This is a scenario you may come across in a multiple mini interview (MMI) and/or during a panel/traditional type of interview. Although the exact wording will be different nevertheless the general principles are the same.
Question:
“You are a second-year dental student at the clinic. You are working with another dental student called Nithin. After your patient has gone, you notice that Nithin makes several demeaning comments to the dental assistant.
You find this disconcerting. What would you do, if anything?”
University Expert Answer and Comments:
Without giving a word-for-word answer, here are the salient points to get across.
You would start off by telling the panel why it is important for you to be concerned at what you saw. You would mention how dental professionals should conduct themselves at all times. The other essential point is to not come to any swift conclusions until both the dental student and dental assistant have had a chance to comment.
It may be that you have incorrectly read the situation yourself or Nithin realises his mistake and apologizes. You could even have a situation where Nithin was getting back at the dental assistant for something which happened earlier and of course there could be a position where Nithin doesn’t even acknowledge he has been abrupt.
Finally, if you are still concerned at your initial attempts to understand the situation, you may wish to seek further advice.