Hello readers! Welcome to the Cambridge Widening Access to Medicine Society fortnightly newsletter 😊
Food for Thought: an example interview question
A man in A&E has lost a lot of blood following a car accident, and needs a blood transfusion to stabilise him. However, he is repeatedly refusing to accept a blood transfusion. What do you need to consider in deciding what to do next?
See below for an explanation
Behind the Headlines
“Vaping nearly killed me, says British teenager”: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-50377256
It’s important to understand and be able to give evidence of the risk to health of some behaviours. Vaping has grown in popularity in recent years, and evidence is coming to light that it may, like smoking, cause lung disease. This article (12/11/19) describes the case of a teenage boy who developed a condition called “hypersensitivity pneumonitis”, in which a component of the liquid the boy was vaping caused his immune system to react, eventually causing him to go into respiratory failure.
To find out more about vaping and its effects on health, see:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/e-cigarettes-and-vaping-policy-regulation-and-guidance for Public Health England’s advice on vaping
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/can-vaping-damage-your-lungs-what-we-do-and-dont-know-2019090417734 for Harvard Medical School’s overview on the subject
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/study-e-cigarettes-may-be-more-harmful-to-heart-health-than-tobacco/ for a study investigating the effect of vaping on the heart
Link of the fortnight
The NHS Constitutional Values Hub:
This webpage lists both the “NHS Values” and “Principles Which Guide the NHS”. Incorporating these into your personal statement and answers at interview will show that you have good insight into the NHS - a great way to impress admissions staff!
Myth-buster
“You have to have done loads of work experience in hospitals to get a place at Medical School”
NOT TRUE! As many of us know it can be really difficult to get work experience on hospital wards. Medical schools know this too, and it does not disadvantage you from getting in! The important thing is to show you have spent some time in a health care setting - this could be volunteering at a care home, a local Hospice, delivering meals to patients on the wards of a local hospital (the list goes on!)... Showing that you have observed and learnt from any experience you have gained, and that you have committed to something over a period of time goes a long way.
Food for Thought: an example interview question
This question is based around the issues of a patient consenting to treatment.
Remember - if a patient does not consent to treatment, it is assault if you continue to give that treatment. And, just because you believe they are making an unwise decision (to refuse the treatment) does not give you the right to override their decision. For the consent to be valid, it must be:
Voluntary - the patient must not have been coerced in any way
Informed - the patient must know the nature and the purpose of the act
Competent - the patient must have capacity to make the decision
Capacity describes whether a patient is competent to consent to the treatment. If you are concerned the patient may not have capacity to make this decision, you can carry out an assessment. To have capacity, the patient must be able to:
Understand the information you have given them about the treatment
Retain the information
Weigh up the information in making their decision
Communicate their decision to you
It is also important to remember that capacity is time and situation specific. This means that just because a patient lacks capacity now does not mean that they will later, and just because they do not have capacity to make this decision does not mean they cannot make other decisions (for example, they may not have capacity to decide whether to have a blood transfusion, but do have capacity to decide what they want to eat for dinner).
If the patient does not have capacity, a decision must be made in the best interests of the patient, and it must be the least restrictive option (for example, if you could choose whether the give the patient medication or surgery, you would probably choose medication as this is less restrictive).
In some cases, a patient who does not have consent will have an Advanced Directive or a Power of Attorney, you can find out more about those here:
Thanks for reading – if you have any questions then as ever please just email us at access@clinsoc.co.uk!
Hope you have a great fortnight and GOOD LUCK!
Love,
CamWAMS Committee
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