Towsley-Cook: Ethical and Legal Issues for Imaging Professionals, 
2nd Edition

Chapter 1:  Ethical and Legal Foundations

Test Bank

TRUE/FALSE

	1.	Lawsuits involving imaging professionals are brought only under civil tort law.

True
False

ANS:	F

Lawsuits involving imaging professionals are most often brought under tort law but can also involve administrative and criminal law.

REF:	Page: 17

	2.	Imaging professionals should immediately consult with their supervisor or the legal department if served with interrogatories regarding any legal action.

True
False

ANS:	T

Because interrogatories are so important and can be used to contradict testimony at trial, an imaging professional should never answer them without consultation and advice of the defense attorney. The supervisor or legal department should be able to direct the imaging professional to that attorney.

REF:	Page: 18

	3.	Administrative law governs the licensure of the imaging professional.

True
False

ANS:	T

Administrative law determines the licensing and regulation of the practice of imaging professionals and also determines some employer-employee relations.

REF:	Page: 16

	4.	It is unlikely that an imaging professional would be sued or that the professional's actions or involvement in a procedure would form the basis for a lawsuit against their facility.

True
False

ANS:	F

The imaging professional is constantly exposed to situations that can result in litigation and may be required to participate in that litigation.

REF:	Page: 17

	5.	Imaging professionals and students are an integral part of the risk management program in their facility.

True
False

ANS:	T

Although facilities generally employ risk managers to maintain efficiency and quality of care, each staff and student imaging professional must take responsibility as a risk manager and be aware that risk is always present.

REF:	Page: 19

MULTIPLE CHOICE

	1.	Ethics may be considered:
a.	challenges	
b.	opportunities	
c.	a system	
d.	all of the above	

ANS:	D

Ethics may be defined as the system or code of conduct and morals advocated by a particular individual or group. It also is the study of acceptable conduct and moral judgment. Ethics is a system of understanding determinations and motivations based on individual conceptions of right and wrong.

REF:	Page: 2

	2.	An awareness of conduct, aims, and qualities is involved in the definition of:
a.	consequentialism.	
b.	paternalism.	
c.	professionalism.	
d.	virtue ethics.	

ANS:	C

The imaging professional works in a challenging and changing environment. To respond appropriately to the many potential biomedical ethical dilemmas they will face, imaging professionals must be able to apply the basic concepts of professionalism—an awareness of the conduct, aims, and qualities defining a given profession.

REF:	Page: 8

	3.	Deontology is the opposite of:
a.	virtue ethics.	
b.	reality.	
c.	beneficence.	
d.	teleology.	

ANS:	D

Consequentialism, or teleology, bases decisions on the consequences or outcomes of a given act. It evaluates the good of an activity by assessing whether immediate harm is balanced with future benefit. Consequentialism advocates providing the greatest good for the greatest number. Deontology bases decision making on individual motives and morals rather than consequences. It is therefore the opposite of teleology. Deontology examines the significance of actions themselves.

REF:	Page: 9

	4.	The ethical model that involves sharing, trust, and the pursuit of common goals is the:
a.	paternalistic model.	
b.	covenantal model.	
c.	contractual model.	
d.	collegial model.	

ANS:	D

The collegial model describes a more cooperative method of providing health care for the patient. It involves sharing, trust, and the pursuit of common goals. An imaging professional who takes time to get to know the patient and works with the patient to reach a mutual understanding is working within the collegial model. This model may be helpful in addressing patients’ emotional needs and engaging their cooperation.

REF:	Page: 11

	5.	Ethical questions generally involve:
a.	conflicting values.	
b.	only one right answer.	
c.	easy answers.	
d.	none of the above.	

ANS:	A

Values determine both personal and professional ethics; therefore ethical questions generally involve conflicts between values. A value is a quality or standard that is desirable or worthy of esteem in itself. Values are expressed in behaviors, language, and the standards of conduct that the imaging professional endorses or tries to maintain.

