stem cell interview questions

[inkare]

What do they usually ask about stem cell research on interviews ? I looked up the issue and apparently the fertility clinics can either discard the cells or actually use it for science. How is discarding it better than using it for science for those who are pro-life?

Also, would the new human skin cell method, which functions like embryonic stem cells, affect the controversy ?

Thanks for your thoughts. (im new to this site, I don't know if this has been discussed)

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[NdFrSpd]

to be honest with you, many people who form strong opinions against stem cell research do not actually have much knowledge on the procedure or have knowledge of where these stem cells are even acquired from. Those who support stem cell research do all they can to find more ethical ways to make the others happy, but the compromise only seems to work in one direction! Its kind of sad really but i guess thats just how some people are.

As for as the skin cells--> stem cells go, its been found that if this procedure is performed, the cells obtained from these stem cells seem to become cancerous which is really no surprise...BUT...further research and more published articles show that when a certain gene is knocked out...the cancerous growths or cells that become cancerous all but stop.

Its good news for now but we still have a long way to go! Its a step in the correct direction i'd say.

and as far as answering these kind of questions go, its best to stay on middle ground, acknowledge both sides and seem about as sensible as you can about the topic....anyways i hope this helps and good luck on that interview!

 

[TheMemoirist]

and as far as answering these kind of questions go, its best to stay on middle ground, acknowledge both sides and seem about as sensible as you can about the topic....anyways i hope this helps and good luck on that interview!

good advice!

I was never asked about stem cells in any med school interviews, but i was asked in an interview by my premed committee. it was a pretty generic "what do you think about stem cell research" question. from what i can tell, stem cell questions and other "hot-topic" questions like abortion and assisted suicide, etc., are asked more to gauge a candidate's reaction more than his or her actual position on the topic. for instance, with stem-cells, the interviewers probably don't care what you think about stem-cell research. they are probably more concerned with how you answer.

if you say "golly, i think stem cell research is the best thing ever," without acknowledging that you understand why so many people take issue with it, then you're going to come across as insensitive. if you say "stem cell research should be outright banned," then you're going to come off as a fundie, anti-science hater. in each case, it's actually perfectly fine to have that belief, but you've got to temper it with a modicum of understanding for what makes the issue so heated.

regardless of your personal opinion, you've got to let the interviewer(s) know that you understand the spectrum of views on the issue, and you have to be able to defend your position while taking all that into account.

that noted, it's probably best to do a little research, figure out how you feel, and be able to logically justify that position. as long as you can explain why you feel a certain way, you'll probably be fine.

 

[patzan]

and as far as answering these kind of questions go, its best to stay on middle ground, acknowledge both sides and seem about as sensible as you can about the topic....anyways i hope this helps and good luck on that interview!

I would disagree with this, but agree with the later post. I think they would be looking to see that you have researched it, have an opinion and can defend it as well as see the positives and negatives of both sides. They don't care what you believe (there are nutjobs from both sides in med school), just that you are a little informed and can converse fluently with anther human being.

 

[Ziehl-Neelsen]

to be honest with you, many people who form strong opinions against stem cell research do not actually have much knowledge on the procedure or have knowledge of where these stem cells are even acquired from. Those who support stem cell research do all they can to find more ethical ways to make the others happy, but the compromise only seems to work in one direction! Its kind of sad really but i guess thats just how some people are.

As for as the skin cells--> stem cells go, its been found that if this procedure is performed, the cells obtained from these stem cells seem to become cancerous which is really no surprise...BUT...further research and more published articles show that when a certain gene is knocked out...the cancerous growths or cells that become cancerous all but stop.

Its good news for now but we still have a long way to go! Its a step in the correct direction i'd say.

and as far as answering these kind of questions go, its best to stay on middle ground, acknowledge both sides and seem about as sensible as you can about the topic....anyways i hope this helps and good luck on that interview!

Perhaps you had better do a bit of reading on the subject yourself. To characterize opponents of embryonic stem cell research as the only party willing to compromise is slander. The fact remains, that before very recently the only techniques that could create embryonic stem cells involved destruction of a fertilized embryo or the creation of a cloned embryo with the capacity for development into a human being for the express purpose of its destruction. The opponents of embryonic stem cell research objected to the destruction of human embryos for these reseach purposes.

Furthermore, it was one of the great drawbacks of embryonic stem cell lines that when these lines were introduced they resulted in embryonal sarcomas. That is why opponents of embryonic stem cell research supported research with adult derived stem cells that had been proven effective in a number of therapies over embryonic stem cells, which to date have never been utilized in a single medical therapy.

The new research involving transformed skin cells involves "turning on" a number of genes (including the c-myc gene) in order to transform adult skin cells into totipotent (embryonal ) stem cells. The utility of these cells has yet to be determined, but the moral objections to embryonic stem cells have been dropped by every major medical ethicist and religious leader. In fact, President Bush lifted the federal ban on funds that would support stem cell research utilizing this new technology.

Despite individual beliefs on the worth of a human embryo, this new process provides a controversy-free source of cells for research, and had the segments of the population that objected to the destruction of human embryos capitulated in the name of science and progress (as they were ordered to do by certain individuals in this country), this amazing new discovery would never have been made and millions of potential human lives would have been forefit for this research.

So, in response to the OP's question. Questions about controversial topics such as this are attempting to dicern whether you possess the ability to arrive at an ethically sound and reasonable conclusion regarding contentious issues. The best thing one can do is read about the issue and reason to that which you truly believe. If an interviewer asks about it, take him through your reasoning.

 

[BMBPSU2008]

I brought it up during my interview. It was the day New Jerseyians voted down government funding for the project. I even asked what his views were on it.

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