The interview question bank

Competing duties with no perfect answer: consent, confidentiality, fairness.

• EthicsAdvanced·MMI station · MD, DO

  A deaf couple doing IVF asks you to help them pick an embryo that will also be deaf. What do you do?

  Autonomy and consent · Cultural humility · Critical thinking

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  Sample answer outline

  1. 1Acknowledge both views: many Deaf people see deafness as a culture and identity, not a disability. Others see choosing it as limiting the child's options.
  2. 2Name the principles in tension: the parents' reproductive autonomy and the future child's interests (sometimes called the right to an open future).
  3. 3Explore the couple's reasons with curiosity instead of assumptions.
  4. 4Check the law and clinic policy where you practice. If you decline on conscience, say so openly and explain the options.
  5. 5Recommend an ethics consultation, then give your reasoned position.

  What makes it work

  • It shows cultural humility without dodging a position.
  • Naming the principles makes the reasoning easy to follow.

  Avoid

  • Calling deafness simply a defect.
  • Ending on "it depends" with no view.

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• EthicsAdvanced·MMI station · MD, DO

  A patient asks you to amputate their perfectly healthy leg because it "doesn't feel like theirs." Do you?

  Autonomy and consent · Empathy · Critical thinking

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  1. 1Recognize body integrity dysphoria: a real, distressing condition, not a whim.
  2. 2Weigh autonomy against nonmaleficence. Doctors are not obliged to perform procedures that cause serious harm without clear benefit.
  3. 3Explore their experience, assess capacity, and refer for psychiatric support. Check for any risk of self-harm.
  4. 4Decline 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.

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• EthicsAdvanced·MMI station · MD, DO

  One liver, two patients: a 60-year-old surgeon who drinks, and a 25-year-old who overdosed. Who gets it?

  Equity and access · Critical thinking · Health systems

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  Sample answer outline

  1. 1Say who really decides: transplant teams follow set criteria, not one doctor's judgment of who deserves it.
  2. 2Name those criteria: medical urgency, likelihood of benefit, compatibility, time on the list, and the ability to follow through after transplant.
  3. 3Reject social worth: being a surgeon doesn't earn a liver. Be careful about blaming either patient for their illness.
  4. 4Note that an overdose, such as acetaminophen, can cause acute liver failure with top urgency, while alcohol use may raise questions about relapse.
  5. 5Conclude that you'd follow the criteria and support both patients.

  What makes it work

  • It moves the question from "who deserves it" to "how fair systems decide".

  Avoid

  • Choosing by age or profession alone.

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• EthicsAdvanced·MMI station · Vet

  A farmer asks you to euthanize a healthy lamb because it isn't growing fast enough to be profitable. The animal isn't suffering. What do you do?

  Integrity · Critical thinking

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  How to approach ethical dilemma questions

  1. 1Clarify the facts and what you would want to know before acting.
  2. 2Name who is affected and the principles in tension: autonomy, doing good, avoiding harm, fairness, confidentiality.
  3. 3Walk through realistic options, starting with the least drastic.
  4. 4Choose a course of action, explain why, and say who you would involve.

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