Master 25 MMI scenarios covering ethical dilemmas, teamwork, and clinical judgment for your PA school interview.
Question 13 of 25
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Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
Disagreements about how to best treat a patient can be a common occurrence in the clinical setting. The PA school you are interviewing with wants to hear that you will always take a professional and respectful approach when disagreements happen. They'll want to hear that you will always keep what's best for the patient in mind and be willing to compromise to do that.

Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
Scenario-based questions are common during PA school multiple mini interviews as they allow the interviewer to gauge how you will act in real-world scenarios as a student with their program when you are completing your rotations. While the types of scenarios that could be presented to you during the interview are endless, practicing responding to them professionally and respectfully in a short time frame will pay dividends during your actual interview. Also, remember that your interviewer will be evaluating your body language and tone of voice as you respond.

Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
The first important thing you want to drive home with your interviewer is that you will take the time to talk things out with the person you disagree with. Stress that you would speak your professional opinion confidently while listening to your colleague's perspective. From there, it is all about making the best decision for the patient and coming to an agreement.

Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
"I would want to sit down and talk through our thoughts and listen to each other's perspective. My approach would be confident and respectful. If I realized that my colleague's treatment path was the best, I wouldn't hesitate to agree with them and take that path. Pride can't stand in the way of providing the best care possible to a patient, and this would never be an issue for me as a physician assistant. With all of the treatment paths available for many of the common ailments patients face, I foresee that colleague disagreements would be fairly common. For me, it's all about taking a professional approach that focuses on the best path for the patient."

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Written by Ryan Brunner
25 Questions & Answers • PA School MMI

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