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 16-year-old requests contraception and refuses to involve her parents. Under Australian law, what principle determines whether you can prescribe?
Answer: Gillick competence / mature minor assessment of her understanding
A mature minor who demonstrates sufficient understanding (Gillick competence) may consent to treatment without parental involvement.
A patient with decision-making capacity refuses a life-saving blood transfusion on religious grounds. What is the ethically and legally correct action?
Answer: Respect the competent patient's refusal
A competent adult has the right to refuse treatment even if refusal results in death.
Under mandatory reporting obligations in Australia, a doctor must report another practitioner when there is reasonable belief of which 'notifiable conduct'?
Answer: Practising while intoxicated, sexual misconduct, impairment, or significant departure from standards
Notifiable conduct includes intoxication at work, sexual misconduct, impairment risking patients, and significant departures from accepted standards.
A pharmaceutical company offers you a paid overseas conference trip if you prescribe their drug. This is best described as what ethical issue?
Answer: A conflict of interest requiring disclosure and avoidance
Inducements tied to prescribing create a conflict of interest that can compromise patient-centred decisions.
A patient asks you not to document their HIV status in shared records. What is the most appropriate response?
Answer: Explain the clinical and safety importance of accurate records while discussing privacy protections
Accurate records are essential for safe care, but you should explain confidentiality safeguards rather than falsify records.
When obtaining valid informed consent for surgery, which element is NOT required?
Answer: A guarantee of a successful outcome
Consent requires capacity, adequate information, and voluntariness, but no doctor can guarantee outcomes.
An unconscious adult in an emergency needs urgent surgery and no substitute decision-maker is available. What legal doctrine permits treatment?
Answer: Implied consent through necessity / emergency doctrine
The emergency/necessity doctrine permits treatment to preserve life when consent cannot be obtained.