Have you ever been in a time crunch with multiple competing patient priorities? How did you react, and what steps did you take?
In the hustle and bustle of a busy Anesthesia practice, you will be pulled in many different directions when caring for patients. Knowing that any candidate that they interview is human and prone to a mistake from time to time, your interviewer wants to hear that you can recognize when situations get to be too much to handle and that you will be accountable for your actions and openly communicate the need for help when needed.
"A wise mentor once told me that practicing as an Anesthesiologist is 99% boredom and 1% panic. While I don't agree that 99% is boredom, I've found that I thrive in the 1% panic time. We just faced a situation like this last week, and the first step I took was to task the charge nurse on duty with communicating the care plans to her team with expected timelines. From there, we all immediately took action. In situations like this, I need to focus on one task at a time before moving on to the next patient. I trust that other staff on the care team are taking proper prep steps with other patients."
Show the interviewer that you do not have a defeatist mentality. Nobody is perfect! The interviewer knows you will face times when the patient load is almost unmanageable. They want to know how you react in these situations. Whether the example you discuss is from your residency training or while in practice, be sure to talk about the importance of communication and teamwork.
