This final lesson in Module 5 is a comprehensive practice session containing 12 ethical and professionalism scenarios designed to replicate real interview conditions. Each scenario is presented in the format you will encounter on interview day, with pause-and-answer opportunities and detailed model answers.
The 12 Practice Scenarios
- Scenario 1: Your colleague arrives smelling of alcohol at the start of a shift (SPIES — substance misuse)
- Scenario 2: A competent patient with terminal cancer refuses further chemotherapy against their family’s wishes (Autonomy, Beneficence, family communication)
- Scenario 3: A nurse has accidentally given an overdose of IV morphine to a patient (Duty of Candour, incident reporting, patient safety)
- Scenario 4: A relative demands that you do not tell their mother she has cancer (Confidentiality, autonomy, GMC guidance)
- Scenario 5: A 15-year-old presents alone requesting emergency contraception (Gillick competence, Fraser Guidelines, safeguarding)
- Scenario 6: Your consultant makes an inappropriate sexual remark to a junior colleague in your presence (GMP Domain 3, raising concerns, EDI)
- Scenario 7: A patient with capacity wants to self-discharge against medical advice after a head injury (Capacity, autonomy, documentation, safety netting)
- Scenario 8: You discover that a colleague has falsified an audit dataset (Professional integrity, escalation, GMC Domain 4)
- Scenario 9: The family of a patient who has died wants to make a complaint about the care he received (Complaints process, empathy, Duty of Candour)
- Scenario 10: A patient with a notifiable infectious disease refuses to disclose to their partner (Confidentiality vs public interest, GMC guidance)
- Scenario 11: You are asked to complete a DNACPR form for a patient without discussing it with them or their family (DNACPR process, Tracey ruling, ReSPECT)
- Scenario 12: A colleague tells you they are struggling with their mental health and asks you not to tell anyone (Colleague support vs patient safety, duty to act)
How Model Answers Are Structured
Each model answer demonstrates: identification of the ethical/professional issue, application of the relevant framework (SPIES for colleague scenarios, four pillars for patient dilemmas), reference to specific GMC guidance, legal frameworks, or NHS policies by name, a clear action plan stating what you would actually do step by step, demonstration of empathy and compassion throughout, and reflection on what you would learn from the situation. The scoring annotations show exactly which elements earn marks: typically 1–2 marks for identifying the issue, 1–2 marks for applying a framework, 1–2 marks for referencing appropriate guidelines, and 1–2 marks for a practical, safe action plan with reflection.