Professional Standards and Ethics Flashcards

Which ethical obligation requires professionals to keep their knowledge and skills current?

Answer: Competence

The duty of competence requires professionals to maintain and update their skills to serve clients effectively and safely.

A coworker asks you to falsify data in a report to make the results look better. You should:

Answer: Refuse and report the request to a supervisor or ethics officer

Falsifying data is fraud; refusing and reporting protects professional integrity and public trust.

The concept of 'non-maleficence' in professional ethics means:

Answer: Do not harm clients through actions or negligence

Non-maleficence is the duty to avoid causing harm, whether through direct action or failure to act appropriately.

When two clients have competing interests and you serve both, this situation is best described as a:

Answer: Conflict of interest

A conflict of interest exists when professional obligations to one party may compromise duties to another.

Which action best demonstrates accountability in professional practice?

Answer: Accepting responsibility for your decisions and their outcomes

Accountability means owning the consequences of your professional decisions, both successes and failures.

A professional learns that a colleague is engaging in conduct that harms clients. Remaining silent makes the silent professional:

Answer: Potentially complicit in ongoing harm and an ethical violator

Silence in the face of known client harm can constitute ethical misconduct through complicity and failure to protect vulnerable parties.

Professional codes of ethics primarily exist to:

Answer: Guide behavior, build public trust, and set minimum conduct standards

Codes of ethics provide behavioral guidance, establish public trust, and define minimum acceptable standards for a profession.