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A doctor in a healthcare strategy interview: why are clinic waits growing?
You run the case. Read the prompt, answer questions from the notes below, and share data only when the candidate asks for it or gets stuck. Score at the end.
Case timer
00:00
1. Read the prompt aloud
Read it slowly, then pause. Let the candidate ask questions before they structure.
Fictional and illustrative. You are a hospital doctor applying for a strategy role at a clinic chain in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and this is your case. One of the chain's clinics has growing waiting lists. It has 6 doctors, each working 8 hours a day and seeing 4 patients an hour. About 216 patients need an appointment each day. Routine cases such as repeat prescriptions and simple follow-ups are about 1 in 6 of them. What would you do?
2. Answers to clarifying questions
This case has no scripted clarifying answers. Answer from the prompt, and say "assume what you think is reasonable" if the prompt does not cover it.
3. A model structure
Compare the candidate's structure with this one. A different split can be just as good if it is clean and fits the problem.
- Daily backlog change = patients needing a doctor minus doctor capacity
- Capacity: doctors x hours x patients per hour
- Demand: all patients, and which of them truly need a doctor
- Options: more doctors, longer hours, or a different route for routine cases
4. The working, step by step
Each step shows how a strong candidate works it out. Share a new fact from it only when the candidate asks or is stuck, and let them do the math: the result in the dark box is what they should reach.
Step 1: Doctor capacity
What a strong candidate does: Six doctors, 8 hours each, 4 patients an hour.
Patients doctors can see a day: 6 × 8 × 4 = 192
Step 2: Daily shortfall
What a strong candidate does: Patients needing an appointment minus capacity: this is how fast the list grows.
Growth of the waiting list (patients a day): 216 - 192 = 24
Step 3: Doctor demand with nurse-led care for routine cases
What a strong candidate does: If the routine 1 in 6 are seen by trained nurses instead, how many still need a doctor?
Patients who still need a doctor a day: 216 × (1 - 1 ÷ 6) = 180
Step 4: Spare doctor capacity after the change
What a strong candidate does: Doctor capacity minus the patients who still need a doctor.
Spare doctor appointments a day: 192 - 180 = 12
The recommendation to listen for
At the end, say: "The CEO walks in. What is your recommendation?"
The list grows by about 24 patients a day, because 216 patients need appointments and the doctors can see 192. A seventh doctor would add 32 appointments a day. I would not start there, because hiring a doctor is slow and costly. As a clinician I would first send routine cases, about 1 in 6, to appointments run by nurses under agreed clinical rules. Doctors would then need to see about 180 patients a day. That leaves 12 spare appointments to clear the backlog. Next I would check that nurses have time for about 36 extra patients a day, and that the rules are safe. My clinical background tells me which cases can safely move. I would say that in one sentence and spend the rest on the numbers.
Risks a strong answer names: Patients may still ask to see a doctor; Rules on what nurses may do vary by country and must be checked.
Next steps: Measure how many current appointments are routine; Check nurse hours available across the week.
Score the candidate
Score each criterion from 1 to 5. A 2 or a 4 sits between the descriptions.
This case has no exhibit. Score Exhibit reading on how the candidate used the data you gave them: did they pick out the number that matters and say what it means?
Total
0 out of 25
Score all five criteria to see the band and the feedback template.
Next: another case in Partner mode
Swap roles and run the next case, so you both practise answering and scoring.