HIV Consultant Interview Preparation Guide

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No. HIV is not like the lu or a cold. It is not passed through casual contact or by being near a person who is infected.

You can only get HIV if infected blood, semen, vaginal luids, or breast milk gets into your body

No. But it is important to know that you can be infected by a single exposure to HIV-infected blood, semen, or vaginal luids. Whether a person becomes infected after being exposed to HIV depends on how the virus enters the body and the amount of virus that enters the body.

This is a very important question to answer. Most physician specialties require brilliance in the heat of the moment. Highlight your ability to rise to the occasion when it is necessary.

Most employers are going to be impressed by institutions with names that they recognize. However, if you did not get your training from a highly recognized school or facility, highlight the accolades that it has as well as why you chose to pursue that institution.

• Store condoms in a cool place, out of direct sunlight. Check the expiration date on the condom wrapper or box. Condoms that are past their expiration date may break.

• Open the package carefully. Teeth or ingernails can rip the condom.

No. There is no cure for HIV or AIDS. However, there are medicines that ight HIV and help people with HIV and AIDS live longer, healthier lives.

Yes. Having unprotected sex with many partners increases your risk of getting HIV because it increases your chances of coming into contact with someone who has HIV. It also increases your risk of getting other sexually transmitted diseases (like herpes, gonorrhea, chlamydia, venereal warts, or syphilis). Having an STD, in turn, can make you more likely to get HIV

No. Studies have shown that mosquitoes and other insects do not pass HIV to humans.

When an insect bites a person, it does not inject its own blood or a previous victim’s blood into the new victim. It injects only saliva. Unlike the germs that cause malaria and other diseases spread by insect bites, HIV does not reproduce (and therefore cannot survive) in insects. So, even if the virus enters a mosquito or another sucking or biting insect, the insect does not become infected and cannot pass HIV to the next human that it feeds on or bites.

Resoundingly, our clients expressed their distaste with physicians saying that they went into medicine for the pay. No employer wants to hire a money-hungry physician. Be honest about why you went into medicine. One possible answer: “I want to help people and provide the best medical care that I can.”

No, because there is the probability of re-infection or cross-infection. In other words, there are sub-strains of the virus and you can pass these to each other and worsen each other's health. An HIV+ person, can become re-infected with a different drug-resistant strain (type) of HIV, if he / she does not practice protected sex

The only 100% effective way to prevent sexual transmission of HIV is through abstinence – avoiding all vaginal, anal, and oral sex. Using a latex male condom or a female condom can greatly reduce, but not entirely eliminate, the risk of HIV transmission. However, abstinence is the only method to completely eliminate the possibility of sexual transmission of HIV.

Yes. A woman who has HIV can pass the virus to her baby during:

• pregnancy;
• delivery; or
• breastfeeding.

There are medicines that women with HIV should take during pregnancy, labor, and delivery and that can be given to their babies just after birth, to greatly reduce the chance that their babies will become infected with HIV. It is best for women to know their HIV status before they become pregnant or very early in their pregnancy so that they can make informed decisions and take full advantage of these medicines. Since HIV is also found in breast milk, women with HIV should not breastfeed their babies.

Unprotected anal sex with a person who has HIV or whose HIV status you do not know is the highest-risk sexual activity for both men and women. The walls of the anus and rectum are thin and have many blood vessels that can be injured during anal sex. HIV-infected semen can be easily absorbed through these thin walls and into the bloodstream. Injured tissue in the anus and rectum can expose the penis to blood containing HIV.

Using latex condoms for anal sex lowers HIV risk, but condoms fail more often during anal sex than during vaginal or oral sex. So, protected anal sex is still riskier than protected vaginal or oral sex

It is very unlikely that a person would get HIV from a human bite. HIV can only be passed in this manner through direct blood-to-blood contact and not by exchanging saliva. To pass the virus, the infected person would need to have blood in his or her mouth and break the skin of the other person. The break in the skin of the uninfected person could allow infected blood to enter his or her bloodstream. If a person who does not have HIV bites and breaks the skin of a person with HIV, transmission of the virus could only occur if the uninfected person has open sores or cuts in the mouth that allow for blood-to-blood contact.

