ECFMG Professionalism & Ethics 3

Question 1

A patient requests that his HIV-positive status be withheld from his spouse, who is also a patient in your practice. Your primary ethical obligation is to:

Accepted Answer

Warn the spouse because the duty to protect identifiable third parties may override confidentiality

Answer

When an identifiable third party faces serious, imminent harm, the duty to warn may override patient confidentiality under Tarasoff-type principles and state law.

Question 2

An ECFMG-certified physician working in the U.S. is asked by a pharmaceutical company to co-author a paper for a fee without having contributed to the research. This practice is called:

Accepted Answer

Ghost authorship

Answer

Ghost authorship—lending one's name to work one did not perform—is a form of research misconduct that violates integrity standards.

Question 3

During an outpatient visit, a physician develops romantic feelings for a patient. The most ethical course of action is to:

Accepted Answer

Transfer care to a colleague and then consider pursuing the relationship

Answer

Transferring care to remove the physician-patient relationship is the necessary first step; romantic relationships with current patients are always prohibited.

Question 4

A patient lacks decision-making capacity and has no advance directive. His family is divided on whether to pursue aggressive care. The most appropriate surrogate decision-making standard is:

Accepted Answer

Substituted judgment—what the patient would have chosen based on known values

Answer

Substituted judgment asks what the patient would have decided based on their known values and previously expressed wishes.

Question 5

A researcher falsifies data in a federally funded study. This constitutes:

Accepted Answer

Scientific misconduct subject to federal investigation and sanctions

Answer

Falsifying data in federally funded research is research misconduct under federal regulations, triggering ORI investigation and potential sanctions including debarment.

(ECFMG) Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates Practice Test

(ECFMG) Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates Practice Test

ECFMG Professionalism & Ethics 3