Interview

While I was thinking about the difficulty of recruiting suitable trainees, several friends of mine attended an interview for the new consultant post of my department.

One question that appeared was: Do you think it important to set up an emergency service for the treatment of X ?

(For discussion purpose, X could be any acute medical condition that could be treated by an on-site specialist - take aside the need of some dedicated beds, skilled nursing support, and money.)

When one of my friends told me this question, I commented, "Right, the emergency treatment under question has proven value by clinical study. Nonetheless, I would insist to answer NO. There are only two or three sub-specialists in the region to offer this treatment. Setting up an emergency treatment service today would mean their resignation tomorrow. At the end of the day, we couldn't even offer the treatment on an elective basis."

PS. Unfortunately, extra-terrestrials have a different structure in their nervous system, and my opinion is in the minority. As the old proverb says, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.