You are the on-call medical registrar and the last ICU bed has just become available. Two patients need it: a 40-year-old mother of three with severe pneumonia and a good prognosis, and a 78-year-old man with advanced COPD and a less certain outcome. How do you think about this decision?

Tips to guide your answer

- This tests the principle of justice (fair allocation of scarce resources) in a way that forces the candidate to grapple with uncomfortable trade-offs.

- The interviewer is not looking for a single "right answer" but wants to see a structured ethical framework, awareness that age alone should not be a deciding factor, understanding of clinical criteria for ICU admission, and the ability to involve senior colleagues.

- Candidates who immediately choose the younger patient without justification, or who rely on age-based rationing, will score poorly.

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How to approach this Shared interview question

This ethics question is common in NHS interviews because it reveals how you think under interview pressure, not just what facts you can recall. Use "You are the on-call medical registrar and the last ICU bed has just become available...." as the anchor for a concise answer with a clear opening, a clinical or professional structure, and a reflective close.

What the panel is testing

A strong ethics answer makes the competing duties visible. Name the principle or legal issue, then describe the practical steps you would take in the hospital: gather facts, assess capacity where relevant, seek advice, document, and protect the patient. For shared NHS interview questions, keep the answer portable across roles. Use one relevant example, explain your reasoning, and make the link to safe patient care explicit.

Identify the ethical tension before jumping to a decision: capacity, consent, confidentiality, best interests, or law.
Use local policy and senior advice, and be explicit about safeguarding or immediate patient-safety concerns.
Balance respect for autonomy with professional duties, documentation, and clear communication.

How to structure your answer

For a ethics prompt, aim for a short opening sentence, then two or three evidence-led points, then a final reflection. If you use STAR, keep the result and reflection as strong as the situation. If it is a clinical scenario, say what you would do now, what you would do next, and how you would keep the patient safe while help is coming.

Open by naming the main issue in the question.
Give a structured response rather than a memorised script.
End with escalation, documentation, learning, or follow-up.

Common mistakes to avoid

The weakest answers usually stay too vague, ignore the specific role, or miss the safety issue hidden in the question. Do not use this page to memorise a perfect paragraph. Use it to rehearse the shape of a safe answer, then adapt it to your own experience and the post you are applying for.

This tests the principle of justice (fair allocation of scarce resources) in a way that forces the candidate to grapple with uncomfortable trade-offs.
The interviewer is not looking for a single "right answer" but wants to see a structured ethical framework, awareness that age alone should not be a deciding factor, understanding of clinical criteria for ICU admission, and the ability to involve senior colleagues.
Candidates who immediately choose the younger patient without justification, or who rely on age-based rationing, will score poorly.