Talk about a time you had to diffuse a situation with an angry colleague or patient. What was critical for you to consider in your attempt to make the situation better?

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Whether you will be assisting an angry patient who is in pain, a frustrated member who is having issues with their coverage. or a colleague who is upset about something, the fact of the matter is that you need to have a plan in place for working with an angry person as part of the Kaiser Permanente team. As you think about situations like this you have faced, try to discuss a time when you used your interpersonal skills and ability to empathize with others to provide a great end result for the person you were working with.

"Over the course of my career, I've perfected my ability to assess situations for potential risks with patients and always be cognizant of body language and other cues to nip things in the bud before they get out of hand. But a few months ago, I had a patient care situation go awry suddenly after they had been waiting for their appointment for what they felt like too long of a time. As I weighed the patient in our hallway, things seemed cordial. But when we entered a patient room and I began taking vitals, she really got upset at the wait time and was calling our staff names that really shouldn't be repeated. She threatened to take her care somewhere else if things weren't fixed. All the while, I simply listened, maintained eye contact, and nodded my head as I let her vent. When I knew she was done, my first move was to apologize and let her know that we were in the middle of a very busy clinic day. I thanked her for her patience and asked her to continue to give us a chance as the physician would be in shortly. Later that day, the attending came and discussed the situation with me and let me know the patient was very apologetic and wanted me to know."

Anonymous Answer

"A patient scheduled for an Intrathecal Chemotherapy injection was delayed several hours. The reason was a computer glitz that held the release of his chemotherapy. The patient was angry and threatened to leave AMA. I used the facts and not emotions to explain the reason for his delay. Chemotherapy is a very controlled substance, and the pharmacist needs to have the proper paperwork in place to release the drug. Ultimately the patient understood and the procedure was finally completed."

Amanda's Feedback

This is an impactful example that you can make even stronger by more thoroughly explaining what you considered when working to diffuse the situation. Did you consider that the patient's physical pain or feeling ill would make his temper short? Did you consider how leaving AMA would impact his health and well-being?

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Anonymous Answer

"In my previous role, I had to diffuse a conflict that my client had with her caregiver who felt was purposely making stuff up to get her out of the home. My client denied being disrespectful and acting out. With permission from my client, I was able to educate the caregiver on being trauma-informed and adolescents' developmental stage which can be difficult to understand. The caregiver was defensive at first but agreed to have an open dialogue with my client and listened to her needs to come to a common understanding of house rules. In this situation, I had to be mindful of my client's concern and at the same time empathize with the caregiver in order for open communication to start."

Jaymie's Feedback

This is a great example to share in response to this question. You did a nice job walking through your de-escalation process and were able to highlight your communication and interpersonal skills nicely.

Anonymous Answer

"- In a previous job, I had a coworker whose energy would be reflected on the rest of the team. They had positive energy most of the time, but when they were having a bad day they couldn’t hide it. So their attitude would change and didn’t have a good work ethic these days and it would be shown by the rest of the team. After I saw the negativity affecting the team spirit, I wanted to stop it from getting worse. I talked with them about it to understand their feelings in these situations at work. I communicated to them how it was affecting the work environment and advised them on how to not let their emotions dictate their attitude and work ethic. After that conversation, this issue did not come up again."

Jaymie's Feedback

This is a great example that shows your ability to identify an issue that was negatively impacting your team and to take the initiative to approach the person directly to address the issue. It also showcases your ability to communicate effectively, which will transfer well into this role. Good job!

Anonymous Answer

"One morning two nurses said that a new patient was complaining because she had been waiting a few minutes and had to leave in 45 minutes. I looked at the schedule and noticed that the patient had arrived an hour early for her appointment. I was able to see her right away, introduced myself, and apologized for any inconvenience. I apologized again and explained that sometimes we make scheduling errors, but that our schedule lists her appointment to be at 10:00, and it's now 9:10. She said that her appointment was for 9 am. I said, let me check the schedule again. I explained that we indeed had her listed at 10 am, and explained that the 9 am time slot is for follow-up patients. I said we don't schedule new patients at 9 unless we made a mistake, and I again apologized and reiterated that we may have made a scheduling error. She was no longer upset, thanked us for being professional, and realized that she may have written down the wrong time."

Jaymie's Feedback

You handled the situation calmly and professionally, which are two core skills the interviewer will be listening for. You were accommodating and used effective communication skills to identify the root cause of the issue. You also acknowledged that the practice could have made a mistake, and ultimately, your goal was to make sure she received care that day. Good job!