Take out a position in the medical team: which one would you choose?

[vip_138]

So a question i've read was 'if you had to take out a position in the medical team, who would it be?'

I figure you could talk about the importance of each position and that you woudn't pick one but i suppose that's kind of avoiding the question and i'ld suppose the interviewers would push you to make a decision. I was wondering what people's thoughts are for such a question and even the bounds of what a 'medical team' implies. Does receptionist and secretary count? what about physiotherapist, nurses aide, cleaning staff? would the interviewer give you guidelines to what departments and what involvements in patient care are restricted to their definition?

[UBCGuy]

That is a tough one...

[AMmd]

I would say this guy:

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[Satsuma]

I suspect in such a question they would be looking to see what kind of understanding you had of the health care/medical team.

 

To be able to do this, you have to know what professionals make up this team...so you could start with that. No your secretary and cleaning staff do not count as they are not directly related in the care of your pt. It is safe to include professionals who would be directly involved with care to the pt as well as directly involved with decision making. Depending on the setting, this could include professionals such as OT, PT, SLP, RD, Pharmacists, RNs etc... the people you would find at rounds and family meetings and such.

 

It's not an easy question but you have to start with understanding the roles of the other professionals you would be working with.

[The Law]

I think I'd end up saying that I don't think it's possible to take out any part of the health care team, and I would end up talking about the different parts and proving my point.

[wanttobedoc]

Having worked as a member of the medical team for 6 years as an OT...I can tell you this question is very difficult to answer and I think ridiculous and unfair. I think what the interviewer would be looking for is your knowledge in regard to a multidisciplinary team and who fills various roles. With limited staffing in many hospitals due to cut backs and in rural areas lack of staff to fill the positions, some disciplines in fact "double up" on their roles. For instance, when I worked rurally as an OT doing homecare follow-ups for post-op hip and knee replacements one of my roles was also to educate/supervise the client with their exercise rehab (this is not normally a role of an OT, but within my scope of practice as far as my training goes). In urban settings, there are usually enough OT/PTs to cover and do their own roles. Sometimes, in hospitals OTs and SLPs share different roles in regard to dysphagia assessment and feeding...often a SW role can overlap with other disciplines too...

With healthcare going the way it is, there is sometimes a need to do this, so in order to answer this question thoughtfully I would tend to discuss different roles and possibilities of their overlapping when staffing is not ideal, but to cut a whole role all together could not be justified in my experience so far.

[Smurfette]

I'd cut the premed volunteer

[Kuantum]

I'd cut the premed volunteer

 

Same here (read: The Law)

[The Law]

I'd cut the premed volunteer

 

I think that's the best answer so far. hahah

[Jochi1543]

I'd cut the premed volunteer

BWAHAHAHAAH!!!!

 

Best thing I've ever read.

[clkt]

I suspect in such a question they would be looking to see what kind of understanding you had of the health care/medical team.

 

To be able to do this, you have to know what professionals make up this team...so you could start with that. No your secretary and cleaning staff do not count as they are not directly related in the care of your pt. It is safe to include professionals who would be directly involved with care to the pt as well as directly involved with decision making. Depending on the setting, this could include professionals such as OT, PT, SLP, RD, Pharmacists, RNs etc... the people you would find at rounds and family meetings and such.

 

It's not an easy question but you have to start with understanding the roles of the other professionals you would be working with.

 

sorry, very noobie question... what does OT, PT, SLP and RD stand for?

[wanttobedoc]

sorry, very noobie question... what does OT, PT, SLP and RD stand for?

Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist, Speech Language Pathologist, and Registered Dietician....

[Jochi1543]

Here's a question I've had for a while, since we're on the topic - what's the difference between a triage nurse and a regular nurse?

[wanttobedoc]

Here's a question I've had for a while, since we're on the topic - what's the difference between a triage nurse and a regular nurse?

