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Is it best to give an answer where you address both sides of the issue, or is it best to firmly pick a side and defend it?
ethical questions during interviews
- Thread starter Pandaeac
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It's good to show that you understand different perspectives, as most questions you will face will not have a clear cut answer, so don't seem too stubborn or closed minded. At the same time, you don't want to seem like you're just telling them what they want to hear, so make sure you defend your position as well. In other words, the best answer is probably listing out the pros and cons of each decision and describing why you went with a particular decision (e.g. you value patient autonomy more than something else, etc.)
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You have the most informative MDApps ever. Ever.
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I like trolling the interviewers by pretending it's real life.
"If you could give a liver transplant to an 25 year old alcoholic or an 80 year old teetotaler..."
"But that wouldn't actually happen, would it? Isn't the decision made by a computer algorithm from which I would be completely removed?"
"If you could give a liver transplant to an 25 year old alcoholic or an 80 year old teetotaler..."
"But that wouldn't actually happen, would it? Isn't the decision made by a computer algorithm from which I would be completely removed?"
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Have you actually been asked that? Aren't you removed from the list if you drink? 😕
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Apparently some schools have asked that exact question. I've been asked other ethical questions where I've responded similarly. Ethical questions as a whole are completely asinine.
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Would you "fire" (exclude from your medical practice) families that refuse to vaccinate their children?
Is that an asinine question?
Discuss.
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+1, with the caveat that you need to be able to understand the viewpoints of others (even if you disagree)
LizzyM said:
Not asinine at all. The pediatrician's office I worked for decided they needed to "fire" unvaccinated patients in order to protect other patients who may be unvaccinated or immunocompromised.
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To be honest, I think that a fair bit can depend on the interviewer's disposition, and how many questions they need to get through. No ethical dilemma is absolutely black and white (hence dilemma). Sometimes the interviewer just wants to know where you stand, and doesn't want to hear you discuss the complexity of the issue - even if such discussion articulates your rationale. Other times, the interviewer may call you out for not addressing each side of the issue, or a particular aspect.
I had found that such ethical dilemmas typically appeared in the more structured interviews, (e.g. Cleveland Clinic - where they literally have a sheet of questions to ask). My advice would be to initially give a concise answer that briefly acknowledges the complexities of the issue at hand but then states your opinion. If the dilemma is just part of a set of questions that your interviewer needs to blow through, then great. If it sparks a genuine discussion in which you can add nuance, then fantastic. But I would not wax and wane over the minutiae and get pedantic. People devote their careers to debating these questions.
tldr: In general, be concise with all of your answers (unlike this post D: ). Don't talk just to fill silence.
I had found that such ethical dilemmas typically appeared in the more structured interviews, (e.g. Cleveland Clinic - where they literally have a sheet of questions to ask). My advice would be to initially give a concise answer that briefly acknowledges the complexities of the issue at hand but then states your opinion. If the dilemma is just part of a set of questions that your interviewer needs to blow through, then great. If it sparks a genuine discussion in which you can add nuance, then fantastic. But I would not wax and wane over the minutiae and get pedantic. People devote their careers to debating these questions.
tldr: In general, be concise with all of your answers (unlike this post D: ). Don't talk just to fill silence.
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I prefer dueling them elegantly....sigh....🙄 Then again, I'd rather not stick my claws in my mouth. 😛😛😛
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I don't think all ethical questions are asinine. That one is, yes. But well-structured questions give the school an opportunity to see if an interviewee can logically think through an issue using certain principles and defend his or her decision - which can be a useful interviewing tool, IMO.
Just my $0.02.
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This is perhaps the most relevant ethical question an interviewer could ask and will be a staple when I interview in my M4 year.
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I actually had that question at my last interview. No, I wouldn't fire the family. Kids can't choose their parents. They shouldn't be punished for having parents who are raging idiots. I would be visibly disgusted with their idiotic choice, but I would still do everything to help the child in any other way that I could.
Yes, I think it's asinine. The responses are all going to be cookie cutter: outline both sides of the issue, mention patient/guardian/parental legal prerogative, say you would do everything you can to convince the parents to get the kid vaccinated, then say you would still see the child as a patient.
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That isn't the only reasonable answer but there is more than one reasonable answer and the point is to be reflective rather than reflexive and to be able to reason well and be articulate in expressing your reasoning. Sometimes the point of these questions is not what you say but how you say it as this is indicative of how you might speak to superiors, peers, subordinates, and families when issues such as this arise.
No doctors believe that vaccinations cause autism. Dr. Andrew Wakefield's study has been discredited thoroughly. But misinformed celebrities have reinforced the misconceptions to the point that they are now urban legend. The unfortunate consequence is folklore that persists in the face of reason.
And the ironic thing is that Jenny McCarthy, the high priestess of vaccination panic, found that her child actually had Landau-Kleffner syndrome and not autism....I would think that pointing that out to patients might help.
And the ironic thing is that Jenny McCarthy, the high priestess of vaccination panic, found that her child actually had Landau-Kleffner syndrome and not autism....I would think that pointing that out to patients might help.
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Please review the writings of Dr. Joseph Mercola.
There are others as well.
The AAP generally indicates that it is best not to dismiss from a pediatric practice families who decline vaccines, but accepts the right of pediatricians to do so. This is a topic that is widely discussed in the pediatric community and there are plenty of articles that can be found on a web search of the topic for those interested.
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Doesn't he own a supplement company or something? I feel like you can't really consider him a "doctor" - although I'm not entirely sure if he still practices or not.
Do they recommend dismissing them if you run a practice with lots of immunocompromised children?
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My hardest interview questions came from UW. This is a great source because it talks about the absolute worst that you will ever get.
This one is similar to the one I was asked during my interview with some of the details different (elderly patient, correct dosage written but someone else administered the wrong amount):
http://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/mistksc2.html
