CMC Professional Standards & Ethics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A cardiac nurse discovers that a colleague falsified a patient's medication administration record. What is the most appropriate first action?
- Confront the colleague privately and ask them to correct the record
- Report the incident to the charge nurse or supervisor immediately (Correct answer)
- Document the observation in a personal notebook for future reference
- Ignore it since the patient was not harmed
Correct answer: Report the incident to the charge nurse or supervisor immediately
Patient safety and professional integrity require immediate reporting to a supervisor when a colleague falsifies medical records.
Question 2: Under HIPAA, which of the following is a permitted disclosure of protected health information (PHI) without patient authorization?
- Sharing cardiac test results with the patient's employer
- Disclosing information to a patient's friend who asks about their status
- Reporting communicable disease data to public health authorities (Correct answer)
- Providing records to a life insurance company for underwriting
Correct answer: Reporting communicable disease data to public health authorities
HIPAA permits disclosure of PHI to public health authorities for disease surveillance without patient authorization.
Question 3: A cardiologist recommends an expensive procedure that the patient's insurance does not cover. The patient asks if a cheaper alternative exists. The ethical principle most relevant here is:
- Fidelity
- Justice
- Beneficence
- Veracity (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Veracity
Veracity obligates clinicians to be truthful and forthcoming about treatment alternatives and costs.
Question 4: Which body governs the CMC (Cardiac Medicine Certification) credential and sets its professional standards?
- American Heart Association (AHA)
- American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) (Correct answer)
- American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
- Society of Cardiovascular Care Professionals (SCCP)
Correct answer: American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN)
The AACN administers the CMC certification and establishes the standards and eligibility requirements for the credential.
Question 5: A CMC-certified nurse's patient refuses a life-saving cardioversion. The nurse should:
- Proceed with cardioversion because beneficence overrides patient wishes
- Document the refusal and notify the physician, respecting the patient's autonomy (Correct answer)
- Seek an emergency court order to override the refusal
- Administer sedation so the procedure can be performed without the patient's distress
Correct answer: Document the refusal and notify the physician, respecting the patient's autonomy
A competent patient has the right to refuse treatment; the nurse must document the refusal and communicate it to the care team.
Question 6: Maintaining CMC certification requires the nurse to:
- Retake the full certification examination every year
- Complete continuing education and renew the credential every three years (Correct answer)
- Obtain a graduate nursing degree within five years of initial certification
- Pass a bedside skills competency test biennially
Correct answer: Complete continuing education and renew the credential every three years
AACN CMC certification is valid for three years and renewal requires completion of continuing education or re-examination.
Question 7: A patient with end-stage heart failure asks the cardiac care team to discontinue mechanical circulatory support. The ethical framework most supportive of honoring this request is:
- Paternalism
- Utilitarianism favoring societal resource allocation
- Respect for patient autonomy and self-determination (Correct answer)
- Beneficence requiring continuation of life-sustaining therapy
Correct answer: Respect for patient autonomy and self-determination
Respect for autonomy supports a competent patient's right to withdraw life-sustaining treatment, including mechanical support.
CMC Professional Standards & Ethics 2
A cardiac nurse discovers that a colleague falsified a patient's medication administration record.
What is the most appropriate first action?