Not being a nurse myself...I'm going out on a limb here but, I believe a triage nurse would be a nurse perhaps with some extra training and years of experience behind his or her belt? She/he would assign medical treatment priorities to patients coming through emerg and "triage" them....I guess. My sis-in-law is a speciality neonatal nurse (which I know is a regular nurse with some extra courses)...once you become a nurse you can also specialize in areas of interest (eg. Palliative care, neonatal, paeds, geriatrics, rehab, obstectrics etc....) by taking extra courses etc....

This is just my educated guess though

[celeria]

I think that triage nurses are the first people to see a patient in any department (e.g. emerg, maternity, etc.). They assess patients and decide who needs to see them next... i.e. do they NEED to see a doc right away? That kind of stuff. In maternity, I think that they are the ones that decide if women are far enough along to be admitted.

 

It's a way of making the system more efficient by prioritizing the patients. Can anyone else elaborate on this?

[TonesRN]

I think that triage nurses are the first people to see a patient in any department (e.g. emerg, maternity, etc.). They assess patients and decide who needs to see them next... i.e. do they NEED to see a doc right away? That kind of stuff. In maternity, I think that they are the ones that decide if women are far enough along to be admitted.

 

It's a way of making the system more efficient by prioritizing the patients. Can anyone else elaborate on this?

 

You have the right idea celeria. However, 'triage' typically refers to an emergency department setting. It's a method of classifying and prioritizing patients based upon their need for medical attention. I haven't spent much time in labour and delivery, but basically an assessment is done on each mother to determine how far along she is. You don't see triage nurses in every department. They are typically only seen in emerg and are usually senior nurses with advanced knowledge (certifications) and experience. On the floors, the acuity of patients are typically the same relative to the particular unit that you're working on (e.g. urology, CCU, etc.). So there really isn't a formal triage system in place, however, as a rule of thumb, you basically still prioritize which patients are quite ill and typically spend more time with those patients.

 

Just an additional point of clarification, there really isn't what people call a 'regular' nurse. I don't take it as a criticism because I used to think the same thing in the past. I also used to think that nurses working on the floors are pretty much the same. However, these nurses are quite specialized to particular areas (e.g. urology, gen surg, trauma, cardiac, etc.). So there really isn't a definition for a 'regular' nurse.

[TonesRN]

I think I'd end up saying that I don't think it's possible to take out any part of the health care team, and I would end up talking about the different parts and proving my point.

 

I would agree with this position and think that showing knowledge of all of the roles that the various members of the health care team provide to the overall benefit for the patient is the best course of action.

[wanttobedoc]

Just an additional point of clarification, there really isn't what people call a 'regular' nurse. I don't take it as a criticism because I used to think the same thing in the past. I also used to think that nurses working on the floors are pretty much the same. However, these nurses are quite specialized to particular areas (e.g. urology, gen surg, trauma, cardiac, etc.). So there really isn't a definition for a 'regular' nurse.

 

Yes....I agree with you there....I guess by "regular nurse" I meant regular nurse training and then from there they can specialize in different areas depending on their work experience and sometimes by taking extra courses. Sorry if I offended anyone that is a nurse. I have a great respect for them and what they do. Pretty much all disciplines can specialize after graduating, obviously a person working in paediatrics (OT/PT or nurse) is going to have different clinical expertise compared to someone who has chosen geriatrics or ICU. Thanks for the clarification:)

[Talon01]

Find out what fields your interviewers are in and defintely do NOT pick one of those!!

[Jochi1543]

Find out what fields your interviewers are in and defintely do NOT pick one of those!!

Now HERE we have a quality suggestion!

[brut33]

Perhaps the best person to take out of the team is the person who is sooo tired because they have worked too many shifts that they are a liability to the team. Rather than remove a "position" from the team let's remove the most fatigued member. Without further information we have to set up a context and if we are in a position to axe someone it ought to be the person who has been on duty the longest, other than the leader (you).

