Ethics in Action
A radiographic image is free of artifacts and accurately represents the patient’s condition. This characteristic describes the image’s ______.
Fidelity
Radiologic technologists can refer to this ARRT document for expectations regarding ethical and professional conduct.
ARRT Standards of Ethics
An order is written for the patient's right wrist, but the radiographer performs the examination on the left wrist. This type of failure to exercise appropriate care has occurred.
Negligence
Allowing a capable adult to participate in decisions about whether an imaging procedure will be performed helps protect this patient right.
Autonomy
A technologist refuses to complete a procedure already in progress simply because the scheduled work shift has ended. The test categorizes this type of conduct as this serious ethical violation.
Ethical outrage
A patient asks whether a difficult position will hurt. Instead of promising that it will be painless, the radiographer truthfully explains that temporary discomfort may occur.
Veracity
A radiographer tells an employee who is not involved in the patient’s care about the patient’s infectious diagnosis. This professional violation has occurred.
A radiographer fails to lock a patient's wheelchair before a transfer. In a negligence claim, the failure to perform this expected safety action represents this element.
Breach of duty
Before an adult can legally sign an informed-consent form, the patient must possess this ability.
Competence
A radiographer publicly criticizes a physician or another healthcare team member. The behavior would be classified this way professionally.
Unethical practice
A radiographer must choose between two actions that each have potential benefits and negative consequences, with no clearly correct choice.
Ethical dilemma
A technologist consistently uses more exposure than necessary because higher receptor exposure makes images appear less noisy. This radiation-protection principle is being violated.
ALARA
A hospital employee injures a patient while performing assigned job duties. This doctrine may allow the employer to also be held legally responsible.
Respondeat superior
A parent refuses use of a pediatric immobilization device, but the child is restrained in the device anyway. Preventing the patient's freedom of movement may constitute this.
False imprisonment
A patient files a civil lawsuit seeking damages for an injury allegedly caused during an imaging procedure. The private or civil wrong involved is called this.
Tort
A technologist relies only on personal beliefs learned from family and culture when making a professional decision. The major problem is that other people may not share this.
Same moral value system
After making an exposure with an unnecessarily large field, a radiographer electronically masks the image so the poor collimation will not be noticed. The ethical problem is using post-processing to do this.
Conceal poor radiation-protection practice
When determining whether a radiographer acted appropriately, professional conduct may be compared with these established expectations for medical imaging professionals.
Practice Standards for Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy
During an invasive imaging examination, a competent patient withdraws permission and clearly says to stop. The procedure continues anyway. This legal violation may have occurred.
Battery
A healthcare worker recklessly threatens a patient with bodily harm but does not actually make physical contact.
Assault
A radiographer chooses an action primarily because its expected outcome will produce the greatest benefit or least harm.
Consequentialism
A family member politely asks when an examination will be finished, but the radiographer responds rudely and dismissively. This type of professional violation has occurred.
Professional etiquette violation
A radiographer had a professional duty to a patient, failed to meet that duty, and the patient experienced damages because of that failure. This type of professional negligence claim may result.
Malpractice
This process requires an appropriate patient to authorize a procedure, with the patient's rights and the conditions of the authorization respected.
Informed consent
A radiographer knowingly writes a false statement about a coworker that harms the coworker’s professional reputation. This form of written defamation has occurred.
Libel