USMLE Ethics Question 5

Q: John is a 2nd year pediatric resident and is asked to order a particular medicine for his patient by his attending physician. He thinks that the treatment is not appropriate and could be potentially harmful. What should he do?

A: He should ask the attending to explain the rationale. In most cases the attending will be able to convince the resident why the medicine is important. If he still doesn't agree with the attending he should not order the medicine and seek advice/consultation from senior resident, senior attending or division chief.