Professional Standards and Ethics Flashcards
7 cards from real PCE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Professional Standards and Ethics flashcards as text
A physiotherapist discovers a colleague has been falsifying treatment records to meet productivity targets. What is the most appropriate initial action?
Answer: Confront the colleague privately and encourage self-reporting
Confronting the colleague privately first gives them the opportunity to self-correct while fulfilling the physiotherapist's duty to uphold professional standards.
Under the PCE ethical framework, which of the following best describes 'beneficence' in physiotherapy practice?
Answer: Actively promoting the patient's best interest through evidence-based care
Beneficence means actively working for the patient's benefit by providing the best possible evidence-based care.
A patient asks their physiotherapist to sign a form stating they are fully recovered for insurance purposes, even though treatment is ongoing. What should the physiotherapist do?
Answer: Decline and explain they can only document the patient's actual status
Physiotherapists must provide truthful documentation; signing a false statement constitutes fraud and violates professional ethics.
Which standard governs how a Canadian physiotherapist should maintain clinical competence throughout their career?
Answer: Continuing Competence Program (CCP) through ongoing professional development
The Continuing Competence Program requires physiotherapists to regularly self-assess and engage in ongoing professional development to maintain practice standards.
A physiotherapist is treating a patient with chronic low back pain and learns the patient is also seeing a chiropractor for the same condition. What is the most ethical response?
Answer: Acknowledge the concurrent care and coordinate with the chiropractor to optimize outcomes
Ethical practice includes interprofessional collaboration and respecting patient autonomy to seek care from multiple providers.
When a physiotherapist identifies a conflict of interest, such as owning a company that sells equipment they prescribe to patients, what must they do?
Answer: Disclose the conflict of interest to the patient and document it
Disclosure of conflicts of interest is mandatory so patients can make informed decisions; the relationship does not automatically disqualify the physiotherapist.
A physiotherapist is asked by a law firm to provide an expert opinion on a case involving a patient they previously treated. Which ethical issue is most prominent?
Answer: Dual role conflict and potential breach of confidentiality
Acting as both a treating clinician and an expert witness creates a dual role conflict that may compromise objectivity and patient confidentiality.