Hi. thank you so much for this amazing video. I have my interview soon so was just wondering how you would approach a situation like this: ' you are a doctor. You have lost a patient's blood sample but this has no effect on the patients diagnosis. What do you do?'
Ah that's very kind of you - best of luck I'm sure you'll smash it, here's how I'd approach it... If I lost a patient's blood sample, my immediate response would involve owning up to the mistake by transparently communicating the error to the patient, emphasizing that their diagnosis remains unaffected. I would apologize for the inconvenience and take full responsibility for the oversight. To clean up the situation, I would expediently arrange for a new blood sample to be collected at the patient's convenience, ensuring a streamlined and comfortable process to alleviate any additional stress or discomfort. For a patient known to have severe anxiety, I would handle the situation with heightened sensitivity and empathy. This would include preparing a calm and supportive setting for the conversation, potentially involving mental health support. I would carefully explain the error and its non-impact on their diagnosis, focusing on reassuring the patient and offering additional support to manage any resultant anxiety, including clear guidance on the next steps. To level up and prevent such incidents in the future, I would initiate a review of the existing procedures and identify any lapses or weaknesses in the process that led to the loss of the blood sample. This might involve additional training for staff, implementing more robust tracking systems for samples, or introducing double-check mechanisms to ensure samples are handled correctly. The goal would be to strengthen our protocols to prevent similar mistakes, thereby safeguarding patient trust and maintaining high standards of care.
Hi. thank you so much for this amazing video. I have my interview soon so was just wondering how you would approach a situation like this: ' you are a doctor. You have lost a patient's blood sample but this has no effect on the patients diagnosis. What do you do?'
Also as a follow up. What would you do if the patient was known to have severe anxiety?
Ah that's very kind of you - best of luck I'm sure you'll smash it, here's how I'd approach it... If I lost a patient's blood sample, my immediate response would involve owning up to the mistake by transparently communicating the error to the patient, emphasizing that their diagnosis remains unaffected. I would apologize for the inconvenience and take full responsibility for the oversight. To clean up the situation, I would expediently arrange for a new blood sample to be collected at the patient's convenience, ensuring a streamlined and comfortable process to alleviate any additional stress or discomfort.
For a patient known to have severe anxiety, I would handle the situation with heightened sensitivity and empathy. This would include preparing a calm and supportive setting for the conversation, potentially involving mental health support. I would carefully explain the error and its non-impact on their diagnosis, focusing on reassuring the patient and offering additional support to manage any resultant anxiety, including clear guidance on the next steps.
To level up and prevent such incidents in the future, I would initiate a review of the existing procedures and identify any lapses or weaknesses in the process that led to the loss of the blood sample. This might involve additional training for staff, implementing more robust tracking systems for samples, or introducing double-check mechanisms to ensure samples are handled correctly. The goal would be to strengthen our protocols to prevent similar mistakes, thereby safeguarding patient trust and maintaining high standards of care.