PHIL 380 Biomedical Ethics
Final Assessment Review
Questions & Solutions
2025
©2025
,Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
1. A terminally ill patient refuses a life-saving blood transfusion due to
religious beliefs. The nurse must prioritize which ethical principle?
A) Beneficence
B) Autonomy
C) Justice
D) Non-maleficence
ANS: B) Autonomy
Rationale: Autonomy respects the patient’s right to make informed
decisions about their own healthcare, even if it conflicts with medical
advice.
2. In the case of an unconscious patient without an advance directive,
what ethical framework guides decision-making?
A) Utilitarianism
B) Substitute judgment
C) Paternalism
D) Deontological ethics
ANS: B) Substitute judgment
Rationale: Substitute judgment involves making decisions based on what
the patient would have wanted, often via a surrogate or family member.
3. Genetic testing reveals a patient’s predisposition to a hereditary
disease with no current treatment. The nurse’s ethical obligation is to:
A) Inform the patient regardless of their wish to know
B) Respect the patient’s right to not know this information
C) Disclose this info to insurance without patient consent
D) Recommend immediate treatment based on the test
ANS: B) Respect the patient’s right to not know this information
Rationale: Respecting patient autonomy includes honoring their choice to
©2025
, remain unaware of certain genetic risks.
4. Which of the following best describes “doctrine of double effect”?
A) The ethical acceptability of causing harm as a side effect of a good act
B) Deliberate harm for therapeutic benefit
C) The principle of informed consent
D) Ensuring distributive justice
ANS: A) The ethical acceptability of causing harm as a side effect of a
good act
Rationale: The doctrine allows that unintended negative effects can be
ethically permissible if the primary intention is good.
5. A nurse discovers a colleague is falsifying patient records. What is the
most ethically appropriate action?
A) Ignore to maintain team harmony
B) Report the misconduct to the supervisor
C) Confront the colleague privately but take no further action
D) Wait until harm occurs to report
ANS: B) Report the misconduct to the supervisor
Rationale: Patient safety and professional integrity require reporting
unethical behavior promptly.
6. What principle is primarily concerned with fairness in distributing
healthcare resources?
A) Autonomy
B) Beneficence
C) Justice
D) Fidelity
ANS: C) Justice
Rationale: Justice addresses equitable access to healthcare treatments
and resources.
©2025
Final Assessment Review
Questions & Solutions
2025
©2025
,Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
1. A terminally ill patient refuses a life-saving blood transfusion due to
religious beliefs. The nurse must prioritize which ethical principle?
A) Beneficence
B) Autonomy
C) Justice
D) Non-maleficence
ANS: B) Autonomy
Rationale: Autonomy respects the patient’s right to make informed
decisions about their own healthcare, even if it conflicts with medical
advice.
2. In the case of an unconscious patient without an advance directive,
what ethical framework guides decision-making?
A) Utilitarianism
B) Substitute judgment
C) Paternalism
D) Deontological ethics
ANS: B) Substitute judgment
Rationale: Substitute judgment involves making decisions based on what
the patient would have wanted, often via a surrogate or family member.
3. Genetic testing reveals a patient’s predisposition to a hereditary
disease with no current treatment. The nurse’s ethical obligation is to:
A) Inform the patient regardless of their wish to know
B) Respect the patient’s right to not know this information
C) Disclose this info to insurance without patient consent
D) Recommend immediate treatment based on the test
ANS: B) Respect the patient’s right to not know this information
Rationale: Respecting patient autonomy includes honoring their choice to
©2025
, remain unaware of certain genetic risks.
4. Which of the following best describes “doctrine of double effect”?
A) The ethical acceptability of causing harm as a side effect of a good act
B) Deliberate harm for therapeutic benefit
C) The principle of informed consent
D) Ensuring distributive justice
ANS: A) The ethical acceptability of causing harm as a side effect of a
good act
Rationale: The doctrine allows that unintended negative effects can be
ethically permissible if the primary intention is good.
5. A nurse discovers a colleague is falsifying patient records. What is the
most ethically appropriate action?
A) Ignore to maintain team harmony
B) Report the misconduct to the supervisor
C) Confront the colleague privately but take no further action
D) Wait until harm occurs to report
ANS: B) Report the misconduct to the supervisor
Rationale: Patient safety and professional integrity require reporting
unethical behavior promptly.
6. What principle is primarily concerned with fairness in distributing
healthcare resources?
A) Autonomy
B) Beneficence
C) Justice
D) Fidelity
ANS: C) Justice
Rationale: Justice addresses equitable access to healthcare treatments
and resources.
©2025
