130 practice questions for 2023

A Kootenay town runs a health-collective that provides various alternative and traditional forms of medicine. The physicians there encourage parents of small children not to vaccinate their children. Discuss the positive and negative impacts of this opinion.

Dr. Cheung recommends homeopathic medicines to his patients. There is no scientific evidence or widely accepted theory to suggest that homeopathic medicines work, and Dr. Cheung doesn't believe them to. He recommends homeopathic medicine to people with mild and non-specific symptoms such as fatigue, headaches and muscle aches, because he believes that it will do no harm, but will give them reassurance. Consider the ethical problems that Dr. Cheung's behaviour might pose. Discuss these issues with the interviewer.

If the Prime Minister of Canada were to ask your advice on one change that could be applied to the healthcare system in Canada that would improve it enormously and have the greatest positive effect, what would it be?

The City of Vancouver has taken great measures to increase accessibility to alternative forms of transportation (Canada Line, Hornby and Dunsmuir Bike Lanes, Proposed Evergreen Line, and Burrard Street Bridge closures). Discuss the impacts (both positive and negative) of these decisions?

You tell a mother her two year old child has leukemia, but she refuses chemo but insists upon seeing her family physician who is a naturopath. What do you tell her, how do you handle this so that you may continue to have some influence as regards the treatment of her child? (The child‟s life is in the balance as the naturopath will be unable to save the child‟s life and you have an obligation to your patient, the child, who cannot make an informed decision. In paediatrics, its beneficence and “the rule of rescue” that takes precedence.)

You are treasurer of a university Club controlling club money and you are one of 3 members of the Executive. There is going to be a Meeting in another city with similar clubs from other universities. The club has enough money to cover the costs of only 3 members. There are 8 club members and everybody wants to go and for the club to pay their expenses. What do you do?

Statistics have shown that effects of advanced age such as changes in vision and response time may adversely affect elderly drivers' ability to drive safely. As a matter of fact, many doctors discuss the issue of stopping driving with their older patients as a precaution for the safety of theirs as well as the public's. Do you think older drivers have to give up driving when they reach a certain age?

In his recent novel „I am Charlotte Simmons‟, Tom Wolfe bases on life at a typical university in North America. He develops various characters and describes their lives, surroundings, beliefs, and moral behaviour while they are at the university. Wolfe acknowledges that it is 40 years since he himself was a student at university. Consequently, his children, currently at university, read the drafts of the book as it was been written and ensured that the descriptions associated with life at this fictitious university were appropriate for the modern day. What changes to the original script do you think Wolfe‟s children made?

Your company needs both you and a co-worker (Sara, a colleague from another branch of the company) to attend a critical business meeting in San Diego. You have just arrived to drive Sara to the airport. Sara is in the room.

Your older sister tells you that she values her career and is reluctant to take time away to have a baby. Her husband agrees with her. They have arranged to conceive an embryo through in vitro fertilization. A company in India will implant the embryo in a surrogate mother from a nearby village who will be paid $5,000. Two weeks after the baby is born, the company will deliver the baby to your sister and her husband. Your mother is opposed to this arrangement whereas your father supports her decision. Your sister asks for your support. How would you respond to your sister?

As a physician at a local hospital you notice that there is a man with an alcohol dependency who keeps on consuming the hand sanitizer offered at the hand sanitizer stands throughout the hospital. He is not a patient at the hospital at present but has been many times in the past. Consequently, there is often no hand sanitizer for public use. What do you do? Do you remove/change location of hand sanitizer stands? Do you approach him?

Imagine your friend‟s father is 70 years old and has lived in Edmonton his whole life. He is taken to the emergency department at the University of Alberta Hospital. He has had good health until now and this is the first time he has been to hospital of any kind since he was 20 years old. What changes in the healthcare system and environment in the hospital do you think he would notice?

Many fire-related tragedies in Canada have been the result of children playing with fire. Discuss the roles and responsibilities of parents, lighter companies and society with respect to this issue.

