NBME Behavioral Science 3

Question 1

A competent adult patient refuses a blood transfusion on religious grounds despite life-threatening hemorrhage. The physician's ethical obligation is to:

Accepted Answer

Respect the patient's refusal and document it

Answer

Competent adults have the right to refuse any treatment; autonomy overrides beneficence in this scenario.

Question 2

A psychiatrist's patient discloses a specific, credible plan to kill a named neighbor. Under the Tarasoff ruling, the psychiatrist is legally obligated to:

Accepted Answer

Warn the identifiable potential victim

Answer

The Tarasoff duty-to-warn doctrine requires clinicians to protect identifiable third parties from credible threats.

Question 3

A 4-year-old child engages in parallel play, uses sentences of 4–5 words, and can draw a person with 4 parts. According to Erikson, this child is working through which psychosocial stage?

Accepted Answer

Initiative vs. Guilt

Answer

Initiative vs. Guilt is Erikson's stage for children aged approximately 3–5 years old.

Question 4

A 7-year-old understands that a tall, thin glass and a short, wide glass hold the same amount of water if the same amount was poured. According to Piaget, this child has achieved:

Accepted Answer

Conservation

Answer

Conservation — the understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape — is a hallmark of the concrete operational stage.

Question 5

An uninsured 68-year-old retired teacher with end-stage renal disease requires hemodialysis. Which program most likely covers this cost?

Accepted Answer

Medicare

Answer

Medicare covers ESRD regardless of age, as well as most Americans aged 65 and older.

NBME Practice Test

NBME Practice Test

NBME Behavioral Science 3