Professional Standards & Competencies Flashcards
7 cards from real CSC 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 & Competencies flashcards as text
A cardiac stress lab technologist notes that a patient's blood pressure drops 20 mmHg during treadmill exercise. The supervising physician is unavailable. The technologist should:
Answer: Immediately stop the test and notify available medical staff
A significant exercise-induced drop in systolic BP is an absolute contraindication to continuing; the test must be stopped immediately and medical staff notified.
Which of the following best defines 'scope of practice' for a cardiac sonographer?
Answer: Procedures and activities defined by credentialing standards, state law, and employer policy
Scope of practice is determined by the intersection of professional credentialing standards, applicable state statutes, and institutional policy.
A patient undergoing a cardiac MRI asks the technologist to explain the preliminary findings before the radiologist interprets the study. The technologist should:
Answer: Explain that results will be provided by the interpreting physician after full review
Interpreting diagnostic images is within the physician's scope of practice; the technologist should direct result inquiries to the responsible clinician.
Informed consent for a cardiac catheterization procedure must include which of the following elements?
Answer: The procedure's purpose, risks, benefits, and available alternatives
Valid informed consent requires disclosure of the procedure's purpose, material risks, expected benefits, and reasonable alternatives.
A cardiac electrophysiology technologist is asked by a supervising physician to perform a task they have not been trained to perform. The appropriate response is to:
Answer: Decline the task and communicate the lack of training to the physician
Professionals have an obligation to work within their competency boundaries and must decline tasks for which they lack adequate training even when directed by a physician.
Which quality assurance measure is most effective in identifying systematic errors in echocardiographic measurements across a laboratory?
Answer: Peer review of random studies by credentialed interpreters
Routine peer review of randomly selected studies is the gold standard for identifying systematic measurement errors and image quality deficiencies.
The primary purpose of echocardiography laboratory accreditation (e.g., IAC accreditation) is to:
Answer: Ensure laboratories meet established standards for quality and competency
IAC and similar accreditations verify that a laboratory's equipment, personnel qualifications, and protocols meet nationally recognized quality standards.