Question

It had only been a week ago that Janie had been so excited about being hired for her first job as a medical assistant at the women's wellness clinic in town. During her interview, the office manager had asked her several questions pertaining to injection skills and her ability to handle upset or angry patients. Janie felt that she had given suitable answers to all the interviewer's questions. When asked if Janie had any questions, she had asked about several policies that the clinic had in place for their employees, such as workplace attire, company sick days, and weekend work schedules.

Now, just 1 week into her new job, Janie feels completely unprepared to handle the situation that now confronts her. To her dismay, she learns that the clinic routinely performs legal abortions. A devout Catholic, Janie had not thought about the clinic performing abortions nor the fact that, as an employee, she would be called upon to be a participant in the process. What should Janie have done differently? What should she do now?

Answer 1

Janie feels completely unprepared to handle the situation that now confronts her as she didn't prepare well enough to be a medical assistant at a women's wellness clinic. She should have enquired well about the clinic even before applying for the position. She had several chances to learn about the clinic beforehand but she didn't pay much attention to it at that time. She should have searched online about the clinic's services in detail and would certainly have come across the details like the clinic routinely performing legal abortions as one of its services. She also had the opportunity to ask politely about the details of her role as a medical assistant during the interview itself.

Now that Janie is in a situation where she has become part of the workforce of the clinic, she should do what she has been told to if she wants to be a medical assistant in that clinic. She should ignore her catholic values and be prepared to do whatever is expected from a medical assistant in her work contract from her employer. Another option is she can request the management to post her in a job that does not need her to be part of the legal abortions. If these options are not viable and the management is not accepting her reasons and she finds it difficult to cooperate with them, she always have the option of resigning from that job, which should be her last resort.