CMC Professional Standards & Ethics 3

Question 1

A cardiac nurse witnesses a physician make a medication error but the physician asks the nurse not to report it. The nurse's ethical and legal obligation is to:

Accepted Answer

File an incident report and report to the appropriate supervisor

Answer

Nurses have a professional and legal duty to report errors regardless of who made them to ensure patient safety.

Question 2

Which ethical principle is MOST directly violated when a cardiac patient is not told the risks of a coronary angiogram before signing the consent form?

Accepted Answer

Autonomy

Answer

Informed consent requires full disclosure of risks; withholding this information violates the patient's right to autonomous decision-making.

Question 3

In the context of cardiac nursing, 'scope of practice' is BEST defined as:

Accepted Answer

The range of roles, functions, and responsibilities legally authorized for a nurse's license and credential

Answer

Scope of practice is defined by state nurse practice acts and is the legal boundary within which a nurse may practice.

Question 4

A nurse practicing in a cardiac ICU suspects a patient lacks decision-making capacity. The MOST appropriate next step is:

Accepted Answer

Perform a formal capacity evaluation and involve the ethics committee if needed

Answer

Capacity must be formally assessed; if lacking, a surrogate decision-maker or ethics consultation guides care decisions.

Question 5

A pharmaceutical company offers a cardiac nurse a gift card for attending a product promotion dinner. According to professional ethics, the nurse should:

Accepted Answer

Decline the gift to avoid a conflict of interest and maintain professional integrity

Answer

Professional standards and most institutional policies prohibit accepting gifts from industry to prevent conflicts of interest.

CMC - Cardiac Medicine Certification Practice Test

CMC - Cardiac Medicine Certification Practice Test

CMC Professional Standards & Ethics 3