some tough interview questions

[Zomo33]

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What do you guys think, and how would you answer these interview questions:

How I would deal with the following situation: a 4 y/o patient with severe cerebral palsy was brought in with pneumonia unresponsive to antibiotics and the parents asked me not to treat their child aggressively.

A patient of yours has metastatic cancer and is tired of treatment. She asks you to help her die...what do you do?

If a man comes to you who's father has Huntingtons Disease, a dominant genetic disorder, how do you advise him?

 

[redrabbit]

do med schools really ask these questions? how are we suppose to answer it if we don't know a lot about the illness. Don't they teach you how to handle these situations in med school?

 

[Mitro]

Yeah, I never thought people asked these questions until I actually got ones like it. Mind you it only happened once out of all my interviews, but I guess it does happen. Now try this on for a tough question:

Make up a play called "the perfect doctor". Discuss the plot, the audience and how the play is received by the audience.

Shoot me in the face, and yes I was really asked this.

 

[IAMS]

Reading through post-interview analyses on this site, I've noticed some schools have interviewers that like to ask zingers like:

What book are you reading?

What are the biggest problems in healthcare?

I think questions like these make preparing for the interview pretty pointless, in that they try to get at the crux of who you (the applicant) are as an individual, and not how well you can formulate a response to the same questions they all ask - why medicine. Makes me think the best way to prepare for interviews is by working on enjoying life and understanding for myself why I'm choosing medicine.

As for the euthanasia question, first, lawfulness would be the first priority - and if I am not practicing in Oregon, I would decline the request but try to talk with the patient about her treatment and explore other options if she would want to go that route. If she was set about her course, she just needs to find the doctor, and the area, that will assist her, they are out there.

 

[futuremsfdoc]

Yeah, I never thought people asked these questions until I actually got ones like it. Mind you it only happened once out of all my interviews, but I guess it does happen. Now try this on for a tough question:

Make up a play called "the perfect doctor". Discuss the plot, the audience and how the play is received by the audience.

Shoot me in the face, and yes I was really asked this.

yep, if you go to duke--be prepared!

(i bet we had the same interviewer)

 

[acl3623]

these questions suck a$s, what the hell are you supposed to say? ive had interivewers ask hypothetical questions but not anything that in depth...

 

[DubZteR]

Before I discuss what I would say ... always make sure you mention that your job is to do what you feel is best for your patient and then explain why:

How I would deal with the following situation: a 4 y/o patient with severe cerebral palsy was brought in with pneumonia unresponsive to antibiotics and the parents asked me not to treat their child aggressively.

I have no idea what cerebral palsy is, but in this case, if it is life threatening, the doctor is morally obligated to intervene because the patient has not yet reached the age of consent. However, the physician should first try to inform the parents of the risks so as to gain their consent. If the parents still refuse, the doctor is justified in seeking a court order to carry out treatment option(s) for the 4 yo patient. If it is something non-life threatening like getting a flu shot then the doctor should respect the parents' wishes.

A patient of yours has metastatic cancer and is tired of treatment. She asks you to help her die...what do you do?

Consider the legal liabilities placed upon you as a physician. In formulating your answer, make sure to discuss the patient's quality of life. If her quality of life is such of tremendous suffering then that runs in conflict with your professional goals as a physician to minimize pain and suffering. Also let your interviewer know that you are not in a position to make this decision yourself. You will need counselling from the hospital's ethics committee, the patients' family etc.

If a man comes to you who's father has Huntingtons Disease, a dominant genetic disorder, how do you advise him?

A good approach would be to ask him what he knows about the illness. Instead of discussing his condition right away, try to get a feel for his perspective on the illness. Some people see cancer as detrimental whereas others are more optimistic. As a physician, you need to be able to scope out where your patient stands on Huntington's Disease. At this point, you may want to proceed by asking him how he would like you to proceed with the results of his whatever it is.

This is what comes to the top of my mind. Hope that helps!

Good Luck ! 🙂

 

[drguy22]

What do you guys think, and how would you answer these interview questions:

How I would deal with the following situation: a 4 y/o patient with severe cerebral palsy was brought in with pneumonia unresponsive to antibiotics and the parents asked me not to treat their child aggressively.

