Do you prefer working alone or working on a team?
"I prefer to work within teams, and I actually thrive in a team environment. In any anesthesiologist assistant job, you have to be a team player, but I have known some people in my career who have been resistant to working in teams. One of my colleagues, who is not particularly a team player, and I were both assisting on a complicated case once, and from the beginning of the process, when we were collecting history and physical and running pre-operative tests, she was not communicating or working with the team. I was feeling uncomfortable with the lack of communication going into the procedure, so before we went into the OR, I pulled her aside and reiterated that we were a team and needed to properly communicate, for the safety and benefit of the patient. After I did this, she was much more forthcoming and communicated openly with everyone during the procedure, and everything ran much more smoothly and ended with a good outcome for the patient."
This is a very important question for an interviewer to ask during an interview for an anesthesiologist assistant. Anesthesiologist assistants often work with small teams while administering patient care, and team members can include anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, surgeons or specialty physicians, nursing staff, and surgical techs. It is important for the candidate to indicate that they work well in teams, as teamwork is key to being successful in their career. The candidate can provide a stronger answer to this question by providing an example of how they have worked well in a team in the past, or how they have led a team to success.
"I very much prefer working within a team, which works out great for me, since I am an anesthesiologist assistant. I am currently employed at a surgical center, where I monitor patients during their surgery or procedure on behalf of the anesthesiologist. In this role, it is crucial that I work effectively in a team, as I first must work with the anesthesiologists in communicating the patient history and physical information and understanding the medications they are administering. Then, during the procedure, as I monitor the patient, I must work with the other professionals in the room, including the surgeons, nurses, and surgical techs, to ensure the patient is properly cared for. To me, ensuring I am being a team player is one of my primary responsibilities, as it is essential to caring for the patient."
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