To answer or not to answer?

The feeling had just about returned to my toes after a soak in the bath after a hard day of skiing. As I took my place at the dining table for a three course meal cooked by the chalet host, I braced myself for an onslaught of questions from the other guests. Sure enough, just as I had taken my first mouthful, I heard the question “So, am I all right to have some wine if I’m taking antibiotics?”

It is difficult to know how to approach such queries as a medical student. Should we selectively offer information on the topics that we have covered so far at medical school, or should we abstain from giving advice until we’ve passed our finals? The General Medical Council’s advice of “recognising and working within the limits of one’s own competence” hardly provides a definitive answer to this dilemma.

It is unrealistic and