[MMI prompt] Non-paternity

You are a genetic counselor.  One of  your clients, Linda, had a boy with a genetic defect that may have a high recurrence risk, meaning her subsequent pregnancies has a high chance of being affected by the same defect. You offered genetic testing of Linda, her husband, and their son to find out  more about their disease, to which everyone agreed. The result showed that neither Linda nor her husband carry the mutation, while the boy inherited the mutation on a paternal chromosome that did not come from Linda's husband. In other words, the boy's biological father is someone else, who is unaware that he carries the mutation.

You suspect that Linda nor her husband are aware of this non-paternity. How would you disclose the results of this genetic analysis to Linda and her family? What principles and who do you have to take into consideration in this case?

[MMI prompt] Health care

In a particular socialist society, the health care system is set up as follows: the public shares the cost of health care, and everyone who needs it enters a line-up. Because the public funding is limited, the health care system does not operate to its full capacity (in other words, some doctors want to work more hours but can't get paid for extra hours), and the line up for health care is long.

It has been proposed that in order to reduce the burden on health care, we allow some patients to pay for their medical services and receive them faster. It is argued that the rest of the public will not have to wait any longer, because the doctors and surgeons have unused hours, and the private funding goes to pay for these hours instead of jumping the public line.

Discuss the pros and cons of the introduction of this two-tier system (ie. coexisting public and private funding sources for health care).

[MMI prompt] Doctor's obligation

You are an ER resident who specializes in trauma. One day, a martial arts sportsman is sent to your ER with an apparently throat injury. His coach said he was hit by the opponent in the throat during the semi-finals match. You are aware that in this type of martial arts, attacking unprotected areas of the head such as the throat is ground for disqualification.

Your attending physician (your boss in the hospital) told you that the opponent of the injured player is your countryman, whereas the injured player is a foreign contender of the champion title that your country values highly. He wants you to "examine the injury carefully" right after he remarks how important the match is for the country.

How would you handle this situation?

[MMI prompt] time management

You are a cardiologist at a local hospital, who just finished a shift and has a tight run to your daughter's high school graduation ceremony. As you headed off to the door, Mark, a patient who knew you well, saw you from the waiting room and grabbed your attention. "Doctor! I have a bad chest pain. Please stay for a bit. I'll feel much better if you were here."

Enter the waiting room and talk to Mark.

[MMI prompt] driving a friend

Prelude

I'm sure if you have googled "practice mmi" or anything to that effect, you would have come across a very good set of 10 practice questions, with a variety of categories. If you haven't already, practice with these first. This set of questions are prepared by people who created the whole MMI business, and few things other than doing a real MMI can give you a better pictures than this.

Having said that, it'll be quite easy to finish all of these questions and still feel under-prepared. That's why I'll post some questions that I've come up with (in no shape or form are these from my real MMI for obvious reasons), as something you could think about as you prepare.

Driving a friend

You have been in a new relationship for 5 months, and you just got into medical school. As the saying goes, many relationships are ended in med school because of the stress, and lack of time, and the excitement of meeting hundreds of new, young,  intelligent soon-to-be doctors. You suspect that your partner is slightly worried about your attending medical school.

One evening, you have to attend a social event that your partner cannot go to. One of your colleagues from out of province asks you for a ride to the party, as he/she does not know how to get there. You feel slightly uncomfortable but at the same time obligated to help as a local and a friend.

How would you approach this situation?