Ethics & Professionalism Flashcards
7 cards from real CST 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 & Professionalism flashcards as text
A patient refuses a blood transfusion for religious reasons, but the surgical team believes it is medically necessary. The team should:
Answer: Respect the patient's decision and document their refusal
Respecting a competent patient's informed refusal of treatment honors the ethical principle of autonomy.
Which of the following is an example of nonmaleficence in surgical practice?
Answer: Using proper aseptic technique to prevent surgical site infections
Nonmaleficence means 'do no harm'; using proper aseptic technique directly prevents harm to the patient.
A CST realizes they made an error during a procedure that was not caught at the time. The ethical obligation is to:
Answer: Disclose the error to the surgical team and document it in an incident report
Ethical practice requires prompt disclosure of errors to the team and proper incident reporting to support patient safety.
Social media posts by a CST that include identifiable details about a patient case, even without a name, may violate:
Answer: HIPAA if the patient could be identified from context
HIPAA protects any information that could identify a patient, including contextual details even without the patient's name.
A CST who is asked to sign as a witness on an informed consent form they did not witness should:
Answer: Refuse to sign since they did not witness the consent process
Signing as a witness to a consent process you did not observe constitutes falsification of a legal document.
Which of the following best describes the role of the CST in the ethical principle of patient advocacy?
Answer: Speaking up to protect patient safety and rights within the surgical team
Patient advocacy for a CST means speaking up within the surgical team to protect the patient's safety, dignity, and rights.
A CST who works a double shift despite feeling fatigued and impaired is violating which ethical principle?
Answer: Nonmaleficence
Working while impaired by fatigue increases the risk of harming the patient, violating the principle of nonmaleficence.