Ethical and moral questions for the interview

[renetto]

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I came up with some questions that could potentially be asked in a pharmacy interview and I'm really interested in how the pharmacy and pre-pharm students of today would answer them. Here they are:

• Would you support or object to a law stating that insulin syringes cannot be purchased without a prescription? Why or why not?
• Should pharmacists have the right to refuse to sell the Plan B pill even though the patient would not have an adverse reaction to it (for this question, assume that the pill will not harm the woman and that she is of age to purchase it)?
• What is your opinion of pharmacists who refuse to dispense birth control?
• What role should religion play in pharmacy?

looking forward to hearing your answers!

 

[nicolemsm]

I came up with some questions that could potentially be asked in a pharmacy interview and I'm really interested in how the pharmacy and pre-pharm students of today would answer them. Here they are:

• Would you support or object to a law stating that insulin syringes cannot be purchased without a prescription? Why or why not?
• Should pharmacists have the right to refuse to sell the Plan B pill even though the patient would not have an adverse reaction to it (for this question, assume that the pill will not harm the woman and that she is of age to purchase it)?
• What is your opinion of pharmacists who refuse to dispense birth control?
• What role should religion play in pharmacy?

looking forward to hearing your answers!

You came up with these or better yet did you read them in the interview section? I won't link you... I'm pretty sure you can find your way there 🙄

 

[renetto]

You came up with these or better yet did you read them in the interview section? I won't link you... I'm pretty sure you can find your way there 🙄

Nah I don't know what that section is. If you don't want to answer them then don't, just move along.

 

[owlegrad]

I came up with some questions that could potentially be asked in a pharmacy interview and I'm really interested in how the pharmacy and pre-pharm students of today would answer them. Here they are:

• Would you support or object to a law stating that insulin syringes cannot be purchased without a prescription? Why or why not?
• Should pharmacists have the right to refuse to sell the Plan B pill even though the patient would not have an adverse reaction to it (for this question, assume that the pill will not harm the woman and that she is of age to purchase it)?
• What is your opinion of pharmacists who refuse to dispense birth control?
• What role should religion play in pharmacy?

looking forward to hearing your answers!

Would you support or object to a law...?

Good question! I am curious to see what others say. Don't some major cities have needle exchange programs, the idea being to at least use clean needles? I can't imagine limiting access to clean needles, but maybe I am thinking about it the wrong way. I don't think limiting access to clean needles would go a long way toward discouraging illegal drug use, but I bet it would go pretty far toward spreading diseases!

Should pharmacists have the right to ...?

The right? Yes

Is it a right that should often be used? Read below!

What is my opinion of pharmacist who refuse to dispense birth control?

Are there pharmacists who refuse to dispense birth control? Specifically Plan B I guess. I feel bad for pharmacist who feel they cannot dispense Plan B. I wish they could find an environment where they can practise without conflict. I think it is unfair to the patient, the employer and the pharmacist. The patient should be able to have timely access to medication, the employer should expect their employees to practise industry standards, the pharmacist should be able to practise without choosing between their morals and their job. The pharmacist, whenever possible, should seek employment where this will not be an issue. I feel pretty strongly on this one.

What role should religion play in pharmacy?

Not sure what to say here. Maybe I am being dense but it seems to me it should play the same role it plays in every profession. Religious freedom is pretty extensive here in the USA. Any pharmacist should feel free to be a member of the religion of their choice. As a reasonable extension of the previous question, if their religious beliefs conflict with their duty as pharmacist then they should choose to practise where there is the least amount of conflict (ideally none).

 

[themulya]

Nah I don't know what that section is. If you don't want to answer them then don't, just move along.

Well the problem is that many nervous interviewees post threads on this site asking how to answer questions such as these. That ends up defeating the purpose of the interview which is a way a school can get to know you. So whether you truly came up with these questions and are curious about opinions or trying to craftily hide the fact you don't know how to answer these questions, don't expect too many responses to your questions. It's not a judgement on you but rather just the way it goes on the forums. We'll help you find questions asked in an interview but we wont answer them for you.

 

[crazybob]

Would you support or object to a law stating that insulin syringes cannot be purchased without a prescription? Why or why not?

