EthicsAdvancedMMI station
A patient asks you to amputate their perfectly healthy leg because it "doesn't feel like theirs." Do you?
Ethical dilemma: Competing duties with no perfect answer: consent, confidentiality, fairness.
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Sample answer outline
- Recognize body integrity dysphoria: a real, distressing condition, not a whim.
- Weigh autonomy against nonmaleficence. Doctors are not obliged to perform procedures that cause serious harm without clear benefit.
- Explore their experience, assess capacity, and refer for psychiatric support. Check for any risk of self-harm.
- Decline the surgery for now, kindly and clearly, and stay involved in their care.
What makes it work
- It treats the patient's distress as real while holding a clear line.
Avoid
- Mocking the request or ending the visit.
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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