CANS Professional Ethics & Standards 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient requests a procedure that the aesthetic nurse believes is medically unnecessary and potentially harmful. What is the most ethical course of action?
- Perform the procedure to maintain patient satisfaction
- Decline and explain clinical concerns while offering alternatives (Correct answer)
- Refer the patient to another provider without explanation
- Document refusal and discharge the patient from the practice
Correct answer: Decline and explain clinical concerns while offering alternatives
Ethical practice requires honest communication about clinical concerns while respecting patient autonomy by offering appropriate alternatives.
Question 2: Which ethical principle is most directly violated when an aesthetic nurse performs a procedure on a patient who has not provided informed consent?
- Beneficence
- Justice
- Autonomy (Correct answer)
- Veracity
Correct answer: Autonomy
Autonomy requires that patients have the right to make informed decisions about their own care, which is violated without proper consent.
Question 3: An aesthetic nurse is approached by a colleague who is practicing beyond the scope of their license. What is the appropriate professional response?
- Ignore the situation to preserve workplace harmony
- Report the concern through appropriate channels such as the nursing board or supervisor (Correct answer)
- Confront the colleague publicly in front of patients
- Take over the colleague's patient care without notification
Correct answer: Report the concern through appropriate channels such as the nursing board or supervisor
Nurses have a professional obligation to report unsafe or unlicensed practice to protect patient safety and uphold professional standards.
Question 4: A patient shares confidential information during a consultation. Under HIPAA, in which scenario is the aesthetic nurse permitted to disclose this information without patient authorization?
- A family member requests information out of concern
- The patient's employer asks about treatment progress
- A public health authority requires reporting of a communicable disease (Correct answer)
- A friend of the patient claims to be helping with their care
Correct answer: A public health authority requires reporting of a communicable disease
HIPAA permits disclosure without authorization for public health activities, including required reporting of communicable diseases to authorized agencies.
Question 5: Which action best demonstrates the ethical principle of justice in an aesthetic nursing practice?
- Providing the same procedure to all patients regardless of clinical indication
- Ensuring equitable access and fair treatment regardless of a patient's socioeconomic background (Correct answer)
- Charging lower fees to patients the nurse personally likes
- Prioritizing treatments based on the nurse's personal aesthetic preferences
Correct answer: Ensuring equitable access and fair treatment regardless of a patient's socioeconomic background
Justice requires fair, equitable, and appropriate treatment of all individuals without discrimination or favoritism.
Question 6: An aesthetic nurse receives a gift of significant monetary value from a grateful patient. What is the most ethically sound response?
- Accept the gift as it was given voluntarily by the patient
- Decline the gift to avoid a conflict of interest or appearance of impropriety (Correct answer)
- Accept but donate the gift to charity on the patient's behalf
- Accept only if the treatment plan for the patient is already complete
Correct answer: Decline the gift to avoid a conflict of interest or appearance of impropriety
Accepting gifts of significant value can compromise professional boundaries and create conflicts of interest that undermine the therapeutic relationship.
Question 7: The concept of 'veracity' in nursing ethics most directly obligates the aesthetic nurse to:
- Perform all procedures competently
- Share equal resources among all patients
- Provide truthful information to patients about procedures and risks (Correct answer)
- Maintain patient confidentiality at all times
Correct answer: Provide truthful information to patients about procedures and risks
Veracity is the obligation to be truthful and honest with patients, including disclosing all material information about procedures, risks, and outcomes.
CANS Professional Ethics & Standards 2
A patient requests a procedure that the aesthetic nurse believes is medically unnecessary and potentially harmful.
What is the most ethical course of action?