PLAB 2 GMC Good Medical Practice & Professional Standards 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A junior doctor notices that a consultant colleague regularly arrives to ward rounds smelling of alcohol and appearing unsteady. What is the most appropriate first action?
- Report the concern to your clinical supervisor or the medical director (Correct answer)
- Confront the consultant privately and ask them to leave the ward
- Ignore the situation as it is not your responsibility to report consultants
- Document your observations and wait to see if the behaviour continues
Correct answer: Report the concern to your clinical supervisor or the medical director
GMC Good Medical Practice requires doctors to raise concerns about a colleague whose conduct, performance or health may be putting patients at risk, and the appropriate channel is through your supervisor or medical director.
Question 2: Under GMC Good Medical Practice, which of the following best describes the duty of candour?
- Doctors must tell patients about any mistake that has caused or may cause harm, apologise, and explain what will be done to prevent recurrence (Correct answer)
- Doctors must only disclose errors to their supervising consultant and never directly to patients
- Doctors are encouraged but not required to disclose errors if the patient is unlikely to find out
- Doctors must complete an incident report form but are not obliged to speak to the patient directly
Correct answer: Doctors must tell patients about any mistake that has caused or may cause harm, apologise, and explain what will be done to prevent recurrence
The professional duty of candour, set out in GMC guidance, requires doctors to be open and honest when something has gone wrong that has caused or could cause patient harm.
Question 3: A GP is treating a patient who is also a close friend. The patient requests a prescription for a controlled drug for pain relief after a minor procedure. What is the most appropriate action?
- Decline to prescribe and arrange for the patient to be seen by another doctor (Correct answer)
- Prescribe as requested because you know the patient well and trust them
- Prescribe a smaller quantity than requested as a compromise
- Only prescribe if a second doctor countersigns the prescription
Correct answer: Decline to prescribe and arrange for the patient to be seen by another doctor
GMC guidance advises that wherever possible you should avoid treating those with whom you have a close personal relationship, especially when prescribing controlled drugs, to maintain objectivity and professional boundaries.
Question 4: According to GMC guidance, what is a doctor's responsibility regarding maintaining their medical knowledge and skills?
- Doctors must keep their knowledge and skills up to date throughout their careers and participate in continuing professional development (Correct answer)
- Doctors are only required to update their knowledge when their appraisal identifies a specific deficit
- Doctors need only keep up to date in their specialty area and not in general medicine
- Updating knowledge is encouraged but carries no professional obligation under GMC standards
Correct answer: Doctors must keep their knowledge and skills up to date throughout their careers and participate in continuing professional development
GMC Good Medical Practice places a clear professional obligation on all doctors to keep their knowledge and skills up to date and to participate in continuing medical education throughout their careers.
Question 5: A doctor receives a gift of significant value from a patient who is grateful for their care. What is the most appropriate response?
- Decline the gift politely, explaining that accepting gifts of significant value is not consistent with professional boundaries (Correct answer)
- Accept the gift as refusing it would offend the patient and damage the therapeutic relationship
- Accept the gift but declare it in the hospital's gifts register
- Accept the gift only if it is offered after the episode of care has ended
Correct answer: Decline the gift politely, explaining that accepting gifts of significant value is not consistent with professional boundaries
GMC guidance states that you must not ask for or accept gifts, loans or other benefits that could be seen to affect your professional judgement, and significant gifts should be declined to maintain trust.
Question 6: A doctor working in A&E is approached by a journalist asking for details about a celebrity patient admitted after a road traffic accident. What should the doctor do?
- Decline to provide any information and direct the journalist to the hospital communications team (Correct answer)
- Provide basic factual information only, as this is in the public interest
- Confirm the patient's admission but provide no clinical details
- Refer the journalist to the patient directly so they can decide what to share
Correct answer: Decline to provide any information and direct the journalist to the hospital communications team
Patient confidentiality must be maintained regardless of the patient's public profile; any media enquiries should be directed to the official hospital communications department.
Question 7: According to GMC guidance on social media, which of the following is a doctor's professional responsibility?
- Doctors must maintain patient confidentiality and not post information that could identify a patient, even if posted in their personal capacity (Correct answer)
- Doctors are free to post about patients on personal social media accounts as long as they do not name the patient
- Doctors may share clinical photos on professional networking sites without patient consent if educational value is high
- GMC social media guidance only applies to posts made during working hours
Correct answer: Doctors must maintain patient confidentiality and not post information that could identify a patient, even if posted in their personal capacity
GMC guidance makes clear that professional standards, including confidentiality, apply to a doctor's online activity regardless of whether they are posting in a personal or professional capacity.
PLAB 2 GMC Good Medical Practice & Professional Standards 1
A junior doctor notices that a consultant colleague regularly arrives to ward rounds smelling of alcohol and appearing unsteady.
What is the most appropriate first action?