Talk about a time you had to go to extra lengths to accommodate a patient. Why did you feel compelled to do so?
Great patient care often requires going the extra mile to ensure that they are taken care of respectfully, carefully and compassionately. University Hospitals of Cleveland knows this to be true and they value integrity in the commitment to do what is right for the patient's that they serve. Your interviewer will be looking to get the sense that you are willing to do what is right for your patients and that you are willing to go to great lengths to do so by having you give an example of a time you did just that. In your example, speak to the situation that the patient was in, what your actions were and why you took that course. Ensure to end the example with a great outcome for the patient.
"In my current role in inpatient behavioral health, we had a patient last year that was diagnosed with late onset schizophrenia and was suffering from bad hallucinations. After psychotherapy and group therapy, there were several releases for the patient that definitely helped reduce their episodes. Being the patient's onset came shortly after he had quit smoking after doing it for over 30 years, the Psychiatrist suggested this may have been a trigger for the patient. In a rare suggestion, the Psychiatrist suggested smoking again to see if it would help curb the hallucinations and then we could work on a better plan for quitting later on with the primary care provider. That evening, I was given permission to leave our unit and purchase cigarettes for the patients. Being a tobacco free campus, I walked the patient off-campus across the street every hour through my evening shift and the day nurse did the same thing as well. Of course, the patient was happy and after just a week of starting again, the hallucinations were extremely limited now. At discharge, the patient was thankful as was the family and he still attends outpatient therapy with our outpatient staff."
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Anonymous Answer
I was working in Medical Records, when I received a call from Human Resources, the patient's chart was
missing from her appointment at our facility. I looked where I thought it might be and called Human Resource
to let him know that I had found it and taken it to her appointment. I knew the importance of the visit.
Marcie's Feedback
Nice! It's great that you found the patient's chart. To show the interviewer that you carried a lesson away from this experience, talk about any actions you took afterward to help ensure that charts don't continue to get misplaced in the future. Be sure to emphasize the effort it took to bring the chart to the appointment and how appreciative the doctor and/or patient were to receive it in time. Also, explain further why the visit was important and how this motivated you to find and deliver the chart in a timely manner. Good job!
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