[Jochi1543]

Hmmm....I don't know how convincing this answer is to me, Brut, because the person is generally fatigued due to a shortage of individuals like him (say, neurosurgs are overworked because there are few of them). If anything, the solution to the problem would be to add MORE individuals like the one who's most fatigued, for s/he is fatigued for a reason.

 

Drinking the night before doesn't count.

 

EDIT: also, you are talking about "axing" someone, which in my opinion sounds like a punishment. Punishing someone for working very hard is not really the way to go. I understand you probably just phrased it that way to save time, but it's just another thing to consider. I would make sure to choose more careful wording if you are actually asked this on the interview.

[Smurfette]

If we are in a position to axe someone it ought to be the person who has been on duty the longest, other than the leader.

 

It'd be the new reality TV show, called Hospital Survivor. At the end of the week, someone on the health care team gets voted off the ward.

 

More seriously, I think this question is rather unfair - no matter whom you choose, you're going to lose. It's also too broad and too vague to be addressed reasonably. If I were asked this question at an interview, I would probably say (as other posters have mentionned) that I think each role in a health care team is important. I would then describe the different positions and their importance. I might also mention that it really depends on the particular setting. In some cases, it may be possible for someone to double up on a couple different roles.

[eise]

I agree that you should discuss the importance of each team member. However, if you had to pick one (demonstrate decisiveness), perhaps it would be a good idea to say it depends on the type of patient. If you have to “fire” someone, then the patient or type of patient (if it’s a hospital ward) is important to know because not all of the staff are equally important for a particular type of patient. For example, if it is a medical floor, then the OT might not be as important, whereas if it is an orthopedic floor, then the OT would be very important. On an obstetrics unit the pharmacist might be less important, or even the physician if there are competent nurse practitioners as the patients are usually healthy women who are trying to stay away from medicine etc. However, there is an important role for all members of the team. You need to make it clear that the best medical care is given when done by a multi-disciplinary medical team.

[wanttobedoc]

I agree that you should discuss the importance of each team member. However, if you had to pick one (demonstrate decisiveness), perhaps it would be a good idea to say it depends on the type of patient. If you have to “fire” someone, then the patient or type of patient (if it’s a hospital ward) is important to know because not all of the staff are equally important for a particular type of patient. For example, if it is a medical floor, then the OT might not be as important, whereas if it is an orthopedic floor, then the OT would be very important. On an obstetrics unit the pharmacist might be less important, or even the physician if there are competent nurse practitioners as the patients are usually healthy women who are trying to stay away from medicine etc. However, there is an important role for all members of the team. You need to make it clear that the best medical care is given when done by a multi-disciplinary medical team.

 

Eise, I think your answer is good in theory however, in reality most support staff except for the nurses are spreading themselves between many wards and floors anyway. They are not allocated to just one ward as most nurses are. When I worked in hospitals I was for instance .4 ortho, .2 palliative, and .4 medical. I'm not sure what your definition of "medical" is, but OTs and PTs are very important on the medical ward I've been on (stroke patients, brain injured etc...). The one I worked on, I had to assess patient's level of function and independence and recommend the next step...eg) is the patient ready/safe to d/c home or is there a need for further rehab, and referral to either GF Strong, Holy Family or homecare rehab? I think to answer the question decisively but still realistically, one does not have to fall into their "trap" and cut a team member. Who is going to pick up the slack for the pharmacist, OT or whom ever you decide on cutting? I think it is sort of a trick question....and sets one up for many further questions that hopefully the interviewee is prepared to justify and answer. I still maintain it is an unfair question especially for pre-med interviewees to answer (many of whom have not actually worked in hospitals yet anyway). How do you make a judgement or decision this huge with not actually having any experience working in a hospital yet? (besides volunteering). Perhaps eise has worked in hospitals though so is making decisions based on his or her experience. I know from my experience, I would not be comfortable making this decision with so little to go on. I think I would be decisive in making that statement!