Situational Anesthesiologist Mock Interview
Master 30 Situational Anesthesiologist interview questions covering critical scenarios, clinical judgment, and perioperative decision-making.
Question 4 of 30
A colleague left their computer open with our EMR and sensitive information on the screen, and you are the only one in the shared office at the time. How would you address this with them?
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Dianne Barnard is a Registered Nurse and former nursing instructor. She is also board certified in Psychiatric Nursing and Holistic Nursing Critical Care.
Patient confidentiality must be honored, and leaving a computer open, even to run to the bathroom for a minute, risks a serious breach of patient confidentiality and HIPAA. Your interviewer wants to know that any Anesthesiologist they hire will have a high degree of integrity and do the right thing in this situation.
Dianne Barnard is a Registered Nurse and former nursing instructor. She is also board certified in Psychiatric Nursing and Holistic Nursing Critical Care.
"I take HIPAA compliance seriously and have attended training on patient confidentiality and HIPAA compliance. In this situation, I would immediately close or lock the computer, and I would not look at the information on the screen. If I wasn't sure where my colleague was or when he or she left, I would report it to an administrator because someone could have accessed the information. It's a tough call and may cause some colleague tension, but as a physician with integrity, I must do what is best for the patient and keep their protected health information confidential."
Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
Leaving a computer wide open is a serious risk to confidentiality. In this situation, you could gently close or lock the computer so that the screen is not visible or discuss the seriousness of this with your colleague when they return. No matter how you answer, make sure that your interviewers walk away from your time together knowing you would do what is necessary to protect the PHI of any patient of their institution.
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