You are an emergency room physician at a local hospital. A patient comes in requesting painkillers for his back. Upon reviewing his file, you realize that he frequently comes to the hospital requesting painkillers and he has already capped his prescription for the month. Upon examination, you notice no new injuries to indicate an increase in painkillers. You politely tell patient that you will not increase his dosage or re-fill out another prescription for him. He tells you that he will go and inject himself with heroin right now if he does not get the painkillers. What do you say next? What do you do?

Your best friend and partner are undergoing in vitro fertilization to have a baby. The technique allows for the selection of certain characteristics for the child by identifying them in the embryo before implantation. Your friend asks for advice on the characteristics they should select. How would you respond to your friend?

It has been suggested that in order to promote healthy lifestyles, medical schools preferentially admit students who do not smoke. Do you think this approach will be effective? Discuss the implications with respect to health and health care costs.

How does Canadian health care system compare to that of Britain‟s system?

A patient requests needles and syringes at his/her local pharmacy. They do not present with a prescription, and based on the records you can access, they are not receiving treatment for diabetes. Do you sell the syringes or not?

Some people think that the new or younger generation of physicians are not as hard-working (i.e., wanting to leave right at 5:00 p.m., not wanting to put in as long of a work week) as previous generations. How do you feel about this perception?

You and your best friend try out for the varsity track team. You just find out you got in, but your friend was rejected for the 3rd time. Enter the room.

What is the difference between Medicare and Medicaid?

At the beginning of your last year of undergraduate studies, the Dean of your Faculty has offered to all of you the opportunity to swallow a „red‟ pill. If swallowed, this pill would increase enormously your ability to „absorb‟ all the educational material being presented to you in all your courses. In fact, this pill would basically guarantee that you would receive an A+ in all your future courses with a significantly reduced workload. Would you take the red pill?

There are two people in the next room that are in a conflict. Mediate the discussion and find a way to resolve the situation.

Discuss health care issues that have been in the news in the last month.

Your friend tells you that a piece of expensive electronic equipment he had bought for $3000 just two weeks ago had stopped working. The store where he bought it had a 7-day return policy. Your friend goes to the store, buys a new piece of equipment and then returns the old damaged equipment in its place for a full refund. The store is owned by your uncle who is struggling to keep the business going. How would you deal with the situation?

You are spending your evening as a volunteer in the hospital. It is late and you see a number of staff duck into the supply closet with an empty bag and reappear in a few minutes with it appearing full. You have heard other staff members discussing that supplies are missing on a regular basis that cannot be accounted for. After observing the actions of the other staff members, what do you do?

You are a second year student shadowing a doctor in the O.R. Once the patient, an obese female has been given general anesthetic and the procedure is under way the doctors start to make comments about her weight and call her names that you find inappropriate but most of all unprofessional. Do you talk to the doctor about his comments or do you keep your comments to yourself? Why?

You are a 3rd year medical student doing hospital rotations. A fellow medical student who is doing rounds with you often show up to these sessions tired, messy, hung over, or even drunk. One day you found him in the lunch room unaccompanied, so you decided to talk to him. Please enter the lunch room.

What is the role of Electronic Record Management in the management and care of patients in the public and private sector now and in the future?

A couple has decided to have a child through artificial insemination. They asked the physician for sex selection of the child. What should a physician advise in this situation?

A physician went to vacation for 2 weeks. He did not find another physician to cover him. One of his patients with hypertension developed severe headache. The patient has an appointment with the doctor as soon as he comes back from vacation. The patient did not look for another physician and decided to wait. The patient suddenly collapses and was diagnosed to have intracranial hemorrhage. Is the physician responsible for this patient?

You are sitting at a desk in front of the interviewer with a screen between you. You have a set of blocks in front of you and you have to set them up in a certain way. The interviewer knows the solution and you can't see them and can only ask them yes or no questions. Correctly assemble the blocks.

A friend has accessed your laptop and discovered your draft for an essay that is due by you both who are taking the same course. How do you handle this

The parking garage at your place of work has assigned parking spots. On leaving your spot, you are observed by the parking attendant as you back into a neighbouring car, a BMW, knocking out its left front headlight and denting the left front fender. The garage attendant gives you the name and office number of the owner of the neighbouring car, telling you that he is calling ahead to the car owner, Tim. The garage owner tells you that Tim is expecting your visit. You enter Tim‟s office.