How to Prepare for Ethical Questions in a Medical School Interview

Whether you have an MMI or traditional interview coming up, you should learn how to prepare for ethical questions in a medical school interview. Ethical scenarios and questions can be incorporated as different types of MMI questions, including acting stations and collaborative stations, panel and traditional questions, MPI questions, and more. These are some of the most challenging medical school interview questions out there and you must have a solid strategy to tackle them.

Why Interviewers Ask Ethical Questions

Admissions committees what to assess your ability to think on your feet, your decision-making process, and your ethical values. Talking about your journey to medical school is one thing, but to be asked to talk about a moral dilemma in a mature and professional way is a totally different thing. Furthermore, ethical questions allow interview committees to evaluate some of the most important qualities required for a good physician:

• Communication skills
• Non-bias attitude
• Sound judgment
• Empathy

Today, ethical questions are incorporated by a variety of professional schools in their admissions processes. You can easily expect ethical questions if you are preparing for a nursing interview or physician assistant interview.

The Fundamentals of Ethics Questions

First things first: it’s important to note that you are presented with ethical questions not to solve a world problem, but to demonstrate your decision-making process and the logic behind your decision. And here’s the first important rule of answering questions about ethical dilemmas: you must act. You cannot simply read or hear a prompt, decide it's too difficult, and say "I will delegate the decision to my manager/supervisor". This is not an acceptable answer. The interviewers expect you to come up with the best possible solution to a dilemma you are facing, even if there is no perfect way to solve the problem.

Step-by-Step Guide to Answering

Now, let’s get into how you can answer ethical questions in a medical school interview setting. Your strategy should involve the following steps:

1. Recap: Your answer must always start with a quick recap of your prompt. Whether you read it on a door before you enter an MMI station or whether you are given it verbally by your interviewe...
2. Professionalism: Do not forget to greet your interviewer(s) when you enter the room and ask for their name if they did not disclose it. These little details will help make a great first and last impression.
3. Demonstrate Logic: They do not expect you to eradicate world hunger or cure cancer in 4 minutes that you have to answer the question, but your answer must demonstrate sound judgment and a mature attitude.

Repeat their name(s) when you are leaving the station by thanking them for their time. Proper interview prep for these types of questions can help you articulate your position and devise a solid decision-making plan that will impress your interviews, and later, help you as a practicing physician.