Deck · USMLE Step 1
Social Sciences, Ethics & Systems-based Practice
Medical ethics, communication, professionalism, patient safety and quality improvement, healthcare systems, and the social determinants of health.
90 cards · audited · SM-2 spaced repetition
Included with the full USMLE Step 1 program — 14 decks, 1,546 cards.
Sample cards
A competent adult refuses a life-saving blood transfusion on religious grounds. Which ethical principle most directly obligates you to honor this refusal?
Autonomy — a patient with decision-making capacity has the right to refuse any treatment, even one that is life-saving, provided the refusal is informed and voluntary.
What are the four core principles of medical ethics?
Autonomy (respecting the patient's right to self-determination), beneficence (acting in the patient's best interest), non-maleficence ("first, do no harm"), and justice (fair distribution of benefits, risks, and resources).
How do beneficence and non-maleficence differ?
Beneficence is the positive duty to act for the patient's benefit and promote well-being; non-maleficence is the duty to avoid causing harm ("primum non nocere"). Most clinical decisions weigh the two against each other.
A hospital must allocate a limited supply of ICU ventilators during a pandemic. Which ethical principle governs how they should be distributed?
Justice — the fair, equitable distribution of scarce benefits, burdens, and resources, typically using objective, transparent criteria rather than favoritism.
What are the essential elements that must be present for informed consent to be valid?
(1) Decision-making capacity, (2) disclosure of the diagnosis, nature of the intervention, risks, benefits, and alternatives (including no treatment), (3) patient understanding, and (4) voluntariness (no coercion).
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