FACEM Professional Ethics and Standards 3

Question 1

A 15-year-old presents to the ED requesting treatment for a sexually transmitted infection without parental knowledge. The physician should:

Accepted Answer

Treat the patient if they demonstrate sufficient maturity to understand the treatment

Answer

The mature minor doctrine allows adolescents who demonstrate sufficient understanding to consent to treatment, particularly for sensitive conditions like STIs.

Question 2

An emergency physician receives a gift from a grateful patient's family. According to professional ethics guidelines, the physician should:

Accepted Answer

Accept only gifts below a defined modest threshold per institutional policy

Answer

Most professional guidelines permit acceptance of modest gifts but prohibit gifts that could influence or appear to influence clinical decision-making.

Question 3

Which of the following best describes the concept of 'therapeutic privilege' in emergency medicine ethics?

Accepted Answer

Withholding information from a patient if disclosure would cause serious harm

Answer

Therapeutic privilege allows withholding specific information if its disclosure would seriously harm the patient, but it is narrowly defined and rarely justified.

Question 4

A patient who is a nurse asks an emergency physician to access her colleague's medical records to check on his condition. The correct response is:

Accepted Answer

Deny access as the nurse has no therapeutic relationship with the patient

Answer

Access to medical records is restricted to those with a direct therapeutic relationship with the patient; professional status does not override privacy rights.

Question 5

During a mass casualty event, a physician must use triage principles. From an ethical standpoint, utilitarian triage primarily aims to:

Accepted Answer

Maximise the number of lives saved given limited resources

Answer

Utilitarian triage allocates resources to maximize overall survival and good outcomes when resources are scarce, which may mean not treating unsalvageable patients first.

(FACEM) Fellowship of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine Practice Test

(FACEM) Fellowship of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine Practice Test

FACEM Professional Ethics and Standards 3