)
- Whenever the patient has a psychiatric diagnosis
- When family members provide consent on the patient's behalf
- When the paramedic believes the refusal is medically unwise
Correct answer: When the patient is determined to lack decision-making capacity at that time
A psychiatric diagnosis alone does not remove capacity; a formal determination of lacking decision-making capacity is required before overriding refusal.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes the legal concept of 'duty to act' for a community paramedic?
- A legal obligation to provide care once a provider-patient relationship is established (Correct answer)
- An obligation to act whenever any person in public appears ill
- The right to intervene in any emergency regardless of jurisdiction
- A moral but not legally enforceable obligation to render aid
Correct answer: A legal obligation to provide care once a provider-patient relationship is established
Duty to act is a legal obligation that arises once a provider-patient relationship has been established.
Question 7: A community paramedic receives a gift of significant monetary value from a grateful patient. What is the most ethically appropriate response?
- Decline the gift and explain that accepting it could compromise professional objectivity (Correct answer)
- Accept the gift to avoid offending the patient
- Accept the gift but report it to a supervisor
- Accept only if the gift is below a set dollar threshold
Correct answer: Decline the gift and explain that accepting it could compromise professional objectivity
Accepting significant gifts can create conflicts of interest and compromise professional integrity; declining maintains clear boundaries.
CPC Ethical and Legal Principles 2
A community paramedic visits a patient who has a valid DNR order but whose family members are demanding resuscitation be attempted.
What is the legally and ethically correct action?