Professional Standards and Ethics Flashcards
7 cards from real FANZCA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Professional Standards and Ethics flashcards as text
When an anaesthetist is approached to provide an expert medicolegal opinion, ANZCA standards require that the expert:
Answer: Provide an independent, objective opinion based on the evidence, irrespective of who engaged them
An expert witness's duty is to the court and to provide independent, honest opinion; advocacy for the engaging party is a fundamental breach of the expert role.
A patient who is a minor (age 15) presents for elective surgery and provides consent without parental involvement, asserting they are a mature minor. The anaesthetist should:
Answer: Assess the young person's capacity to consent using a Gillick competence assessment
Gillick competence assessment determines whether a minor has sufficient understanding and maturity to consent to a specific procedure without parental involvement.
The ANZCA document 'PS26 — Guidelines on Consent for Anaesthesia or Sedation' specifically emphasises that consent for anaesthesia is:
Answer: A separate process from surgical consent, performed by the anaesthetist
PS26 establishes that anaesthetic consent is a distinct process, separate from surgical consent, and must be obtained by the anaesthetist who will provide the care.
Regarding cultural safety in anaesthetic practice, ANZCA's position is that practitioners should:
Answer: Recognise and respond to the cultural, spiritual, and social needs of patients, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
ANZCA's Statement on Cultural Safety requires practitioners to actively engage with patients' cultural identities and needs as integral to safe and respectful care.
An anaesthetist who receives a gift from a grateful patient valued at $200 should:
Answer: Consider institutional policy, declare the gift, and apply professional judgement about acceptance
Most institutions have gift policies; the anaesthetist should apply the relevant policy, declare the gift as required, and use professional judgement about whether acceptance could influence professional conduct.
Under the principle of justice as applied to resource allocation in anaesthesia, a clinician should:
Answer: Allocate resources based on clinical need and benefit, applying fair and consistent criteria
Justice in healthcare requires that limited resources be allocated on the basis of clinical need and likely benefit using transparent, equitable criteria, not social worth or financial status.
A pharmaceutical company offers to fund an anaesthetist's attendance at an international conference in exchange for speaking about their product. The anaesthetist's primary obligation is to:
Answer: Declare the sponsorship, ensure content integrity is maintained, and present a balanced evidence-based view
Transparent declaration of industry funding and maintenance of independent, evidence-based content is required; undisclosed sponsorship or biased presentation breaches professional integrity.