NHI Professional Ethics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient asks a healthcare professional to keep a serious diagnosis secret from their family. What is the most ethical course of action?
- Share the information with family immediately
- Honor the patient's request and maintain confidentiality (Correct answer)
- Refuse to treat the patient
- Notify the employer about the request
Correct answer: Honor the patient's request and maintain confidentiality
Adult patients have the right to decide who receives their health information, and healthcare professionals must respect this autonomy.
Question 2: Which of the following best defines 'nonmaleficence' in healthcare ethics?
- Doing good for the patient
- Avoiding harm to the patient (Correct answer)
- Treating all patients equally
- Respecting patient decisions
Correct answer: Avoiding harm to the patient
Nonmaleficence is the ethical principle of avoiding actions that cause harm to patients.
Question 3: A coworker asks you to clock them in because they are running late. What should you do?
- Clock them in as a favor
- Refuse, as this constitutes time fraud (Correct answer)
- Ask your supervisor first then comply
- Ignore the request and say nothing
Correct answer: Refuse, as this constitutes time fraud
Clocking in for another employee is falsification of records and violates professional ethical standards.
Question 4: When a healthcare worker encounters a situation outside their scope of practice, they should:
- Attempt the task to help the patient
- Refer the task to an appropriately qualified professional (Correct answer)
- Ask a coworker of equal training to handle it
- Document that the task was completed
Correct answer: Refer the task to an appropriately qualified professional
Referring tasks outside one's scope of practice protects patient safety and upholds professional standards.
Question 5: A patient offers a healthcare professional an expensive gift after receiving excellent care. The ethical response is to:
- Accept it to avoid offending the patient
- Accept it only if it is under $25
- Decline politely in accordance with facility policy (Correct answer)
- Accept and report it to the supervisor later
Correct answer: Decline politely in accordance with facility policy
Most healthcare facilities have gift policies prohibiting or limiting acceptance of gifts to avoid conflicts of interest.
Question 6: Which ethical principle requires healthcare professionals to tell patients the truth about their diagnosis and treatment?
- Beneficence
- Justice
- Veracity (Correct answer)
- Fidelity
Correct answer: Veracity
Veracity is the ethical duty to be honest and truthful with patients in all communications.
Question 7: A healthcare professional discovers a colleague is stealing medication from the facility. What is the most appropriate action?
- Confront the colleague directly
- Ignore it to avoid conflict
- Report it to the appropriate supervisor or authority (Correct answer)
- Discuss it with other coworkers
Correct answer: Report it to the appropriate supervisor or authority
Reporting suspected medication theft protects patients and upholds the professional obligation to report unethical conduct.
NHI Professional Ethics 2
A patient asks a healthcare professional to keep a serious diagnosis secret from their family.
What is the most ethical course of action?