NCCAP Ethics, Communication & Professional Standards 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An activity professional learns that a resident has revoked consent for a specific activity that was previously enjoyable. The professional's duty is to:
- Continue scheduling the activity as it was previously beneficial
- Honor the revocation and remove the activity from the resident's plan (Correct answer)
- Ask the family to encourage the resident to reconsider
- Document the refusal but continue offering the activity at each session
Correct answer: Honor the revocation and remove the activity from the resident's plan
Respecting a resident's right to withdraw consent at any time is a fundamental ethical obligation in activity programming.
Question 2: Maintaining professional boundaries with residents primarily means:
- Maintaining emotional distance to remain clinically objective at all times
- Providing care within the defined scope of the professional role while showing genuine respect (Correct answer)
- Avoiding any personal conversation that is not directly related to programming
- Limiting all physical assistance to what is documented in the care plan
Correct answer: Providing care within the defined scope of the professional role while showing genuine respect
Professional boundaries allow for warm, genuine relationships within the defined scope of the activity professional role.
Question 3: The purpose of a professional code of ethics in the activity profession is primarily to:
- Protect the profession's reputation from negative public perception
- Provide a framework for ethical decision-making and guide professional conduct (Correct answer)
- Create enforceable legal standards for activity professionals nationwide
- Limit the professional scope to protect other clinical disciplines
Correct answer: Provide a framework for ethical decision-making and guide professional conduct
A professional code of ethics primarily serves as a practical framework to guide decision-making and uphold the integrity of professional practice.
Question 4: When writing progress notes for a resident's activity participation, which approach best reflects professional communication standards?
- Use subjective impressions to add clinical richness to the record
- Use measurable, observable, and objective language tied to care plan goals (Correct answer)
- Include opinions about the resident's family involvement and its effects
- Copy previous notes with minor edits to save documentation time
Correct answer: Use measurable, observable, and objective language tied to care plan goals
Professional documentation must use objective, measurable language that demonstrates progress toward specific care plan goals.
Question 5: An activity professional overhears a nurse sharing a resident's private medical information in a public hallway. The ethical response is to:
- Join the conversation since all care team members share information
- Quietly alert the nurse that the conversation is occurring in a public area (Correct answer)
- Report the nurse to administration without speaking to them first
- Ignore it since the professional is not directly involved in the disclosure
Correct answer: Quietly alert the nurse that the conversation is occurring in a public area
Upholding confidentiality standards includes respectfully addressing potential HIPAA violations by colleagues, starting with a private alert.
Question 6: A culturally competent activity professional adapts programming by:
- Offering only mainstream American cultural activities to promote assimilation
- Incorporating diverse cultural traditions and honoring residents' cultural backgrounds (Correct answer)
- Asking residents of minority backgrounds to educate the entire group about their culture
- Scheduling cultural activities only during special heritage months
Correct answer: Incorporating diverse cultural traditions and honoring residents' cultural backgrounds
Cultural competence requires ongoing integration of diverse traditions into programming, not token acknowledgment during designated months.
Question 7: Which scenario represents a conflict of interest for an activity professional?
- Choosing an activity vendor whose products the professional personally prefers aesthetically
- Selecting a vendor owned by the professional's immediate family member without disclosure (Correct answer)
- Recommending an activity program the professional attended a training for
- Joining a professional association that also serves other long-term care disciplines
Correct answer: Selecting a vendor owned by the professional's immediate family member without disclosure
Selecting a vendor with a personal financial relationship without disclosure creates a clear conflict of interest that violates professional ethics.
NCCAP Ethics, Communication & Professional Standards 4
An activity professional learns that a resident has revoked consent for a specific activity that was previously enjoyable.
The professional's duty is to: