CSC Professional Standards & Competencies 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: 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:
- Continue the test and document the finding at completion
- Immediately stop the test and notify available medical staff (Correct answer)
- Slow the treadmill speed and continue monitoring
- Ask the patient if they feel well enough to continue
Correct 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.
Question 2: Which of the following best defines 'scope of practice' for a cardiac sonographer?
- Any cardiovascular procedure the sonographer feels confident performing
- Procedures and activities defined by credentialing standards, state law, and employer policy (Correct answer)
- All imaging modalities available in the echocardiography laboratory
- Services reimbursable by Medicare Part B for cardiac imaging
Correct 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.
Question 3: A patient undergoing a cardiac MRI asks the technologist to explain the preliminary findings before the radiologist interprets the study. The technologist should:
- Provide a detailed interpretation to reduce patient anxiety
- Explain that results will be provided by the interpreting physician after full review (Correct answer)
- Show the patient selected images and describe what appears normal
- Contact the ordering physician to relay the technologist's informal interpretation
Correct 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.
Question 4: Informed consent for a cardiac catheterization procedure must include which of the following elements?
- Only the risks of the procedure
- The procedure's purpose, risks, benefits, and available alternatives (Correct answer)
- A guarantee of the procedure's success rate
- Documentation that the patient agrees to bear all associated costs
Correct 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.
Question 5: 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:
- Attempt the task since the physician is present to supervise
- Decline the task and communicate the lack of training to the physician (Correct answer)
- Perform the task as directed since physicians bear ultimate responsibility
- Ask a nearby colleague to perform it without notifying the physician
Correct 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.
Question 6: Which quality assurance measure is most effective in identifying systematic errors in echocardiographic measurements across a laboratory?
- Peer review of random studies by credentialed interpreters (Correct answer)
- Reviewing only studies flagged by referring physicians as problematic
- Comparing measurements only on the first study of each day
- Conducting quality reviews exclusively during accreditation cycles
Correct 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.
Question 7: The primary purpose of echocardiography laboratory accreditation (e.g., IAC accreditation) is to:
- Increase reimbursement rates from all commercial payers
- Ensure laboratories meet established standards for quality and competency (Correct answer)
- Exempt the laboratory from state licensing requirements
- Allow the laboratory to hire non-credentialed sonographers
Correct 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.
CSC Professional Standards & Competencies 3
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: