interview question

[LauraMac]

so in a lot of interviews they ask what would you do if you caught someone cheating on an exam?

what is the best answer to give in this case? would you turn them in to be fair and potentially ruin their chances of getting into whatever school or getting whatever job? or would you just let it slide? i always give some kind of b.s. answer when asked this, and i hate what i say. but i don't know what to say. cause i wouldn't want to turn the person in, and i'm guessing that's what they are looking for.

what do you guys think interviewers are looking for when they ask this?

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[UCLAstudent]

so in a lot of interviews they ask what would you do if you caught someone cheating on an exam?

what is the best answer to give in this case? would you turn them in to be fair and potentially ruin their chances of getting into whatever school or getting whatever job? or would you just let it slide? i always give some kind of b.s. answer when asked this, and i hate what i say. but i don't know what to say. cause i wouldn't want to turn the person in, and i'm guessing that's what they are looking for.

what do you guys think interviewers are looking for when they ask this?

They want to see your integrity.

 

[Code Brown]

They want to see your integrity.

True. It runs along the same lines as the old "what if you gave the patient the wrong prescription, would you tell them even if there were no side effects?" question.

 

[LauraMac]

on the cheating question i wouldn't want to tell on the person. i feel like i have to lie about this, though, cause a person with integrity probably would tell... don't you think? i just wouldn't want to ruin that one person's life.

as for the prescription question, i wouldn't know what to do on that either. i'd want to tell them just so they know. but i'd be afraid that it would ruin our relationship and their trust in me, and therefore, hurt my future ability to help them. what would you guys do on this one?

 

[UCLAstudent]

on the cheating question i wouldn't want to tell on the person. i feel like i have to lie about this, though, cause a person with integrity probably would tell... don't you think? i just wouldn't want to ruin that one person's life.

as for the prescription question, i wouldn't know what to do on that either. i'd want to tell them just so they know. but i'd be afraid that it would ruin our relationship and their trust in me, and therefore, hurt my future ability to help them. what would you guys do on this one?

Really, you should be telling in both cases. Yes, you might "ruin" a cheating medical student's life, but do you really want someone who didn't make it through medical school fair and square to be responsible for the well-being of patients? Sympathizing with your classmate could put others in danger in the future. (I know that what I said is really an extreme case, but you get the picture.)

 

[VPDcurt]

I would tell on the person if I saw them cheating. As far as the other question goes, how wrong can you possibly be on a prescription? If you are prescribing a pain killer when you should be prescribing an antibiotic, then you have major issues and apologizing to a patient would be the least of your problems. If you prescribe an antibiotic (by mistake) that might not be as effective as another antibiotic, then it's really no big deal and I don't think that the patient needs to know that kind of information. The prescription question seems like a pretty lame one if you ask me. I like the cheating one though.

 

[cardsurgguy]

I would tell in both cases for the same arguments as above.

A person who cheats in med school or undergrad doesnt deserve to be in the profession. Presumably, they are cheating for some reason. My guess is that it's b/c they don't know the material as well as they should. I wouldn't want people like this practicing medicine.

As for the prescription question, I would also tell. This is what the interviewer probably wants to hear. Now, having said that, in the real world, does telling the error always occur? NO, not even remotely close. There are a million times when errors occur, or are caught by a pharmacist or nurse, etc. But for the purposes of an interview, I would say I'd tell.

Also, a prescription error can be a big error, even without being totally way out of the ballpark (antibiotic vs. painkillers) as the previous poster mentioned. An easy example that comes to mind is drug interactions and drug allergies. If the patient needs a painkiller and you prescribe something either the patient is allergic to, or will interact with another drug, you could have major harm occur to the patient, but you would still be prescribing the right class of drugs. Or you may have one painkiller that has certain side effects another class of painkillers doesn't have. For example, I wouldn't want to give a renal failure patient a drug that is nephrotoxic.
So it's not all black or white as prescribing the wrong type of drug completely vs. prescribing a slightly weaker antibiotic than what should be prescribed.

 

[beanbean]

I would tell on the person if I saw them cheating. As far as the other question goes, how wrong can you possibly be on a prescription? If you are prescribing a pain killer when you should be prescribing an antibiotic, then you have major issues and apologizing to a patient would be the least of your problems. If you prescribe an antibiotic (by mistake) that might not be as effective as another antibiotic, then it's really no big deal and I don't think that the patient needs to know that kind of information. The prescription question seems like a pretty lame one if you ask me. I like the cheating one though.

I wish this was true...it would make studying pharmacology so much easier!
It is incredibly easy to write a wrong prescription. Many meds are very similiar in spelling, dosages can written with a misplaced decimal point, etc. The example you have of prescribing a less effective antibiotic is not trivial and can have significant morbidity to a patient.

As far as answering these interview questions....

Many med schools have an honor code which requires anyone who witnesses a unethical act such as cheating to report it. However, this question or ones like it are often asked to try to get a feeling for the interviewee's sense of morals and ethics. To me it is a very transparent type of question which as you mentioned, is easy to give a canned, "BS" answer to with out much personal input, and therefore, to me, adds little to getting to know an applicant. The only thing I would be careful of in answering this kind of question would sounding arrogant and as though you are incapable of committing any errors. Talking about how you must 'keep these kind of people from treating patients in the future' or 'I would never make an error writing a prescription' would be red flags. An answer describing talking to the student you saw cheating and/or reporting the incident to an honor code to fully investigate the matter is appropriate. The prescription error question is perfect opening to discuss the importance of honesty in the doctor/patient relationship as well as how easy it is to commit medical errors in medicine today.

