Grandmother's beloved aide texting while driving
- Kind
- Ethical dilemma
Prompt
Your 82-year-old grandmother's home care aide drives her to appointments twice a week, and on two occasions you have seen the aide texting while driving. Your grandmother adores her and begs you not to complain to the agency, saying she does not want a stranger in her home. What would you do?
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After you practice: what this question tests and how to approach it
What this question tests
- Empathy and compassion
- Ethical reasoning
- Communication
How to approach this question
This panel interview question tests whether you'll act on a safety risk when the person at risk asks you not to, and when acting could cost her a caregiver she loves. Name the stakes on each side: your grandmother's safety and her wishes, the aide's job, and other drivers and pedestrians on the road. Show respect for your grandmother's attachment, and treat her fear of a stranger in her home as a real cost. Then consider a graded response, starting with a direct, private conversation with the aide about what you saw and what happens if it continues. Explain when you would go to the agency anyway, and how you'd tell your grandmother. Close with a clear decision that weighs her safety against the relationship she wants to keep.
More on colleague conduct and patient safety
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