A patient of yours has metastatic cancer and is tired of treatment. She asks you to help her die...what do you do?

If a man comes to you who's father has Huntingtons Disease, a dominant genetic disorder, how do you advise him?

1) The parents have no clue as to what aggresive treatment implies....if i were that doctor, I would treat the child to my fullest ability. If i needed consent of any sort from the parents, and the refused, i would try hard to convince them, or if all fails, get a court order.

2) Explain to her that this is a war, and if she gives up now she will have lost that war. The cancer dictated her life up to her decision to die. I would get her help from psychologists and therapists and have her explain that she needs to fight this. I would get her family to convince her, and lastly i would shower her with nothing but hope, but at the same time, as a doctor, i can not give her false hope.


3) Since this is dominant, he is most probably going to get it. I would explain to the man what he has, and what can be done about it. I would get him screened just to make sure. I would explain that if we start early, there is a better chance for a longer survival. begin treatment right away.

 

[DubZteR]

Make up a play called "the perfect doctor". Discuss the plot, the audience and how the play is received by the audience.

Shoot me in the face, and yes I was really asked this.

I would tell my interviewer that such a play would be impossible to make up; the perfect doctor does not exist. In formulating my answer, I would be sure to include that I am well aware of qualities that would be perceived has highly valuable in a physician and discuss them. I would write my script based on such information. Such a play would then be possible to make up. The audience would be my patients and in my opinion the script would be very well received by them because I have demonstrated a clear understanding with respect to the limits of being a physician (humble).

Hope that helps,

🙂

 

[indo]

There are no correct answers to these types of questions. There are only good WAYS to answer these questions.

 

[redrabbit]

What's a good way?
Would saying that i do not have the abilities to answer the questions at this point in my career but i will do what is best for the patient that is within my boundaries. however, i will emphasize that i cannot say what i would do at that point right now and that with the knowledge i would gain from med school and experience, i am confident that i would be able to make a sound decision.

 

[indo]

What's a good way?
Would saying that i do not have the abilities to answer the questions at this point in my career but i will do what is best for the patient that is within my boundaries. however, i will emphasize that i cannot say what i would do at that point right now and that with the knowledge i would gain from med school and experience, i am confident that i would be able to make a sound decision.

Just show that you can think critically on the spot. As far as the medical knowledge questions go I don't think they expect you to know the clinically correct answer but they want to see if you can come up with some kind of logical progression of ideas on the topic.

These questions are like the questions cops ask drunk driving suspects.

cop: Can you say the alphabet backwards for me?
suspect: zyxwvu...I can't even do this sober.
cop: busted.

Its not always the answer that they are checking for.

 

[Shaz]

What do you guys think, and how would you answer these interview questions:

How I would deal with the following situation: a 4 y/o patient with severe cerebral palsy was brought in with pneumonia unresponsive to antibiotics and the parents asked me not to treat their child aggressively.

A patient of yours has metastatic cancer and is tired of treatment. She asks you to help her die...what do you do?

If a man comes to you who's father has Huntingtons Disease, a dominant genetic disorder, how do you advise him?

1. I would treat the patient agressively. Just because the parents don't want the child to live, doesn't mean the child thinks the same way.

2. I would respect the paitent's decision. As long as I know the paitent has decided for themselves thier path in life, I will fully support thier decision (ofcourse, only if I cannot persuade them otherwise).

3. Tell him the truth. Tell him the disease is fatal, and in the kindest most compassionate voice, advise him to tie up any loose ends in his life. He has the option, which many people don't have, to die knowing that can atleast attempt to make all the wrongs in his life, right.

 

[redrabbit]

cop: Can you say the alphabet backwards for me?
suspect: zyxwvu...I can't even do this sober.
cop: busted.



I have to sing it to say it right forward!! so that means that i can't do it backwards.

 

[Zomo33]

how bout this question, that has shown up at 3 different schools:

If you went on a hike for 8 hours and were really hungry and ended up at a restaurant where the menu was in a foreign language and all the waiters spoke a foreign language, how would you order anything to eat?

 

[Shredder]

3) Since this is dominant, he is most probably going to get it.