We try to coach to steer away from talking about salary in an interview. If you say a number that is too high for the hospital, you might be taking yourself out of the race. If you give them a number that is low, you are either leaving money on the table or you are giving the interviewer the impression that you are worth less than the next candidate. Possible answer: “I am looking for at least a competitive salary; I definitely want to receive compensation equal to the effort put forth.”

This question is subjective. If you are a locum tenens physician, your answer is going to be different from other physicians’ answers. We recommend that you answer honestly. If you plan on entering retirement in the next five to 10 years, tell the interviewer. It is the most fair to both parties. In some cases, it is even okay to say that you don’t know.

AIDS is a whole bunch of illnesses that come about when your body has been infected with HIV and the body becomes overwhelmed. There are many illnesses associated with AIDS, some of the more common ones are listed below:
☛ - Many forms of rare cancers
☛ - Thrush (in the mouth, throat, stomach, vagina or anus)
☛ - Blindness
☛ - Wasting syndrome (rapid, ongoing weight loss)
☛ - Dementia (memory loss or failure, hallucinations)
☛ - Various lung problems (pneumonia, bronchitis, TB)

Medicines that ight HIV have helped many people with HIV and AIDS live years and even decades longer than was possible in the past, before effective treatment was available. HIV treatments are not a cure, and they do not work equally well for everyone, but they have extended the lives of many people with HIV and AIDS.

Without treatment, some people live for just a few years after getting HIV. Others live much longer. Researchers are studying a small number of people with HIV who have not become ill for more than ten years, even without any HIV treatment. However, these people are still infected with HIV and can pass the virus to others.

Symptomatic HIV infection is mainly caused by the emergence of opportunistic infections and cancers that normally the immune system would prevent. These can occur in almost all the body systems, but common examples are featured in the table below.
As the table below indicates, symptomatic HIV infection is often characterised by multi-system disease. Treatment for the specific infection or cancer is often carried out, but the underlying cause is the action of HIV as it erodes the immune system. Unless HIV itself can be slowed down the symptoms of immune suppression will continue to worsen.
☛ - System
☛ - Examples of Infection / Cancer
☛ - Respiratory system
☛ - Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia (PCP)
☛ - Tuberculosis (TB)
☛ - Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS)
☛ - Gastro-intestinal system
☛ - Cryptosporidiosis
☛ - Candida
☛ - Cytomegolavirus (CMV)
☛ - Isosporiasis
☛ - Kaposi's Sarcoma
☛ - Central/peripheral Nervous system
☛ - HIV
☛ - Cytomegolavirus
☛ - Toxoplasmosis
☛ - Cryptococcosis
☛ - Non Hodgkin's lymphoma
☛ - Varicella Zoster
☛ - Herpes simplex
☛ - Skin
☛ - Herpes simplex
☛ - Kaposi's sarcoma
☛ - Varicella Zoster

This is a specific one, and the question itself will be tailored toward you and the job at stake. The gist of it is: Employers want to know your motivations.

An anecdote is the strongest way to address this question, Lin says. Sharing a personal story connects your human side with your clinical skills.

How you should answer: “My father was terribly sick when I was a teenager, and most of my free time was spent in a caregiving role. I admit I surprised myself by how fulfilling I found it. Even though I missed a lot of social events, it instilled in me a drive to provide that level of care to others, which I’ve done throughout my career.”

If you have a conidential HIV test, you will give your name and other identifying information (age, gender) to the test counselor, doctor, or other health care provider, and the test result will be put in your medical record. The names of people who test positive for HIV are given to the New York State Department of Health to help the department better respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York State. Information about your HIV status is given only to the New York State Department of Health and is kept conidential. The conidentiality of all HIV-related information is protected by New York State Public Health Law.

