BMAT Professional Standards & Competencies 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A junior doctor is asked by their consultant to falsify a patient's discharge notes to meet hospital targets. What should they do?
- Comply to avoid conflict with their supervisor
- Refuse and escalate the request to a senior manager or clinical lead (Correct answer)
- Falsify the notes but flag the issue anonymously later
- Ask a colleague to make the change instead
Correct answer: Refuse and escalate the request to a senior manager or clinical lead
Falsifying medical records is illegal and a serious breach of professional standards; refusal and escalation are mandatory.
Question 2: The concept of 'informed consent' requires that patients must be given:
- Only the information the clinician deems relevant
- Material information that a reasonable patient would consider significant (Correct answer)
- Verbal confirmation of agreement without documentation
- Consent only for major surgical procedures
Correct answer: Material information that a reasonable patient would consider significant
After Montgomery v Lanarkshire, informed consent requires disclosure of all material risks a reasonable patient in their circumstances would want to know.
Question 3: What is the primary purpose of clinical audit in professional practice?
- To assign blame when outcomes are poor
- To systematically evaluate and improve the quality of clinical care (Correct answer)
- To satisfy regulatory inspections without changing practice
- To compare individual performance for salary decisions
Correct answer: To systematically evaluate and improve the quality of clinical care
Clinical audit measures current practice against standards and drives iterative improvement in patient care quality.
Question 4: A medical professional discovers they have a communicable disease that could pose a risk to patients. What is the most appropriate action?
- Continue working and take extra precautions without disclosure
- Seek occupational health advice and follow guidance on fitness to practice (Correct answer)
- Immediately cease all clinical duties indefinitely
- Disclose to patients before every consultation
Correct answer: Seek occupational health advice and follow guidance on fitness to practice
Seeking occupational health assessment is the required step to determine safe working arrangements while protecting both patients and the professional.
Question 5: Which behaviour best demonstrates cultural competency in clinical practice?
- Treating all patients identically regardless of background
- Adapting communication and care to respect patients' cultural beliefs and values (Correct answer)
- Avoiding discussion of cultural or religious topics during consultations
- Referring all patients from minority backgrounds to specialist services
Correct answer: Adapting communication and care to respect patients' cultural beliefs and values
Cultural competency requires awareness and respectful adaptation to ensure equitable, patient-centred care for all individuals.
Question 6: A patient discloses domestic abuse during a consultation but asks you not to tell anyone. What is the most appropriate response?
- Immediately report to police without further discussion
- Respect confidentiality completely and take no further action
- Discuss safety planning, provide resources, and explain limits of confidentiality if there is serious risk (Correct answer)
- Document the disclosure and defer action to the patient's GP
Correct answer: Discuss safety planning, provide resources, and explain limits of confidentiality if there is serious risk
The clinician should acknowledge the disclosure sensitively, support safety planning, and only breach confidentiality if there is serious or imminent risk of harm.
Question 7: What is the key difference between a clinical mistake and clinical negligence?
- Negligence always involves patient harm; mistakes do not
- Negligence requires a breach of duty of care below an acceptable standard; mistakes may still meet the standard of care (Correct answer)
- A mistake is always reportable; negligence is not
- Negligence is determined only by patient complaint, not clinical review
Correct answer: Negligence requires a breach of duty of care below an acceptable standard; mistakes may still meet the standard of care
Negligence requires proof that care fell below the standard of a reasonable practitioner; errors can occur even when the standard of care was met.
BMAT Professional Standards & Competencies 3
A junior doctor is asked by their consultant to falsify a patient's discharge notes to meet hospital targets.
What should they do?