50/50 chance. I know I'm being nit-picky about genetics and Punnett squares. But, the issue is that with Huntington's there is a test for it, and people are always scared to get it and wonder if they should find out or leave it uncertain. I think that is the kind of advising you would have to give them. I just realized that nobody addressed the testing issue with Huntington's. I think if you did, it would be more impressive than trying to give him a death sentence as nicely as possible, because he has half a shot of living just fine. I don't think Huntington's is really considered a fatal disease, just progressively debilitating. Then again, it was said that premeds aren't expected to know these things; I just happened to do a project on it. Still, know the Punnett squares!

 

[beep]

What do you guys think, and how would you answer these interview questions:

How I would deal with the following situation: a 4 y/o patient with severe cerebral palsy was brought in with pneumonia unresponsive to antibiotics and the parents asked me not to treat their child aggressively.

One way or another, I'm going to treat the kid. The thing that will be tough about this one is trying to work with the parents to help them feel ok about this action. I would start by trying to understand why they don't want aggressive treatment, listening carefully, and attempting to address their concerns. By the end of our conversation, however, I would have let them know that for this particular situation, agressive treatment is the standard of care, for their kid as for any other. I would go to court to get an order to treat the child if it came to that, by I would do my utmost to get the parents' consent first--before even bringing up the possibility of legal intervention.

If the kid ultimately lives, before it leaves the hospital or leaves my care, I would want to try to hook the parents up with more resources for dealing with a severely disabled child, either personally or by giving them a social work referral. I would take that action because I believe there's a good chance parents not wanting aggressive treatment for a kid with a severe but nonfatal disability are struggling with one or both of a) not enough help or b) a too-gloomy sense of what is possible for their child. These resources might include online or in-person parent support groups, books, respite care programs, early childhood ed programs, and especially ways to meet adults with severe CP who are living successfully in the community.

A patient of yours has metastatic cancer and is tired of treatment. She asks you to help her die...what do you do?

This would somewhat depend on her prognosis. If it seems possible or likely to me that she can continue to live with reasonable pain control for some time more, I would explore whether she is depressed, help connect her to some social supports, and generally try to boost her hopefulness while acknowledging her weariness. If the side effects of her treatments are what's making her life unlivable, I would consider any available alternatives. I would ask her to hang in there for a while to see whether we can't help her feel better and improve her quality of life together. I would also ask her for suggestions about what we could do to help accomplish this.

If she is dying already or in intractable pain, I would acknowledge her weariness and help connect her to the hospice system in her community. I wouldn't personally help her die, for legal and ethical reasons, but I would make sure that she was connected to people who could help her make end-of-life choices for herself.

If a man comes to you who's father has Huntingtons Disease, a dominant genetic disorder, how do you advise him?

I would start by finding out how he's doing with his sick father, and providing referrals to supports if it seems like a good idea. I would move on to finding out what he knows about his own chances of getting the disease and about the disease itself. If appropriate, I would provide him with information about these things. Ultimately the big question for him at this stage is going to be whether or not he wants to get tested. I would talk to him about that, assure him about confidentiality and that it's his decision, and either offer him the test or refer him to a genetic counselor who can do it. If I have the test done, I would make sure to be on hand to give him the results personally and address any concerns he has at that time.

 

[PreMedAdAG]

Welcome to Rosalind Franklins' Ethical Question 🙂
I was asked this in my interview by the ex-dean. I said I would treat the infection with antibiotics. This is not aggressive treatment. I told him I would not put the child on a ventilator if the need came and respect the wishes of the family. I equated this to someone being on continuous life support where the familiy has the choice to "pull the plug".

He agreed that he would treat the same way, now I'm in 🙂 Good luck!

