University of Rochester Ethics Interview Ques�on

MMI Questions
Read the question and then give students 1-2 minutes to think about their responses
before calling on them for answers.

• You are a primary care provider, and are seeing a new patient, Ms. A. She is
elderly and does not speak English, so her daughter, Ms. B, is translating for
her. When Ms. A steps out for lab work, the daughter pulls you aside tells you
that Ms. A has terminal cancer, but is unaware of the diagnosis, and the
daughter wishes to keep it that way. She says in her culture, children are
supposed to carry the burden of their parents’ medical conditions, and her
mother would not want to know the diagnosis. Are you obligated to tell your
patient about her diagnosis?

• There is a new abortion law into effect. You are working for your county’s
Public Health Department. What is the best way to distribute this new
abortion law to all medical professionals in your County?

• You are a pediatrician with a busy pediatrics practice. You see a new mom
with her infant, and she is refusing all routine vaccinations for her child,
despite your best efforts to convince her of the safety and efficacy of
vaccines. Should you continue providing primary care to the child, with the
risks the child might pose to other not-yet-vaccinated children, or children
medically unable to be vaccinated? Should you ask the family to seek care
elsewhere?

• Your mother calls you and asks you to help with a major family decision.
Your maternal grandfather is 70 years old and has been diagnosed with a
condition that will kill him some time in the next five years. He can have a
procedure that will correct the disease and not leave him with any long-term
problems, but the procedure has a 10% mortality rate. He wants to have the
procedure, but your mother does not want him to. How would you help
mediate this issue?

• You are a general practitioner and a mother comes into your office with her
child who is complaining of flu-like symptoms. Upon entering the room, you
ask the boy to remove his shirt and you notice a pattern of bruises on the
boy's torso. You ask the mother where the bruises came from, and she tells
 you that they are from a procedure she performed on him known as "cao
gio," which is also known as "coining." The procedure involves rubbing warm
oils or gels on a person's skin with a coin or other flat metal object. The
mother explains that cao gio is used to raise out bad blood, and improve
circulation and healing. When you touch the boy's back with your
stethoscope, he winces in pain from the bruises. You debate whether or not
you should call Child Protective Services and report the mother. When should
a physician step in to stop a cultural practice? Should the physician be
concerned about alienating the mother and other people of her ethnicity
from modern medicine?

• You have two patients who desperately need an organ transplant but there is
only one organ available. One is a 18-year-old male who has been admitted
to the emergency room multiple times due to overdose. The second patient
is a 60-year-old female who is an outstanding member of the community,
volunteering her time to the poor and needy. Who do you give the transplant
to and why?

• A 12-year old boy is diagnosed with a terminal illness (e.g., malignancy). He

asked the doctor about his prognosis. His parents requested the doctor not
to tell him the bad news. What should the doctor do in this situation?

• Your patient is asking for a treatment that you feel uncomfortable

prescribing. How would you approach this situation?

Ethics Discussion Questions

• What’s a tricky ethical situation you’ve had to navigate? How did you navigate
it?
• What’s the biggest ethical problem in healthcare?
• Can you tell me a situation when you’ve been asked to compromise your
beliefs or values?
• Can you tell me about a time when you had one ethical stance and
something happened that made you change your perspective?
• What is one ethical dilemma in healthcare that excites you? What is your
point of view?
• With the advent of artificial intelligence, what do you think are the biggest
ethical concerns society faces?