Prompt
You are an emergency physician. A 34-year-old woman arrives after a car accident with severe internal bleeding. She is conscious and alert, and she tells you that she is a Jehovah’s Witness and refuses any blood transfusion, even if it means she will die. Her husband arrives and begs you to give her blood anyway, telling you that she would want to live for their two young children. How would you proceed?
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After you practice: what this question tests and how to approach it
What this question tests
- Ethical reasoning
- Communication
- Empathy and compassion
How to approach this question
This MMI station tests whether you'll respect a conscious adult's refusal of treatment on religious grounds when her husband begs you to override it and her life is at stake. A strong answer makes sure she understands what she is choosing and is deciding freely, without pressure from anyone in either direction. Treat her husband with compassion as a frightened partner, while explaining that the decision belongs to her, and ask whether any option fits within her beliefs. Name the cost honestly: respecting her choice may mean she dies and two young children lose their mother. Land on a clear course of action that shows how you weigh autonomy and consent against your wish to save her. When a follow-up changes who is making the decision, explain how your reasoning shifts when the patient can't decide for herself.
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