AAMC Medical Ethics and Professionalism 2

Question 1

Which ethical framework focuses primarily on duties, rules, and obligations regardless of consequences?

Accepted Answer

Deontology

Answer

Deontological ethics, associated with Immanuel Kant, holds that certain actions are inherently right or wrong based on rules and duties, independent of outcomes.

Question 2

When a patient lacks decision-making capacity and has no advance directive, who typically serves as the surrogate decision-maker?

Accepted Answer

The closest available next of kin

Answer

In the absence of an advance directive, the next of kin (typically a spouse, then adult children, then parents, etc.) is generally recognized as the default surrogate decision-maker.

Question 3

Medical futility is best defined as a treatment that:

Accepted Answer

Cannot reasonably be expected to provide patient benefit or achieve the goals of care

Answer

Medical futility refers to interventions that are unlikely to produce any meaningful clinical benefit or fulfill the patient's goals, providing the ethical basis for withholding or withdrawing them.

Question 4

Which of the following best exemplifies the principle of justice in healthcare?

Accepted Answer

Distributing healthcare resources fairly across a population

Answer

Justice in medical ethics concerns fair allocation and distribution of healthcare resources, benefits, and burdens across individuals and populations.

Question 5

A physician who continues to provide care to a patient without the patient's consent after the patient has clearly terminated the relationship may be guilty of:

Accepted Answer

Assault

Answer

Treating a patient without consent constitutes battery (or assault in some legal frameworks), as it violates the patient's bodily autonomy.

AAMC - Association of American Medical Colleges Practice Test

AAMC - Association of American Medical Colleges Practice Test

AAMC Medical Ethics and Professionalism 2