Professional Standards and Ethics Flashcards
7 cards from real ABFM 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 and Ethics flashcards as text
A physician discovers a medical error that caused a patient harm but the patient is unaware. The ethical obligation is to:
Answer: Disclose the error to the patient, explain what happened, and offer an apology
Ethical standards and most professional guidelines require disclosure of significant medical errors to patients, including an honest explanation and apology.
Which of the following scenarios represents an appropriate use of social media by a physician?
Answer: Sharing general health education content without referencing specific patients
Sharing general health education content is an appropriate use of social media that maintains professional boundaries and patient confidentiality.
A patient requests that a physician not document their HIV status in the medical record. The physician should:
Answer: Explain that accurate documentation is required for safe medical care and is legally protected
Accurate medical records are essential for safe care; physicians should explain legal protections for sensitive information rather than falsifying or omitting diagnoses.
The ethical concept of 'futility' in end-of-life care most appropriately refers to treatment that:
Answer: Will not achieve the patient's stated goals of care
Medical futility is most meaningfully defined as treatment that cannot achieve the patient's own goals of care, not merely physiological endpoints.
A physician is treating a patient who is also a physician colleague. Regarding this dual relationship, the treating physician should:
Answer: Maintain the same professional standards and documentation as with any patient
Physicians who treat colleagues must maintain the same professional standards, documentation, and objectivity as with any other patient.
When a terminally ill patient requests physician aid in dying in a state where it is legal, the physician who objects should:
Answer: Provide information about the process and ensure timely referral
Even when objecting on moral grounds, the physician must provide neutral information and arrange a timely referral to a willing provider to protect patient access to legal care.
Which of the following best exemplifies the professional obligation of 'self-regulation' in medicine?
Answer: Reporting a colleague's substandard care to the medical board
Self-regulation as a profession requires physicians to actively address substandard or unethical conduct by colleagues through appropriate reporting mechanisms.