Professional Standards & Ethics Flashcards
7 cards from real ABA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Professional Standards & Ethics flashcards as text
Which scenario BEST illustrates the ethical tension between patient autonomy and physician beneficence?
Answer: A patient with capacity insists on forgoing a clearly beneficial intervention against medical advice
When a capacitated patient refuses a beneficial intervention, the autonomy principle and beneficence principle are in direct conflict, representing a core ethical tension.
The ASA's Continuum of Depth of Sedation definition is MOST relevant to professional standards because it:
Answer: Clarifies the competency requirements and monitoring standards for each sedation level
The continuum defines clinical boundaries that establish corresponding monitoring and competency standards, forming the basis for safe and ethical sedation practice.
An anesthesiologist's primary ethical obligation when a patient cannot afford postoperative pain management medications is to:
Answer: Inform the patient of their financial barrier and connect them with available assistance resources
Beneficence and justice require acknowledging financial barriers and actively helping patients access necessary care resources rather than ignoring the disparity.
Which of the following BEST defines 'moral distress' as experienced by anesthesiologists?
Answer: Knowing the ethically correct action but being prevented from carrying it out due to institutional constraints
Moral distress arises specifically when a clinician knows the right ethical course but is constrained by institutional, hierarchical, or systemic barriers from acting on it.
A pharmaceutical company invites an anesthesiologist to speak at a CME event and offers an honorarium that equals her annual salary. The ethical risk is primarily:
Answer: A significant financial conflict of interest that may bias educational content
A large industry honorarium creates a substantial financial conflict of interest that threatens the objectivity and educational integrity of CME content.
When a colleague exhibits signs of substance use disorder, the ethical pathway for an anesthesiologist who witnesses this is BEST described as:
Answer: Report to the department or physician health program to protect patients while supporting the colleague's recovery
Reporting to a physician health program balances immediate patient protection with compassionate support for a colleague's recovery, aligning with both ethical and professional obligations.
The ethical principle that MOST underpins the requirement for anesthesiologists to maintain board certification and ongoing competency is:
Answer: Nonmaleficence
Maintaining competency is fundamentally grounded in nonmaleficence—avoiding harm—since practicing with outdated skills poses preventable risk to patients.