First impressions are important. What would you do about a scheduler who you discovered was being rude to a patient?
A doctor is expected to put their patient first, especially in a family practice setting. Your interviewers want to hear that you can handle a situation like this quickly, using a straightforward and tactful approach.
"If a patient was present on-site and the rudeness was blunt, I would first remove the scheduler from the situation. Then I would assure the patient that I'd like to help them myself. I would then explain to the colleague what I expect from them and that subsequent behavior could result in disciplinary action. Not every person's social skills, unfortunately, are salvageable, and I would have to act as a prudent administrator for my practice."
Explain to your interviewers that you have a conversation with the scheduler in question and escalate it if the situation warrants it. Talk about the importance of building trusting and respectful relationships with all of your colleagues and why that would be helpful in a situation like this. If the situation warrants it, don't hesitate to talk about the steps you would take to ensure that the patient was apologized to and taken care of if you felt they were wronged.
"Medicine is a team effort and it takes everyone working together in a professional manner to provide excellent care. I would talk with the scheduler and I would remind them that while we all have bad days it is important we be the utmost professional to our patients."
