Ethics and Professional Practice Flashcards
7 cards from real AMC MCQ 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 Professional Practice flashcards as text
A doctor posts a deidentified but recognisable patient case on social media. Why is this an ethical problem?
Answer: Patients may still be identifiable, breaching confidentiality and consent requirements
Even 'deidentified' posts can identify patients, so sharing without consent risks a confidentiality breach.
An interpreter is needed for a non-English-speaking patient consenting to surgery. Using the patient's young child to translate is inappropriate because:
Answer: It risks inaccurate translation and breaches confidentiality; a professional interpreter is required
Family members, especially children, may translate inaccurately and compromise privacy, so a professional interpreter is required.
A patient gives you an expensive gift after successful treatment. The most appropriate response is to:
Answer: Use professional judgement; small tokens may be acceptable but large gifts risk compromising the relationship and should generally be declined
Modest tokens of thanks may be acceptable, but significant gifts can create obligations and undermine professional boundaries.
A terminally ill patient with capacity completes an advance care directive refusing CPR. They later arrest. What governs your action?
Answer: Honour the valid advance care directive and withhold CPR
A valid advance care directive made by a competent patient must be respected.
Which situation is a recognised legal exception that may justify breaching patient confidentiality?
Answer: A serious and imminent risk of harm to the patient or others, or a legal/statutory requirement
Confidentiality may be overridden to prevent serious imminent harm or to comply with legal duties.
A junior doctor is asked by a senior to perform a procedure beyond their competence. What should they do?
Answer: Decline and seek appropriate supervision or escalate, prioritising patient safety
Practising within one's competence and seeking supervision protects patient safety.
What is the primary purpose of a hospital clinical ethics committee?
Answer: To provide advice and a structured framework for complex ethical dilemmas in patient care
Clinical ethics committees offer guidance and structured deliberation on difficult ethical cases.