BMAT Professional Standards & Competencies 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A medical student witnesses a senior doctor make a dismissive comment to a patient about their mental health concerns. What is the most appropriate immediate response?
- Ignore it to avoid conflict with a senior colleague
- Privately speak with the doctor afterward to express concern (Correct answer)
- Immediately report the doctor to the hospital board
- Apologize to the patient on behalf of the doctor in front of others
Correct answer: Privately speak with the doctor afterward to express concern
Addressing concerns privately with the colleague first respects professional hierarchy while upholding patient dignity and gives the senior a chance to reflect.
Question 2: Which principle best describes a clinician's duty to act in the patient's best interest even when it conflicts with institutional pressures?
- Beneficence (Correct answer)
- Autonomy
- Justice
- Non-maleficence
Correct answer: Beneficence
Beneficence is the obligation to act for the benefit of the patient, prioritizing their wellbeing above other pressures.
Question 3: A doctor is approached by a pharmaceutical company offering gifts in exchange for prescribing their medication. What is the correct professional response?
- Accept modest gifts as they are common industry practice
- Decline all gifts and report the offer if it constitutes a significant inducement (Correct answer)
- Accept only non-monetary gifts below a set threshold
- Consult a colleague before deciding whether to accept
Correct answer: Decline all gifts and report the offer if it constitutes a significant inducement
Professional codes require declining gifts that could influence prescribing decisions and reporting significant inducements to appropriate bodies.
Question 4: What does 'duty of candour' require of a healthcare professional?
- Keeping adverse events confidential to protect the institution
- Being open and honest with patients when something has gone wrong (Correct answer)
- Disclosing only information that improves patient satisfaction scores
- Sharing all clinical information with the patient's family by default
Correct answer: Being open and honest with patients when something has gone wrong
Duty of candour legally and ethically obligates healthcare professionals to be transparent with patients when errors or adverse events occur.
Question 5: A colleague frequently arrives to work appearing fatigued and makes errors during handover. What is the most appropriate course of action?
- Cover for the colleague to protect their job
- Speak to the colleague privately and encourage them to seek support (Correct answer)
- Immediately escalate to the GMC without speaking to the colleague first
- Document every error and wait to see if performance improves
Correct answer: Speak to the colleague privately and encourage them to seek support
Addressing the concern directly with the colleague first is the most appropriate step, balancing patient safety with colleague support.
Question 6: A patient refuses a blood transfusion on religious grounds despite it being life-saving. The patient is a competent adult. What should the clinician do?
- Override the refusal because the duty to preserve life outweighs autonomy
- Respect the refusal, document it fully, and ensure the patient is fully informed of consequences (Correct answer)
- Seek a court order to compel the transfusion
- Administer the transfusion while the patient is unconscious
Correct answer: Respect the refusal, document it fully, and ensure the patient is fully informed of consequences
A competent adult's informed refusal must be respected even if the clinician disagrees, in line with the principle of autonomy.
Question 7: Which of the following best exemplifies 'reflective practice' in a healthcare professional?
- Completing mandatory training modules on time
- Regularly reviewing one's own clinical decisions and learning from outcomes (Correct answer)
- Seeking patient feedback after every consultation
- Following clinical guidelines without deviation
Correct answer: Regularly reviewing one's own clinical decisions and learning from outcomes
Reflective practice involves critically analysing one's own performance to identify learning opportunities and improve future practice.
BMAT Professional Standards & Competencies 2
A medical student witnesses a senior doctor make a dismissive comment to a patient about their mental health concerns.
What is the most appropriate immediate response?