EthicsAdvancedMMI station
A 12-year-old asks you for birth control and begs you not to tell her parents. What do you do?
Ethical dilemma: Competing duties with no perfect answer: consent, confidentiality, fairness.
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Sample answer outline
- Notice the age. At 12, sexual activity is a safeguarding concern in most places, so the child's safety comes first.
- Before she shares more, explain honestly what you can keep private and what you can't.
- Talk gently and privately: who she is involved with, whether she feels safe, any signs of coercion or abuse.
- Follow mandatory reporting duties where they apply, with your supervisor and child protection services.
- Still meet her health needs: information, protection, and encouragement to involve a trusted adult.
What makes it work
- It recognizes the safeguarding issue many applicants miss.
- Being honest about the limits of confidentiality keeps her trust.
Avoid
- Promising total secrecy.
- Treating it like the same request from a 16-year-old.
How to approach ethical dilemma questions
- Clarify the facts and what you would want to know before acting.
- Name who is affected and the principles in tension: autonomy, doing good, avoiding harm, fairness, confidentiality.
- Walk through realistic options, starting with the least drastic.
- Choose a course of action, explain why, and say who you would involve.
What it tests
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