Chapter 24 & 26

1. Which of the following would make up the professional ethics of the profession of radiologic sciences? 1. State licensing board for x-ray machine operators 2. X-ray department social events 3. ARRT Code of Ethics 4. State motor vehicle rules and regulations 5. Collective bargaining rules of behavior

1 and 3 only

24. In a legal case of negligence: 1. rationale and excuses are balanced against implied damages. 2. a breach of duty has to be identified. 3. the definition of duty has to be identified. 4. Standards of Practice are not considered. 5. injury has to clearly be identified. 6. injury has to be clearly connected to the negligent act.

2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 only

12. Which of the following choices could be classified as an ethical outrage? A. Repeating a radiograph because the patient moved during the exposure B. A technologist refusing to complete a procedure because his shift is over C. Unintentionally neglecting to tell the radiologist that a patient has allergies D. A technologist consistently forgetting to wear his or her personnel monitoring device

B. A technologist refusing to complete a procedure because his shift is over

2. Which of the following is FALSE regarding obtained consent? A. The patient must be competent to sign. B. The consent form may be obtained after the procedure. C. The physician named on the consent form is the only physician who can perform the procedure. D. Any condition stated on the consent form must be met.

B. The consent form may be obtained after the procedure.

15. All of the following are related EXCEPT: A. selecting the best solution and defending it. B. looking for a similar situation as a precedent. C. defining the real problem. D. working out alternative solutions.

B. looking for a similar situation as a precedent.

5. What type of complaint can be filed by patients if they feel they have been touched without permission?

Battery

6. Which of the following would be considered an unethical practice for a radiologic technologist?

Criticizing a doctor or team member in a private or public forum

18. Which of the following best defines fidelity? A. Meeting the basic needs of the patient B. Being a competent professional C. Abiding by the ASRT Code of Ethics D. All of the above

D. All of the above

16. A patient arrives for a mammogram and registers with reception. Then she goes to the dressing room as instructed and puts on the gown that was given to her. As you bring her into the mammography room, she answers a few routine questions and listens intently as you explain the procedure to her. It is safe to assume as the mammographer that: A. a social contract has been established between the patient and the mammographer. B. you can proceed with the examination. C. the patient can expect a mammographic study that is MQSA compliant. D. all of the above are correct.

D. all of the above are correct.

22. All of the following are necessary for a legitimate case of malpractice EXCEPT: A. a clear definition of duty. B. proof of damages. C. a clear illustration of one's breach of duty. D. rumor and innuendo that the professional performed in such a manner as to create cause for damages.

D. rumor and innuendo that the professional performed in such a manner as to create cause for damages

29. A technologist who has completed a procedure on a patient leaves the area grumbling, "I hate to do AIDS patients because I am afraid of catching the disease." A member of the housekeeping staff hears the technologist and asks who the AIDS patient is, so he can pass the information along to his co-workers for safety reasons. The technologist responds by giving the patient's name and room number. After the incident, housekeeping personnel refuse to clean the room. One person from housekeeping tells the story to members of the housekeeper's church, where the patient is also a church member. After learning of the patient's condition, the church asks the patient not to return to church. What type of complaint might be brought against the technologist?

Defamation

26. Your department has received a new piece of digital radiographic equipment. A radiation physicist has inspected the unit and determined that the output of x-ray exposure is much higher than it should be for various exposure settings. His report indicates this clearly and is submitted to the department director. This new equipment has been expected for weeks and is the only device in the department capable of performing certain examinations. The director insists that the device is completely safe and the technologists need to use it while applications training is on site. In this situation who is responsible for taking corrective action?

Hospital and director

3. When negligence occurs to a patient, who is responsible for proving injury?

Patient

17. In a legal proceeding, the actions of a radiographer will be judged with regard to his or her compliance with the:

Practice Standards for Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy

8. Which of the following is not a legal right of a patient in the radiology department?

To ask for and receive extra studies

7. Which of the following is an example of unintentional misconduct?

X-raying the wrong part

20. After a stressful CT scan on a patient, you are confronted by the patient's family regarding the results of the examination. The patient was in a motor-vehicle accident and has a severe head injury. The images you took are being sent to a "Nighthawk" reading service and will not be available for several minutes. The family insists they have a "right" to know the results immediately so they can make a decision about organ donation. How would you rationalize this situation to yourself as an imaging professional?

Your duty as a professional is to complete the CT examination quickly and with high quality, not to interpret the images, and to do no harm to the patient.

