A hospital-based physician can disrupt the normal goings-on of a hospital if absences are not anticipated or filled as they occur. Underscoring the importance of duty, this is really just a question about your reliability. However, such a question is probably illegal. Yet, you cannot hide behind that, saying you refuse to answer because it's illegal--that's just picking a fight during your interview--the most important first impression of you as a prospective employee or partner.

Our answer example is a cop-out answer, but it's the only way to answer it, especially if you have inflammatory bowel disease, migraine headaches, fibromyalgia, or any other conditions that could result in frequent sick days. The alternative is to admit to any conditions and hope for the best--and if your truancy has not been significant, they'll probably not hold it against you.