If a pharmaceutical company rep offered to bring you and your staff lunch so he or she could spend lunchtime telling you about a brand-new drug, would you accept? A free nice dinner with just you and the rep? Would you accept a trip for your family to go to Italy? How about a Starbucks latte? A pen with the name of the drug on it?
If a doctor yelled at the nurses and a med student for not completing the overnight lab work as ordered because he felt the delay would adversely impact his cancer patient's surgery scheduled for that day, should he be punished for unprofessional behavior and creating a hostile work environment? Or should he be lauded for advocating on behalf of the patient?
If you needed to learn how to perform a pelvic exam, and the young female patient was visibly uncomfortable but didn't specifically request that medical students not be present, would you stay or leave the room? What if you had to perform that exam that week and have it signed off in order to complete your required procedure practice and pass the rotation? What if you later found out she had been raped in the past? If the different scenarios changed your answers, how could you justify them?
If you were a nonreligious surgeon but a seriously ill patient wanted you to pray with herbefore the surgery, would you? What about if the patient asked you to carry a "lucky charm" in your pocket as you performed the surgery? What if you were atheist and actively did not believe in a god?
What would you do with a patient who is elderly, just feels "done" with life, and can't wait to die?
How would you react if you found out your patient was doing or has done illegal drugs?