 

[Ylime]

Ok here's a tough one I got once... Sorry it got so long!!!!

interviewer:Ok here's a hypothetical situation for you... You are well established and you are known for being the best doctor in your field... People come to you from all over the world because of your reputation for being the best... You have a patient, who has been your patient for years because you are the best, who is in the hospital and is very ill... You go to see him in the hospital and you have the foreknowledge that he will die before you ever leave the room, even though in real life you wouldn't have this foreknowledge... The patient takes your hand and asks you "Doc, is there any hope?" Knowing that he will die before you ever leave the room, will you be able to offer him hope, based on the truth?
me: (long pause)... Well I'm honestly not sure what to say... I'd like to give him hope, but if I have the foreknowledge that he won't live even until I leave the room, I don't know what I can say to him...
him: I have a friend who pumps gas for a living... This friend has no medical knowledge at all, but he could offer him hope... Why can't you do it when your job as a physician is to offer your patients hope?
me: (long pause, getting very nervous at this point)
interviewer: Well I bet you're thinking 'But that's not hope based on the truth... Wouldn't that be false hope?'
me: (waiting for him to answer his own question... he never did)
interviewer: (looks at me like he's the dying patient... hard to picture if you weren't there) So Doc, is there any hope?
me: (I mumble something about being sorry but I can't answer it, I really don't know what to say)
interviewer: A young kid comes up to you and grabs your hand and looks at you excitedly and says "I learned a new four letter word today... The word is hope... What does it mean?"
me: (i give some definition involving what hope means to me)
interviewer: Everything you do involves hope... When you cross the street you hope to get to the other side... You anticipate a positive outcome... If you didn't have hope that you'd make it across, you wouldn't cross it...(expands on this for a while)
me: (i nod and agree and mumble something... I'm rather freaked out at this point)
interviewer: Doc, is there any hope?
me: (at this point I'm wondering if I'm supposed to answer the question or if he's just kinda saying it to make a point... I say nothing)
interviewer: (keeps asking me this question every few minutes, and every time I just fidget around) Well as a physician it is your job to offer your patients hope... You need to make it your goal in life to figure out how to do this between now and when you enter medical school...
-silence-
interviewer: (glances at my nametag) Emily it's been good talking to you...
-he doesn't get up to walk me to the door, try to shake my hand, or anything, so at this point I'm not sure if it's over or what I'm supposed to do...
me: Well thank you for your time...

Ok so this really turned out to be most of a tough interview, rather than just a question...

Emily

 

[Ypo.]

God, that sounds terrible. I'm sorry you had to go through that. I disagree that you have to know how to break such bad news to someone before you even enter medical school. That is something they will teach you and gradually break you into. They aren't just going to thrust you into a room with a dying patient, without first taking classes that teach you communication skills and tools for breaking bad news. 🙄 Sounds like your interviewer was pimping you pretty hard. Sorry to hear it-I know how traumatizing that is.

I think the best thing to do when breaking bad news to a patient is to first find out what they know about their condition (ie-seriousness of it, possible conseuqeunces). Then you find out what they know and don't know (which will make your job easier), as well as giving them affirmation of what they already know can. Start off on the same foot as the patient and make sure that you don't lose them along the way.

Next, you can offer your medical opinion, being careful not to give them too much information (ie-keep it simple). When you give someone bad news they are in shock, and won't be able to remember all the details. Make sure you speak slowly and in simple terms, and pause frequently to ask them if they have questions. And make sure to schedule a follow-up appointment in the near future, so they can ask you questions that they will think of over the next several days. Not doing so will mean the patient is living in unnecessary anxiety. A lot of times people just want to know what is going to happen. One of the biggest concerns about dying is pain-as doctors that is one thing we can always help treat.

Thirdly, after giving them your honest opinion, underline that there is always hope. Some people might disagree with me here, but I think hope is very important to human survival (it gives us courage to do things we might not otherwise have the strength to do), as well as emotional and spiritual well-being. Losing hope will decrease their chances of surviving, and increase their depression and apathy. I would rather die with hope than without it.

Hope this helped somewhat.

 

[Ylime]

Under normal circumstances it'd be at least somewhat easier to offer the patient hope, I think... Because doctors aren't God and don't really ever know what will happen... The fact that he gave me the foreknowledge that I knew the patient would die was what made it difficult for me... I don't think that's fair because we will never have that in the real world... But oh well, life in general's not fair so I shouldn't complain... Thanks for the input.

Emily

 

[Acherona]

First I would probably tell the patient that his prognosis wasn't particularly good and that I could tell him exactly how long he had to live if he wanted to know. If he did, then I would tell him the truth. That is a courtesty to the patient, in my opinion, in case there is something he wants to do, people he wants to see, before he dies.