REF:	Page: 4

	6.	Ethics was born because:
a.	legal issues demanded them.	
b.	humans needed to get along as a group.	
c.	scholars needed to justify their existence.	
d.	none of the above.	

ANS:	B

Ethics was born of necessity when humans first realized that certain behaviors were required for people to get along as a group. As time passed, certain individuals were credited with providing bricks in the foundation of ethics.

REF:	Page: 4

	7.	Values clarification includes:
a.	organizing values.	
b.	individual beliefs about truth and reality.	
c.	dictating others’ actions.	
d.	a and b.	

ANS:	D

Values clarification enables the imaging professional to organize values into a personally meaningful system. The individual’s set of beliefs about truth and reality is defined by this system.

REF:	Page: 4

	8.	The Dowd Model requires:
a.	assessment.	
b.	data gathering.	
c.	isolating issues.	
d.	all the above.	

ANS:	D

The Dowd Model requires assessment of the problem. Thorough data gathering and awareness of all sides of the situation are integral in this step. Isolating the issues calls for recognition of what values, principles, and ethical dilemmas exist. Analysis of the data provides an objective framework for review of all the issues involved. After assessing the problem, isolating the issues, and analyzing the data, the imaging professional must develop a plan of action and institute the plan. The final step, analysis of the outcome, will show whether the problem was handled in a satisfactory fashion or whether another approach should be considered. Imaging professionals will discover or develop the ethical problem-solving method that works best for them.

REF:	Page: 12

	9.	The Patient Care Partnership was published by:
a.	JRCERT.	
b.	RSNA.	
c.	AERIS.	
d.	AHA.	

ANS:	D

The American Hospital Association (AHA) has recognized the importance of patients’ rights and published a brochure titled The Patient Care Partnership.

REF:	Page: 12

	10.	The covenantal model is grounded in:
a.	personal expectations.	
b.	traditional values and goals.	
c.	finances.	
d.	all the above.	

ANS:	B

The covenantal model recognizes that many areas of health care are not always covered by a terse, businesslike contract. Instead, care is based on an agreement between the patient and health care provider, an agreement often grounded in traditional values and goals.

REF:	Page: 11

	11.	The statute of limitations is:
a.	the limit on how much money can be requested in a medical malpractice suit.	
b.	the time in which a suit can be brought against a physician or health care provider.	
c.	the statute governing where the case can be heard.	
d.	the statute governing against whom a medical malpractice suit may be filed.	

ANS:	B

There are limitations on the time in which a suit can be filed.

REF:	Page: 17

	12.	Notice of the filing of a lawsuit must be given to a defendant by:
a.	U.S. mail.	
b.	carrier pigeon.	
c.	specific methods specified by the particular court in which suit is filed.	
d.	telephone.	

ANS:	C

The methods are very specific and vary by the court in which they are filed.

REF:	Page: 18

	13.	Settlement negotiations:
a.	can be and usually are in progress before a suit is ever filed.	
b.	generally continue throughout a lawsuit.	
c.	often involve attorneys for the plaintiff, the defendant(s), and the insurance carriers of the defendant(s).	
d.	all of the above.	

ANS:	D

Lawsuits can be settled at any time before or during a lawsuit and involve all parties.

REF:	Page: 18

	14.	With regard to case law in various jurisdictions:
a.	courts must follow the law of other jurisdictions.	
b.	case law is binding only in the jurisdiction where the case is decided.	
c.	courts in one jurisdiction may and often do consider the decisions in other jurisdictions for guidance.	
d.	b and c.	

ANS:	D

Courts follow law in their jurisdiction unless they make a conscious decision to change that law. However, they often consider decisions in other jurisdictions.

REF:	Page: 16

	15.	Tort law includes:
a.	assault and battery.	
b.	defamation.	
c.	negligence.	
d.	all of the above.	

ANS:	D

All these are either intentional or nonintentional torts.

REF:	Page: 17