Professional Ethics and Standards Flashcards

Which of the following best defines 'moral distress' as experienced by anesthesiologists?

Answer: Knowing the right ethical action but being constrained from performing it

Moral distress arises when institutional, hierarchical, or situational constraints prevent a clinician from acting on a clear ethical judgment.

The ABA Standard of Good Medical Practice requires anesthesiologists to obtain and document informed consent because it:

Answer: Ensures patient autonomy and shared decision-making are honored

Informed consent is fundamentally an ethical process that respects patient autonomy and enables genuine shared decision-making.

An anesthesiologist who is also a department chair uses scheduling power to restrict cases for a colleague who reported them for a quality concern. This constitutes:

Answer: Retaliation, which is prohibited under professional and legal standards

Using administrative authority to punish a colleague for good-faith quality reporting is prohibited retaliation under both ethical and whistleblower protection frameworks.

When an anesthesiologist suspects a terminally ill patient's pain management is being under-treated due to provider opiophobia, the most ethical action is to:

Answer: Advocate for adequate analgesia consistent with palliative care standards

Advocating for adequate pain control in terminally ill patients through appropriate channels is both an ethical duty and consistent with palliative care standards.

A pharmaceutical company offers to fund an anesthesiologist's CME conference attendance in exchange for prescribing data. Ethically, the anesthesiologist should:

Answer: Decline because sharing prescribing data for funding creates a conflict of interest

Exchanging prescribing data for funding creates an impermissible conflict of interest and compromises clinical independence.

During a case, an anesthesiologist notices a sponge count discrepancy suggesting a retained surgical item. The surgeon dismisses the concern. The anesthesiologist should:

Answer: Persist in advocating for imaging or re-exploration before wound closure

Patient safety advocacy requires persisting in raising concerns about retained items even when dismissed by the surgeon.

Which of the following actions would be considered a violation of the ABA's policy on physician self-treatment?

Answer: Prescribing controlled substances to oneself for chronic pain management

Self-prescribing controlled substances is prohibited because it bypasses objective clinical judgment and creates significant risk for impairment.