 

[GTA]

Come on guys, lets be honest: as far as the perscriptions (as long as there were truly NO harmful side effects), there is NO way any of us would say a word to the patiant. Admitting thie very harmless mistake would MOST LIKELY result in a law suit which could very easily make your insurance either drop you or raise your rates so high you quit.

And for the cheating thing, if you told ( and it could be traced back to you), most likely a significant portion of your med school class would turn on you...meaning: no notes, no help with studying, no nothing. This would be especially true if it was a 'common' form of cheating (ie, copying from a website for essays, ect.).

HOWEVER, for the perposes an interview: "sir, I would deffinatly feel it nessacary to report the person (or tell the patiant about the mistake) for the sake of the integrity of the entire medical establishment!!!!! I would be outraged and appalled ....and deeply saddened"

 

[QofQuimica]

so in a lot of interviews they ask what would you do if you caught someone cheating on an exam?

what is the best answer to give in this case? would you turn them in to be fair and potentially ruin their chances of getting into whatever school or getting whatever job? or would you just let it slide? i always give some kind of b.s. answer when asked this, and i hate what i say. but i don't know what to say. cause i wouldn't want to turn the person in, and i'm guessing that's what they are looking for.

what do you guys think interviewers are looking for when they ask this?

This is a problem that I have faced both from the student side and the teaching side.

I think that the best thing to do as a student who catches a fellow student cheating is to tell the cheater that you are giving him some appropriate amount of time to confess to the instructor himself, and that if he doesn't, you will turn him in. This puts the burden of doing the right thing on the cheater, and gives him an opportunity to show that he realizes that he has made a mistake and wants to take responsibility for it.

As an instructor, I am definitely more lenient on a student who confesses to me herself rather than lets another student turn her in, especially if she is contrite and promises not to let it ever happen again. I would still give her a zero on that assignment and watch her like a hawk thereafter, but at least she wouldn't get an FF for the entire course. (FF is a special designation meaning that you failed the course because of academic dishonesty; having an FF on your transcript is DEFINITELY a red flag!)

I agree that the interviewer is testing your integrity and also your maturity. Cheating is a serious breach of ethics, and it does hurt other people, so it is wrong to allow it to slide by. On the other hand, none of us is the Principle Police out to avenge against the cheaters of the world. Giving the cheater a chance to confess conveys disapproval of his actions while allowing him to hopefully learn something from the experience and not repeat it.

 

[curiouslygeorge]

Come on guys, lets be honest: as far as the perscriptions (as long as there were truly NO harmful side effects), there is NO way any of us would say a word to the patiant. Admitting thie very harmless mistake would MOST LIKELY result in a law suit which could very easily make your insurance either drop you or raise your rates so high you quit.

And for the cheating thing, if you told ( and it could be traced back to you), most likely a significant portion of your med school class would turn on you...meaning: no notes, no help with studying, no nothing. This would be especially true if it was a 'common' form of cheating (ie, copying from a website for essays, ect.).

HOWEVER, for the perposes an interview: "sir, I would deffinatly feel it nessacary to report the person (or tell the patiant about the mistake) for the sake of the integrity of the entire medical establishment!!!!! I would be outraged and appalled ....and deeply saddened"

wow, you are scary!! you say not to turn in cheaters. and then you would basically lie in an interview. i would not want you for my doctor.

 

[VPDcurt]

wow, you are scary!! you say not to turn in cheaters. and then you would basically lie in an interview. i would not want you for my doctor.

he is just being honest

 

[VPDcurt]

I wish this was true...it would make studying pharmacology so much easier!
It is incredibly easy to write a wrong prescription. Many meds are very similiar in spelling, dosages can written with a misplaced decimal point, etc. The example you have of prescribing a less effective antibiotic is not trivial and can have significant morbidity to a patient.

I understand that the correct medication is significant but the question specifically stated that there were no harmful side effects as a result. I was merely answering the question as it was asked. It's like giving an adolescent minocycline for acne instead of tetracycline. He/she has no adverse effects. Are you going to tell them that you screwed up and you intended to give them tetracycline? Of course not. You'd just say something like, "Well let's just try this now."

 

[GTA]

I understand that the correct medication is significant but the question specifically stated that there were no harmful side effects as a result. I was merely answering the question as it was asked. It's like giving an adolescent minocycline for acne instead of tetracycline. He/she has no adverse effects. Are you going to tell them that you screwed up and you intended to give them tetracycline? Of course not. You'd just say something like, "Well let's just try this now."

WHAT?!? You would attepmt to pretend that nothing happen?? You wouldnt humbly admit your SCREW UP, take a law suit up your ass, and quite possibly end your career?!? VPDcurt, I am shocked and appaled!! "i wouldnt want you for my doctor!!"

Seriously...VDPcurt is exactly right...you play it off, no one is the worse for it, and you still have a job. and if you dont think this happens with doctors everyday, and if you cant play along then YOU shouldn't be a doctor.

 

[GTA]

wow, you are scary!! you say not to turn in cheaters. and then you would basically lie in an interview. i would not want you for my doctor.

so you have never once said that "this school is my first choice" in an interview or an LOI?