SCS Ethics & Professional Standards 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An SCS clinician working with a high school team realizes they lack competency to treat a specific complex knee injury. The ethical course of action is to:
- Attempt treatment to avoid embarrassment
- Refer the athlete to a qualified specialist (Correct answer)
- Ask an unqualified colleague to handle it
- Delay treatment until the clinician can self-study
Correct answer: Refer the athlete to a qualified specialist
Practicing within one's scope of competence is a core ethical obligation; referral is required when a case exceeds the clinician's expertise.
Question 2: A dual relationship in sports medicine occurs when:
- Two clinicians treat the same athlete
- A clinician holds both a professional and personal/financial relationship with a patient (Correct answer)
- A clinician works in two different sports settings
- Two athletes present with the same diagnosis
Correct answer: A clinician holds both a professional and personal/financial relationship with a patient
Dual relationships involve a clinician occupying multiple roles with the same individual, which can compromise objectivity and ethical decision-making.
Question 3: Which action best demonstrates the ethical principle of fidelity in sports medicine?
- Providing equal care to all athletes
- Keeping promises and honoring commitments made to patients (Correct answer)
- Telling patients the full truth about their prognosis
- Preventing harm through careful treatment planning
Correct answer: Keeping promises and honoring commitments made to patients
Fidelity refers to keeping one's word, honoring agreements, and maintaining loyalty to professional commitments.
Question 4: An SCS clinician is aware that a fellow clinician is practicing while impaired due to substance use. The most ethical response is to:
- Cover for the colleague to protect their career
- Report the concern to the appropriate licensing board or supervisory authority (Correct answer)
- Warn only the athletes being treated
- Wait to see if the impairment affects patient outcomes before acting
Correct answer: Report the concern to the appropriate licensing board or supervisory authority
Patient safety takes precedence; impaired practice must be reported to the appropriate authority regardless of personal loyalty.
Question 5: In the context of sports medicine ethics, 'nonmaleficence' most directly applies when a clinician:
- Advocates for an athlete's return to play too soon to please the coach
- Ensures treatments selected carry the least risk of harm (Correct answer)
- Shares treatment outcomes publicly to advance research
- Respects the athlete's right to refuse treatment
Correct answer: Ensures treatments selected carry the least risk of harm
Nonmaleficence obligates clinicians to avoid causing harm and to select interventions with the most favorable risk-to-benefit ratio.
Question 6: An SCS clinician documents a treatment session inaccurately to make a patient appear eligible for continued insurance coverage. This behavior violates:
- The principle of autonomy only
- Veracity, nonmaleficence, and potentially federal law (Correct answer)
- Only institutional policy, not professional ethics
- Beneficence exclusively
Correct answer: Veracity, nonmaleficence, and potentially federal law
Fraudulent documentation violates truthfulness (veracity), could harm the patient long-term (nonmaleficence), and may constitute insurance fraud under federal law.
Question 7: When obtaining informed consent from an athlete with a language barrier, the SCS clinician should:
- Proceed without consent if a translator is unavailable
- Use a professional interpreter or translated materials to ensure comprehension (Correct answer)
- Have a family member translate medical details informally
- Document that consent was 'implied' by the athlete's presence
Correct answer: Use a professional interpreter or translated materials to ensure comprehension
True informed consent requires comprehension; professional interpretation services or translated documents ensure the athlete can make an autonomous decision.
SCS Ethics & Professional Standards 3
An SCS clinician working with a high school team realizes they lack competency to treat a specific complex knee injury.
The ethical course of action is to: