Trivium Professional Ethics and Standards 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A home health aide discovers that a client's family member has been taking money from the client's wallet. What is the most appropriate action?
- Ignore it to avoid family conflict
- Confront the family member directly
- Report the suspected financial abuse to a supervisor (Correct answer)
- Ask the client if they gave permission
Correct answer: Report the suspected financial abuse to a supervisor
Financial abuse must be reported to a supervisor or appropriate authority, as the aide is a mandated reporter.
Question 2: Which ethical principle requires a healthcare worker to act in the client's best interest?
- Autonomy
- Beneficence (Correct answer)
- Nonmaleficence
- Justice
Correct answer: Beneficence
Beneficence means acting in ways that promote the client's well-being and best interests.
Question 3: A client asks their aide not to tell anyone about a new symptom they are experiencing. The aide should:
- Keep the secret as the client requested
- Report the symptom to the supervisor because client safety takes priority (Correct answer)
- Document it privately and monitor the client
- Ask the client's family what to do
Correct answer: Report the symptom to the supervisor because client safety takes priority
Client safety overrides privacy requests; health concerns must be reported to the supervising nurse.
Question 4: Which of the following is an example of a HIPAA violation?
- Discussing a client's condition with their physician
- Sharing client medical information with a neighbor who asks (Correct answer)
- Documenting care in the client's chart
- Reporting abuse to Adult Protective Services
Correct answer: Sharing client medical information with a neighbor who asks
Disclosing a client's medical information to unauthorized individuals violates HIPAA privacy rules.
Question 5: When a client refuses a bath, the aide should:
- Insist because hygiene is part of the care plan
- Perform the bath anyway to prevent skin breakdown
- Respect the refusal and report it to the supervisor (Correct answer)
- Offer a compromise and document the refusal
Correct answer: Respect the refusal and report it to the supervisor
Respecting client refusal honors autonomy, and the supervisor must be notified to update the care plan.
Question 6: An aide who accepts a gift of cash from a client's family is:
- Acting ethically if the gift is under $20
- Violating professional boundaries and agency policy (Correct answer)
- Allowed to accept if the client insists
- Required to report it but may keep it
Correct answer: Violating professional boundaries and agency policy
Accepting cash gifts violates professional boundaries and is prohibited by most agency policies.
Question 7: The principle of nonmaleficence in healthcare means:
- Treating all clients equally
- Acting in the client's best interest
- Avoiding actions that cause harm (Correct answer)
- Respecting the client's right to make decisions
Correct answer: Avoiding actions that cause harm
Nonmaleficence means 'do no harm' — healthcare workers must avoid causing injury or harm to clients.
Trivium Professional Ethics and Standards 2
A home health aide discovers that a client's family member has been taking money from the client's wallet.
What is the most appropriate action?