MOH Medical Ethics & Professionalism 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A physician who is impaired by substance abuse and continues to practice is violating which obligation?
- The duty to report notifiable diseases
- Professional obligations to patient safety and fitness to practice (Correct answer)
- Financial obligations to the employer
- Administrative obligations to MOHAP only
Correct answer: Professional obligations to patient safety and fitness to practice
An impaired physician poses a direct risk to patient safety; professional obligations and UAE healthcare law require fitness to practice, and self-disclosure or peer reporting is an ethical and legal duty.
Question 2: Under the UAE Medical Liability Law, a physician must inform a patient of treatment risks:
- Only for surgical procedures
- Only for high-risk experimental treatments
- For all treatments where there is significant risk (Correct answer)
- Only if the patient asks directly
Correct answer: For all treatments where there is significant risk
Informed consent requires that patients be told of material risks associated with any treatment option; this is a legal obligation under UAE Medical Liability Law, not only for surgery or experiments.
Question 3: Surrogate decision-making is invoked when:
- A patient is difficult to communicate with
- A patient lacks decision-making capacity (Correct answer)
- The patient is a minor only
- The physician disagrees with the patient
Correct answer: A patient lacks decision-making capacity
Surrogate decision-making is invoked when a patient lacks the capacity (cognitive ability) to make an informed decision; a legally authorized surrogate or next-of-kin then makes decisions based on the patient's best interests.
Question 4: The concept of 'Do Not Resuscitate' (DNR) order in UAE hospitals requires:
- Physician decision alone without documentation
- Documented informed decision involving patient/family and senior physician (Correct answer)
- Approval from MOHAP for every case
- Automatic implementation for all patients over 80
Correct answer: Documented informed decision involving patient/family and senior physician
A DNR order in UAE hospitals requires a documented informed consent process involving the patient (if competent) or family, and endorsement by a senior physician, following institutional and national ethical guidelines.
Question 5: Medical paternalism refers to:
- Respecting all patient decisions unconditionally
- Overriding patient autonomy based on the physician's judgment of what is best (Correct answer)
- Involving the family in all medical decisions
- Providing truthful information at all times
Correct answer: Overriding patient autonomy based on the physician's judgment of what is best
Medical paternalism occurs when a physician overrides a patient's autonomous choice, believing they know what is best for the patient; this conflicts with the modern ethical principle of patient autonomy.
Question 6: In research ethics, the Belmont Report identifies which three core principles?
- Autonomy, beneficence, justice
- Respect for persons, beneficence, justice (Correct answer)
- Non-maleficence, justice, veracity
- Confidentiality, consent, fairness
Correct answer: Respect for persons, beneficence, justice
The Belmont Report (1979) identifies three foundational principles for human research ethics: respect for persons (informed consent), beneficence (maximize benefits/minimize harm), and justice (fair subject selection).
MOH Medical Ethics & Professionalism 2
A physician who is impaired by substance abuse and continues to practice is violating which obligation?