How to Answer: You are caring for a pediatric patient whose parent is refusing routine vaccinations due to information she has read on the internet. How do you respond in this situation?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Behavioral Nursing job interview.
33. You are caring for a pediatric patient whose parent is refusing routine vaccinations due to information she has read on the internet. How do you respond in this situation?
How to Answer
Due to misinformation that is widely available on the internet, many people are refusing routine vaccines for themselves and their children. While the vaccine controversy is likely the most prominent example of patients refusing medical interventions due to misinformation, this issue does not lie in vaccines alone; there are many preventative and tertiary medical procedures that patients refuse. In these cases, it is the responsibility of the nursing staff to help the patient or guardian understand the importance of the recommended medical intervention. The interviewer is asking this question to determine how you would respond to this situation and to see if you would help educate the patient using scientific evidence. To effectively answer this question, you should indicate that you would remain respectful but attempt to educate the patient or guardian using facts. A more successful answer would include an example of how you helped change a patient or guardian's stance so they would accept the medical intervention.
Written by Kelly Burlison on March 8th, 2021
Answer Example
"I spent many years as a pediatric nurse, so I have dealt with this exact scenario many times. However, one instance, in particular, stands out to me. In this instance, the mother of a two-year-old patient was refusing all of her child's vaccines because of something she read on the internet about vaccines causing autism. Instead of completely dismissing the parent's concerns, I told her I understood why she was concerned and talked with her about each of her concerns, where I presented facts. Then, I left the mother alone to think about it for a few minutes, and upon my return, she agreed to allow us to administer the vaccines. This is the way I would handle any patient or guardian's concerns about medical interventions--with empathy, understanding, and facts."
Written by Kelly Burlison on March 8th, 2021