PAS Professional Ethics & Safety Standards 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A PAS professional notices a client has bruising consistent with possible domestic abuse. What is the ethical obligation?
- Ignore it as it is outside the professional's scope
- Confront the client and demand an explanation
- Document the observation and follow mandatory reporting protocols if applicable (Correct answer)
- Discuss the observation with other clients for safety awareness
Correct answer: Document the observation and follow mandatory reporting protocols if applicable
Practitioners must document observations of potential abuse and follow applicable mandatory reporting laws in their jurisdiction.
Question 2: Which principle of informed consent requires that a client understand what alternatives exist to the proposed postural program?
- Voluntariness
- Disclosure (Correct answer)
- Competence
- Comprehension
Correct answer: Disclosure
Disclosure requires the practitioner to provide all relevant information, including alternatives, so the client can make an informed decision.
Question 3: A PAS client reveals they are currently taking blood thinners. Which exercise modification is MOST relevant?
- Avoid all resistance-based exercises
- Limit session duration to under 20 minutes
- Avoid exercises with high fall risk or impact (Correct answer)
- Focus exclusively on breathing exercises
Correct answer: Avoid exercises with high fall risk or impact
Blood thinners increase bleeding risk from injury, making fall prevention and avoiding high-impact movements a priority.
Question 4: What does the term 'contraindication' mean in the context of PAS practice?
- A technique that is recommended for most clients
- A condition or factor that makes a particular exercise inadvisable (Correct answer)
- A client's refusal to perform a specific movement
- An advanced technique requiring additional certification
Correct answer: A condition or factor that makes a particular exercise inadvisable
A contraindication is a condition or circumstance that makes a specific exercise or technique inadvisable due to risk of harm.
Question 5: A client completes a program and asks for their session records. Under ethical standards, a PAS professional should:
- Decline since records are proprietary business documents
- Provide records promptly as clients have a right to their own information (Correct answer)
- Charge an excessive fee to discourage the request
- Only share records if the client's physician requests them
Correct answer: Provide records promptly as clients have a right to their own information
Clients have the right to access their own health and session records, and professionals are ethically obligated to provide them.
Question 6: Which action BEST describes practicing within your scope for a PAS specialist?
- Prescribing nutritional supplements to enhance postural correction
- Administering postural assessments and developing corrective exercise programs (Correct answer)
- Ordering diagnostic imaging to confirm postural dysfunction
- Providing therapeutic massage as part of the alignment session
Correct answer: Administering postural assessments and developing corrective exercise programs
PAS scope of practice includes postural assessments and corrective exercise program design, not diagnosis or therapeutic massage.
Question 7: A PAS professional is asked by a colleague to falsify session attendance records for a mutual client. The ethical response is to:
- Comply if the falsification is minor and benefits the client
- Refuse and report the request through appropriate channels if necessary (Correct answer)
- Comply only if the client also agrees to the falsification
- Ignore the request and continue normal documentation
Correct answer: Refuse and report the request through appropriate channels if necessary
Falsifying records is fraud and an ethical violation; the professional must refuse and, if warranted, report the request.
PAS Professional Ethics & Safety Standards 3
A PAS professional notices a client has bruising consistent with possible domestic abuse.
What is the ethical obligation?