If you have an anonymous HIV test, you do not have to give your name or any other identifying information. Instead, you are given a code number, which you use to get your test results when you return to the testing site. An anonymous test result is not recorded in your medical record and is not sent to your doctor or to other health care providers. If you test positive for HIV at a site that provides anonymous testing, you can choose to give your name and change the test result to conidential – which allows you to get HIV-related medical care and support services (like housing assistance) without waiting for a second HIV test to conirm the result.

Yes. Any person infected with HIV, even if he or she has no symptoms, can pass HIV to another person. Risk reduction measures still need to be taken

Yes. Having an STD, especially herpes or syphilis sores, increases your risk of getting HIV and giving HIV to a partner. Other STDs, like gonorrhea or chlamydia, also increase your risk of becoming infected with HIV.

STDs change the cells that line the vagina, penis, rectum, or mouth, which can cause open sores to develop. These sores make it easier for HIV to enter the body. Any inlammation or sore caused by an STD also makes it easier for HIV to enter the bloodstream during sexual contact.

If you already have an STD, you are more likely to get infected with HIV during unprotected sex with someone who has HIV.

If you already have an STD, you are more likely to get infected with HIV during unprotected sex with someone who has HIV.

Studies have shown that STDs increase the amount of HIV in the semen and vaginal luids of people infected with HIV because of increased inlammation in the area. Therefore, if you have HIV and an STD, you are more likely to pass HIV to your partner during unprotected sex. Studies have also shown that treatment for STDs may reduce HIV transmission.

Many STDs do not cause symptoms, especially in women. It is important for sexually active men and women to get tested for STDs regularly, even if they have no symptoms.

It can if you share injection equipment. HIV can be passed any time you share equipment to inject drugs, vitamins, hormones, insulin, steroids, or any other substance intravenously (IV) into a vein, into your muscles, or under your skin. Always use new, sterile needles and syringes when injecting any substance into your body. If you must reuse a needle, clean it with bleach

As of December 2007, more than 180,674 persons in New York State had been diagnosed with AIDS; approximately 73,889 of those persons are still living. Of those 73,889 persons living with AIDS:

• 44% are African American.
• 30% are Hispanic.
• 25% are white.
• 0.7% are Asian/Paciic Islander.
• 0.1% are Native American.
• 26% are women.
• 5% are under the age of 25.
• 15% are over the age of 50.

AIDS has been diagnosed in people living in every county of New York State.

However, 79% of New Yorkers currently living with AIDS were living in New York

City at the time they were diagnosed.

In June 2000, New York State began reporting cases of people diagnosed with HIV only (not AIDS) in addition to reporting AIDS cases. Since then, New York State counts and reports HIV cases separately from AIDS cases. As of June 30,

2007, there were 46,040 persons in New York State living with HIV (but not AIDS).

Of those persons:

• 44% are African American.
• 29% are Hispanic.
• 24% are white.
• 1.3% are Asian/Paciic Islanders.
• 0.1% are Native American.
• 33% are women.
• 8% are under the age of 25.
• 26% are over the age of 50.

Of those New Yorkers who are currently living with HIV (but not AIDS), 77% of them were living in New York City at the time they were diagnosed.

The State Department of Health also tracks the “risk factors” identiied by people who test positive for HIV. The risk factor is the most likely way a person became infected. Of the persons currently living with AIDS in New York State:

• 29% have a risk factor of using intravenous drugs.
• 30% are men with a risk factor of having sex with men.
• 16% have a risk factor of heterosexual sex.

Injection drug use (through sexual contact with an injection drug user, or infants infected prenatally) was the direct or indirect cause of infection for 44 percent of the persons in New York State who were living with AIDS as of December 2002.

Of all cases with known risk, 52.3 percent are directly or indirectly attributable to injection drug use.