I would support the law. If insulin syringes could be obtained without a prescription, then there would be too many patients using insulin and risking the effects that come with lowered blood sugar. If a doctor diagnoses a patient with a need for insulin, then he will write a prescription for the syringes. If there is no need, then not having a prescription would prevent the patient from abusing insulin shots.

Those who oppose would say that some patient cannot afford to make a doctor's visit and need to take insulin immediately or in the short-term. You may have to argue your points about this side. Opposing the law keeps diabetics from spending extra time to go to the doctor when they need insulin, but it also leaves room for drug abusers to take insulin without proper prescriptions.

Should pharmacists have the right to refuse to sell the Plan B pill even though the patient would not have an adverse reaction to it (for this question, assume that the pill will not harm the woman and that she is of age to purchase it)?

I think I've heard of a case where a pharmacist was responsible for a girl getting pregnant from her boyfriend because he did not counsel her properly on a contraceptive. If selling Plan B to patient might result in a similar situation and the frequency of its occurrence is significant, then I think pharmacists should have an option to sell or not sell Plan B. There would still be some pharmacists willing to sell Plan B, so the girl would just have to go to a different pharmacy.

What is your opinion of pharmacists who refuse to dispense birth control?

See above. I see it as a personal matter where the pharmacist does not want to take responsibility if something goes wrong. I personally would not want to dispense birth control and counsel patient on it, until I feel confident enough that I have covered all of the points and whatever happens cannot be traced back to me but only to the patient.

What role should religion play in pharmacy?

It could help patients feel more comfortable with the pharmacist when the pharmacist understand the patient's religious background. Knowing and understanding how a patient would feel about certain medications or different types of practices in medicine would make the patients more likely to come back to the pharmacist for advice and also for medications. It should not be used to judge patients in their lifestyles or their refusal to take certain medications because a patient has a different religious background than the pharmacist.

 

[renetto]

Well the problem is that many nervous interviewees post threads on this site asking how to answer questions such as these. That ends up defeating the purpose of the interview which is a way a school can get to know you. So whether you truly came up with these questions and are curious about opinions or trying to craftily hide the fact you don't know how to answer these questions, don't expect too many responses to your questions. It's not a judgement on you but rather just the way it goes on the forums. We'll help you find questions asked in an interview but we wont answer them for you.

No worries, I'm a P3 at OU. I like hearing the opinions of up and coming pharmacy student though.

 

[aboveliquidice]

As a P3, you have no doubt completed ethics - where each and every one of the above topics is discussed. You should review your notes.

As for prepharmacy students reading this thread, ethics questions require a decent moral compass and common sense. Some say there is "no wrong answer"... that isn't true. There are many wrong answers. That being said, these questions are easy to do well on. Simply think your way through. Read the interview feedback section for commonly asked questions. Then prepare, prepare, prepare - then prepare some more.

 

[renetto]

As a P3, you have no doubt completed ethics - where each and every one of the above topics is discussed. You should review your notes.

What are you talking about? I'm not looking for answers to those questions for personal use, I'm curious to see how these new students are answering and approaching ethical questions like this.

I think you need to reread this topic.

 

[aboveliquidice]

What are you talking about? I'm not looking for answers to those questions for personal use, I'm curious to see how these new students are answering and approaching ethical questions like this.

I think you need to reread this topic.

I may have misinterpreted your intentions. The questions stated above are basic level ethical questions - asked to pre-pharmacy students during interviews. They are also covered in your first-year ethics course.

What perspective do you hope to gain from an anonymous board of students who have not received formal ethics training? Perhaps this question should be posed to the pharmacy forum - where the discussion could be held amongst peers.

 

[renetto]

What perspective do you hope to gain from an anonymous board of students who have not received formal ethics training? Perhaps this question should be posed to the pharmacy forum - where the discussion could be held amongst peers.

It's not a perspective that I'm trying to gain, it's just an understanding of how the up and coming pharmacy students are viewing situations like this. Take my first question for example. You don't think it would be very interesting if a majority of pre-pharm thinks one way and us pharmacy student think another way? Or even if they are split due to some reason like religion or location?

This is the perfect location for this type of discussion.