23. As a radiographer positions an elderly patient for an upright abdominal view, the patient is asked to stand up from the wheelchair. As he does so, the wheelchair moves out from under him and he falls to the floor, dislocating his shoulder. As the technologist attempts to break his fall, a co-worker notes that the wheel locks on the chair were left unlocked. In this situation:

a breach of duty has occurred

9. A civil wrong that involves individual property rights is called:

a tort

5. When you were a student radiographer the importance of radiation protection was constantly stressed and you have incorporated the principle of ALARA as a professional value. As an employee working within a busy imaging department, you work with some technologists who do not practice radiation protection as you have been taught. One technologist in particular routinely overexposes patients in order to get a "perfect image for the radiologist." This poor technologist practice would be an example of:

an ethical violation

4. If bodily harm were to occur to a patient as a result of reckless conduct by the health care provider, this would be deemed:

assault

12. Touching a patient without permission is the legal definition of:

battery

17. You are placed in an unfortunate situation with a patient that requires you to tell a small "white lie" regarding the late arrival of the radiologist. The patient is noticeably upset about the procedure having to be done at all and is quite anxious. You are aware that the radiologist and the patient's surgeon are meeting in his office to discuss the best approach to deal with this patient's cancer. You feel certain that telling the patient the truth as to why the radiologist is late would increase her anxiety. This technologist is practicing:

consequentialism

14. The best way to characterize an ethical dilemma is to describe it as the:

correct choice is not entirely clear and has both positive and negative consequences

15. At a recent professional meeting of radiographers, an attendee stands up at a business meeting and states that the chairperson uses excessive radiation and violates ALARA daily. The person making these statements would be committing an act of:

defamation

14. The doctrine of respondeat superior states that the:

employer is responsible for employees' actions

9. A technologist who has completed a procedure on a patient leaves the area grumbling, "I hate to do AIDS patients because I am afraid of catching the disease." A member of the housekeeping staff hears the technologist and asks who the AIDS patient is so he can pass the information along to his co-workers for safety reasons. The technologist responds by giving the patient's name and room number. This act constitutes a(n):

ethics violation

10. Restraining a patient without reason may constitute:

false imprisonment

6. Placing a child in a Pigg-O-Stat without the parent's permission may warrant:

false imprisonment

11. Using moral rules as your complete guide to determining appropriate professional behavior:

has its weaknesses, as others may not have the same moral value system as you

10. All professional decisions in radiologic technology and other health care practices involve a consideration of:

human values

13. When undertaking an ethical analysis:

identification of human values pertinent to the analysis must be considered

11. A process by which patients can agree to be treated or refuse to be treated based on information provided by the radiographer about specific treatment is called _____ consent.

informed

16. Getting a speeding ticket from a state police officer on an interstate highway would be a violation of:

legislative law

20. Written defamation of a person is termed:

libel

27. Acceptable informed consent:

must be witnessed by someone not involved in the procedure

1. The most common legal claim against health care providers is:

negligence.

30. The legal doctrine of res ipsa loquitur intends to shift the burden of proof from the plaintiff to the defendant (technologist). It implies that the patient was injured through no fault of his or her own while in the complete control of another. An example of this would be a:

patient's skin being torn as he is transferred from a cart to his bed

7. You are the director of a busy medical imaging department. One of your technologists has been accused of looking up the personal medical records and x-ray reports of his brother's girlfriend. The girlfriend visited the hospital as a patient for an ultrasound examination of the pelvis to rule out pregnancy. Disciplinary action for this technologist would be appropriate because of a violation of:

professional ethics

8. Being rude and impolite to a patient's family members because they are asking how long an examination will take is an example of a(n):

professional etiquette violation

25. As you position an adult patient for a skull examination, you begin to position a shadow shield attached to the x-ray tube assembly in order to protect the patient's thyroid from exposure. While you are doing so, the lead shield falls and hits the patient in the throat. Apologies are given and nursing care is administered to the patient to take care of the throat trauma. Eventually, the patient's voice changes and he contends that the accident led to his throat damage. In the court proceedings, his attorney claims negligence and uses the principle of:

res ipsa loquitur

19. It is the duty of any health care practitioner, including medical imaging personnel, to:

safeguard patient rights and autonomy

2. The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) reserves the right to revoke any certification from an individual whom it has registered. Reasons for revocation can vary from ethical violations to failure to maintain continuing education credits, just to mention two. This process of sanctioning demonstrates professional _____ to society.

self-regulation

21. Defamation of a character by speaking poorly of an individual is:

slander

28. As you begin a barium study of the colon, the patient states clearly that she wants the examination to stop. The professional imaging technologist should:

stop the barium, drain as much of it as possible from the patient's colon, and courteously conclude the examination

18. As you perform a mammogram on an anxious patient, she asks you to stop the breast compression and examination as it is getting painful. Your responsibility as a professional is to:

stop the examination at her request and submit the images you have completed

19. The term veracity refers to:

telling the truth

13. The term res ipsa loquitur means the:

thing speaks for itself.

3. Failure to pay one's federal income taxes would be an example of a(n):

violation of federal law

4. You are enjoying an evening with a friend at the theater. The person seated behind you routinely texts messages to his girlfriend about the movie and what is happening. This behavior would be a:

violation of socially accepted values