Medical Ethics Interview Questions

Why schools ask ethics questions

Admissions teams use ethics scenarios to see how you think, not to test your politics. They want clear reasoning, patient centered judgment, and awareness of real world constraints.

A simple framework you can use in any scenario

Use this five step ETHIC flow to structure every answer.

Establish the facts, stakeholders, and urgency.
Tie to the four principles, beneficence, non maleficence, autonomy, justice.
Handle law, policy, and capacity, clarify what is legal, what the institution allows, and whether the patient can decide.
Identify options and consequences, include safer alternatives and supports.
Conclude with a defendable plan and next steps, document, consult, and follow up.

The four pillars, fast refresher

Beneficence, act for the patient’s good.
Non maleficence, avoid preventable harm.
Autonomy, respect informed choices and capacity.
Justice, be fair in access and allocation.

Practice scenarios and how to approach them

I. Physician assisted dying request

Approach, check local law, confirm decision making capacity, optimize palliative and symptom control, involve the care team and ethics if allowed, respect autonomy within legal bounds.
Pitfalls, skipping capacity assessment, centering your personal view instead of process.

II. Confidentiality with a sexually active minor

Approach, ensure safety first, provide evidence based sexual health care, encourage disclosure to guardians if safe, explain confidentiality and its limits, report only if required for safety.
Pitfalls, breaking confidentiality without a safety rationale, failing to offer contraception and STI care.

III. Severe depression with suicidal ideation, refusing treatment

Approach, complete a risk assessment, discuss options and supports, involve crisis services, if risk is imminent prioritize safety which may limit confidentiality, follow policy.
Pitfalls, accepting refusal without assessing risk, forgetting safety planning and follow up.

IV. Transplant allocation, older community member versus younger patient with addiction

Approach, defer to transparent medical criteria and ethics committee processes, consider prognosis, urgency, and fairness, avoid bias about age or addiction.
Pitfalls, deciding on social worth or limited facts.

V. HIV non disclosure to partner

Approach, counsel strongly on disclosure and prevention, assess risk, use partner notification pathways where available, disclose only under legal and policy exceptions to prevent serious harm.
Pitfalls, immediate disclosure without attempting supported patient disclosure.

VI. Colleague medication error

Approach, ensure patient safety, disclose to the patient appropriately, encourage self report, escalate through the safety system, focus on learning and prevention.
Pitfalls, ignoring the error to avoid conflict.

VII. Minor requesting contraception without parental knowledge

Approach, assess maturity and capacity, provide confidential care within law, counsel on use and safety, encourage involving guardians if safe.
Pitfalls, refusing solely due to age, or disclosing without cause.

VIII. Prescription opioid misuse disclosure

Approach, respond without judgment, assess risk and comorbidities, discuss treatment options and monitoring, consider referral to addiction services, adjust prescribing safely.
Pitfalls, punitive tone, continuing unchanged prescribing.

IX. Colleague posts patient details on social media

Approach, preserve evidence, request immediate removal, report per policy, notify privacy officer, support duty to inform affected patients if required.
Pitfalls, handling it informally only.

X. Clinical trial with emerging harms, sponsor wants to continue

Approach, review data with investigators, notify the IRB, pause or modify if risk outweighs benefit, prioritize participants.
Pitfalls, letting funding pressure override safety.

XI. Family requests futile treatment

Approach, goals of care talk, clear prognosis, involve palliative care and ethics, consider second opinion, aim to minimize suffering.
Pitfalls, refusing without dialogue or support.

XII. Suspected child abuse

Approach, ensure immediate safety, document carefully, report reasonable suspicion to authorities per law, arrange evaluation and support.
Pitfalls, delaying reporting.

XIII. Patient asks you to pray, it conflicts with your beliefs

Approach, acknowledge and support spiritual needs, offer chaplain services, set respectful boundaries.
Pitfalls, dismissing the request or participating against your beliefs.

XIV. Unconscious Jehovah’s Witness with life threatening bleed

Approach, stabilize urgently while seeking directives or family, explore bloodless strategies, once wishes are confirmed and capacity is present, respect refusal.
Pitfalls, ignoring documented wishes when known.

Common mistakes to avoid

Leading with personal opinion instead of a principled process.
Ignoring capacity, consent, or local law.
Choosing quickly without stating alternatives and trade offs.
Using charged language or judging patients.
Forgetting to document, consult, and plan follow up.

How to prepare before interview day

Build a one page ethics sheet, four pillars, consent and capacity steps, duty to report, confidentiality limits, resource allocation basics.
Practice aloud with a timer, aim for 90 seconds, state ETHIC steps clearly.
Read short summaries on current debates, confidentiality, public health, triage, end of life.
Gather two or three clinical or service stories that show empathy, fairness, and cultural competence.

Tie your answer to real experience

If you have participated in clinical or community health work, use a brief example to show empathy, teamwork, and respect for diverse values. For structured global health exposure that strengthens both your judgment and your talking points, consider Go-Elective internships in Africa, which emphasize supervised hands--on clinical experience, patient centered care, and cultural humility.

FAQs

#1. What if I do not know the law in the scenario

Say you would check local law and institutional policy, then explain your approach under each principle while you verify specifics.

#2. How long should an ethics answer be

About 60 to 120 seconds. One sentence per ETHIC step keeps you focused.

#3. Can there be more than one acceptable answer

Yes. Interviewers look for a defensible, principled process, not a single perfect stance.

#4. Should I quote theories like utilitarianism

You can, briefly, but keep the answer practical and patient centered.

#5. Can I state my personal view

Only after you present a balanced process, and keep it respectful and concise.

Final take

Lead with facts and principles, name your options, weigh harms and benefits, then state a clear, ethical plan. With calm structure and empathy, you will handle any ethics prompt with confidence.

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