Ethics and Communication Flashcards
7 cards from real ACCS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Ethics and Communication flashcards as text
Which element is MOST essential when obtaining informed consent for a high-risk procedure from an ICU patient?
Answer: Disclosure of risks, benefits, alternatives, and confirmation of patient understanding
Valid informed consent requires disclosure, comprehension, voluntariness, and decision-making capacity.
A critically ill patient develops sudden delirium, rendering her unable to make decisions. Her previously expressed wish was to avoid mechanical ventilation. What guides care?
Answer: Honor her previously expressed wishes as documented or reported, and involve the surrogate
Substituted judgment requires surrogates and clinicians to honor the patient's previously expressed values and wishes.
Which practice BEST prevents communication failures during ICU care transitions?
Answer: Using a structured handoff tool such as SBAR or I-PASS
Structured handoff tools like SBAR reduce information omissions and miscommunications during patient care transitions.
A nurse discovers that an ICU patient signed an advance directive while cognitively impaired due to acute illness. What is the appropriate response?
Answer: Question the validity of the directive and report concerns to the medical team and ethics committee
Advance directives are only valid when signed by a person with decision-making capacity; cognitive impairment at the time of signing raises validity concerns.
Which statement MOST accurately describes the role of a hospital ethics committee in the ICU?
Answer: To provide consultation, mediation, and guidance when ethical conflicts arise
Ethics committees serve a consultative and advisory function, helping to resolve conflicts and guide decision-making without having decision-making authority themselves.
An ICU nurse witnesses a colleague deliberately falsify documentation to conceal a medication error that harmed a patient. What is the nurse's ethical obligation?
Answer: Report the falsification through appropriate institutional channels
Veracity and fidelity obligate nurses to report falsification; failure to do so compounds the ethical violation and endangers patient safety.
When a family from a non-English-speaking background requires interpretation during a critical care goals-of-care discussion, which resource is MOST appropriate?
Answer: A qualified professional medical interpreter
Professional medical interpreters are trained to convey complex clinical information accurately and maintain confidentiality, unlike ad hoc family interpreters.