PA School Mock Interview
Excel in your PA school interview with 21 questions covering clinical experience, patient scenarios, and professional motivation.
Question 17 of 21
What would you do if your patient is diagnosed with an STI, but doesn’t want to tell his wife?
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Example Answer
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Ryan Brown created and launched MockQuestions in 2008.
This ethical question is looking at how serious you take protecting a patient's PHI (personal health information). In this answer, it is important to use empathy with the situation, especially since there is often a stigma around STI, but stand firm in your ethical and legal obligation.
Ryan Brown created and launched MockQuestions in 2008.
"This is a difficult question because you have an obligation to respect the patient's decision regarding their health diagnosis but you also want to limit the harm that may affect his wife because of the diagnosis. Still, legally, I cannot share personal health information without the consent of the patient or by the courts. Instead, I would invest in communicating with the patient as best as I could on the importance of notifying the wife for the sake of her health."
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Anonymous Answer
If I had a patient diagnosed with an STI that doesn't want to tell their spouse, I would have to protect the confidentiality of their personal health information. However, I also ethically feel that the spouse should be made aware for the sake of her health, so I would take the time to educate and inform the patient that it is in their spouse's best interest to be told about the diagnosis. Additionally, I would inform the patient of my obligation to report the diagnosis to the local health department, as applicable.
Stephanie's Feedback
This is a tricky situation to be in as a medical provider, but your response shows a high level of ethical consideration and best practice. It sounds like you are a very intentional person who thinks carefully and is well equipped to handle difficult situations that will arise in the work.
Anonymous Answer
I would be empathetic to my patient and inquire about the reasons why he does not want to disclose this. To better understand him. I would make sure my patient felt heard and I was not judged. I would discuss the treatment plan and appropriate follow-up. Then I would educate him on the health implications if the STI is not treated and give him my ethical opinion regarding his wife’s health and reassure him that I am not able to disclose confidential and personal health history to his wife but I may be obligated to report the STI to the local department of health.
Marcie's Feedback
Excellent. It sounds like you know exactly how you would handle this challenging situation. Any interviewer will appreciate your confidence and knowledge, in addition to your empathetic, nonjudgmental, and ethical nature. This is a strong answer; great job!
Anonymous Answer
I would need to coach the patient on the dangers of spreading the STI to his wife. The decision is ultimately up to the patient and I could never disclose their health info to the spouse without their consent, but I would remind the patient that this information greatly affects the wife, and encourage them to do the right thing.
Marcie's Feedback
Nice! The interviewer will be pleased to hear that you would encourage your patient to share the news with his wife since it could negatively impact her. Pointing out that it would be outside your rights to tell her without the spouse's consent is also important. To further build out your answer, consider going into more detail about how contagious STIs are and/or why there are privacy laws that prohibit healthcare providers from sharing patient information. Nice job!
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