Emergency Room Physician Mock Interview

Master 20 Emergency Room Physician interview questions covering clinical judgment, trauma protocols, and high-pressure decision-making.

Question 8 of 20

If you were to see a peer having difficulty with an emergency procedure (e.g., blood gas retrieval, chest tube placement, intubation, etc.), how would you respond?

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Ryan Brown

Ryan Brown created and launched MockQuestions in 2008.

Since the ER handles the gamut of emergencies from simple observation or suturing to fatalities, there are many situations in which how smoothly a procedure goes can determine whether someone lives or dies. You should separate your answer based on your ability of knowing how a difference in outcomes can depend on how smoothly things are done.

Ryan Brown

Ryan Brown created and launched MockQuestions in 2008.

"That depends on the situation of course. For example, getting arterial blood gases can be part of a routine diagnostic approach or it may be time-sensitive. Things like intubation are always an emergency, and failure to accomplish it in a timely manner not only deprives the patient of its benefits--getting oxygen and preventing aspiration, but also can traumatize the airway with inflammatory swelling or bleeding which can cause morbidity later. For things like this, I owe it to my peer to allow a trial of the procedure, but when I see the patient is in jeopardy because of failure to accomplish such a life-saving procedure, it is incumbent on me to request--politely--that I try; subsequent to this, it is incumbent on me to request--firmly; failing that, I would summon up the chain of command."

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