Deck 6: Healthcare Ethics Committees: Roles, Memberships, Structure, and Difficulties

Question 1

Engagement of ethics committees in both__________ and__________ roles help organizations to obtain ethical excellence.

Answer 1

clinical, policy

Question 2

The joint commission recognizes the need for ethics committees but does not __________ them.

Answer 2

mandate

Question 3

Ethics committees are involved in policy review to__________ its use from an ethics standpoint.

Answer 3

justify

Question 4

When ethics committees provide advice on issues related to patients, it is called __________ consultation.

Question 5

Ashcroft, Dawson, Draper, and McMillan suggest that the__________ position of patients, families, and clinicians be part of decision-making

Question 6

When making recommendations about the ethical uses of resources, ethics committees should avoid __________.

Question 7

IRB's are specialized ethics committees that protect the rights of patients when they are used for__________

Question 8

Ethics committees need to involve clinicians, administrators, and other resources. Including these members allows for __________ decision-making.

Question 9

Nelson suggests that ethics committees need to use a__________ to increase the fairness in decision-making.

Question 10

When a healthcare professional and not make decisions that he/she thinks is morally right, it is called __________

Question 11

What subcommittees are recommended for an ethics committee? What duties would each of these committees have?

Question 12

Using the information in Chapter 6, give two examples of a ethics issue related to allocation of resources. What ethics principles can assist in resolving your examples?

Question 13

Dr. West introduces the rights of the newly dead in his section. Using the information in Chapter 6, explain why the newly dead are not always treated with dignity. What ethics principles are violated when the newly dead are not treated as patients?

Question 14

Healthcare ethics committees should include subcommittees that concentrate on which two primary areas?

A) policy development and staff education
B) community concerns and financial concerns
C) hospital policies and health care reform legislation
D) administrative issues and clinical practice issues

Question 15

The HEC is investigating a case in which a patient's competency and ability to give informed consent has been called into question. Which individual should the HEC consult to determine specifically how the principles of ethics apply to the situation?

A) an ethicist
B) a case worker
C) the patient's treating physician
D) the hospital's legal representation

Question 16

Why is the involvement of HECs necessary in the area of resource allocation?

A) Administrative staff are often too busy with policy development to handle resource allocation on their own.
B) Hospitals do not have enough funding to meet all demands and must make ethically complex decisions about how scarce resources are allocated.
C) HECs are needed to mediate conflicts between hospital staff and patients over how hospital resources are allocated.
D) Neither hospital administrators nor healthcare providers are qualified to make resource allocation decisions.

Question 17

A top hospital administrator whose relative is currently battling cancer wants to increase the percentage of donated funds that is allocated for experimental cancer treatments by cutting the percentage that is used for quality of life enhancements and enrichment activities for terminally ill patients. Which area(s) related to the ethics of resource allocation does the HEC need to consider in this case?

A) conflicts of interest
B) uncertainty of outcomes
C) both A and B
D) neither A nor B

Question 18

Which best describes the relationship between healthcare ethics committees (HECs) and institutional review boards (IRBs)?

A) HECs are specialized IRBs that deal exclusively with ethical issues.
B) HECs report to IRBs that evaluate their performance and effectiveness.
C) IRBs are specialized HECs that deal with the ethics of research in the hospital setting.
D) IRBs report to HECs that evaluate the quality of hospital research protocols.

Question 19

A patient requests a new treatment that they read about online. The treatment is very expensive and is not covered by the patient's insurance because a less expensive alternative is considered the standard of care. What is the best course of action for the HEC?

A) Convince the patient to accept the less expensive standard of care.
B) Ensure that the hospital honors the wishes of the patient by providing the new treatment.
C) Reallocate hospital resources in anticipation that the new treatment will soon become the new standard of care.
D) Form a subcommittee to investigate costs, risks, and benefits of the treatment to determine best possible care for the patient.

Question 20

Which member of the ethics committee is responsible for understanding and presenting the patient's view of a healthcare situation?

A) medical staff member
B) social services representative
C) nursing staff member
D) hospital clergy

Question 21

Which community member would be an appropriate choice for an ethics committee member?

A) a popular local business owner who makes large donations to the hospital
B) a town council member who is familiar with the needs and concerns of the town's residents
C) a retired surgeon who used to work for the hospital and understands how hospitals are run
D) a local celebrity who was born at the hospital and takes an interest in the town's politics

Question 22

Which of the following should describe ethics committee members?

A) known for their high moral principles and reasoning skills
B) competent in their areas of expertise
C) committed to reducing institutional expenditures
D) both A and B

Question 23

Which step would an ethics committee following Nelson's multistep model take first?

A) Research the facts and implications of the conflict.
B) Decide what ethical principles and theories apply to the conflict.
C) Define the conflict and the ethical question involved.
D) Determine who is affected by the conflict.

Question 24

A physician begins to experience headaches and fatigue and is uncharacteristically irritable both at the hospital and at home. When asked about work, the physician expresses frustration at staffing shortages leading to delays in care implementation and patient discomfort. The physician is exhibiting signs of which phenomenon?

A) moral distress
B) moral residue
C) moral courage
D) high moral principles

Question 25

Which step should an ethics committee take when addressing an ethical crisis?

A) Communicate only with selected individuals to prevent information about the crisis from spreading.
B) Conduct thorough research using multiple reliable sources to gain as much information about the crisis as possible.
C) Pay attention to rumors about the crisis that provide valuable insights from people outside the ethics committee.
D) Use tried and true methods of crisis management rather than investigate new options and methods.

Question 26

Which is an anticipated impact of the aging baby boomer generation on healthcare providers?

A) More healthcare providers will be needed to care for baby boomers, but fewer providers will be available as baby boomers retire.
B) More healthcare providers will be needed to care for baby boomers, and more individuals will choose healthcare fields as a result of this need.
C) Fewer healthcare providers will be needed to care for baby boomers because advances in healthcare will lengthen their life expectancy.
D) Fewer healthcare providers will be needed to care for baby boomers because they are healthier as a generation than their predecessors were.

Question 27

Which action would show disregard for the ethical concerns related to the newly dead?

A) Use of cremation instead of interment for newly dead individuals who did not have family members to make decisions regarding their remains.
B) Implementation of precautions by funeral directors who assume that every newly dead person is contagious.
C) Implementation of a hospital policy that requires the newly dead to be moved to the morgue as quickly as possible.
D) Use of language that is respectful but not overly emotional by healthcare professionals when discussing the death of a patient with the family.

Question 28

The increased emphasis on ethical policy development today is a result of The Joint Commission's 1992 mandate that required all hospitals to form an ethics committee.

Question 29

A primary challenge faced by HEC educators is convincing staff of the need for and benefits of ethics training.

Question 30

HECs should base decisions related to resource allocation on community values, legal requirements, and local and national politics.

Question 31

A hospital's IRB might determine that an experimental treatment poses too many risks relative to the potential benefit to the patient and recommend that the treatment not be offered at that facility.

Question 32

Hospitals do not include clergy members on ethics committees unless the hospital is a faith-based institution.

Question 33

A nurse reporting concerns about lax charting by members of the patient care staff is showing signs of moral residue.