Patient Safety, Ethics, and Professional Standards
Core concepts
Safety in electrodiagnostics includes electrical safety (proper grounding, equipment inspection), infection control (electrode cleaning, needle precautions), and patient communication. Know contraindications and cautions for electrical stimulation (implanted cardiac devices, especially with TMS and high-intensity stimulation), and skin integrity concerns. Obtain informed consent, explain the procedure, and protect privacy (HIPAA-type standards).
Ethics: maintain competence, avoid conflicts of interest, report accurate results, and recognize the limits of testing. Professional standards include accurate documentation, appropriate referral, and respecting patient autonomy. Understand scope of practice and the importance of not overstating findings.
Traps
Questions test whether you know that implanted devices may contraindicate certain stimulation, and that consent and privacy are non-negotiable. Watch for scenarios that tempt falsifying or omitting data.
Worked example / rule of thumb
If a patient has a pacemaker and TMS is proposed, pause and verify device safety before proceeding. Rule of thumb: when a safety contraindication is uncertain, default to caution and consult-patient safety overrides convenience.