How to Answer: Talk about a time your emotions were tested in a work situation.
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Paramedic job interview.
3. Talk about a time your emotions were tested in a work situation.
How to Answer
Paramedics deal with horrible injuries, people coming from bad situations, and death. With each bad encounter, your emotions will come into play. For this question, your interviewer will be able to gauge your ability to keep your emotions in check while providing patient care. It is okay to let the interviewer know that you were touched emotionally by a particular patient or situation because you are a person that feels real emotions, but talk about how you were able to remain focused and do your job.
Written by Krista Wenz on November 11th, 2022
Entry Level Example
"I spent a good portion of my career as a paramedic covering the small community I grew up in. This is a small town where you feel like you know almost every person and know the clerk's name at the local gas station and the waitress at the cafe downtown. During a call to a suspected stroke at a private residence, we were pulling down the street, and I realized that we were approaching the home of one of my father's close friends that I knew since childhood. When we entered the house, his wife was in a panic as her husband was lying on the kitchen floor. Not wanting my personal feelings to get involved, I relied on my training and stayed focused on the life-saving procedures he needed. Once we got him to the hospital, he was rushed into surgery. The next day, his wife sought my crew out to thank us for our efforts that day to help save her husband's life."
Written by Krista Wenz on November 11th, 2022
Answer Example
"Being a father of two, any time I respond to a call for a child always pulls a little extra emotion out of me. Last year, the local police department called my crew for a child that had been severely injured in what was suspected to be child abuse. When we arrived, we found a three-year-old child with difficulty breathing, bruising around the eyes, and a bloody nose. With a quick assessment of the scene, we highly suspected some broken ribs, so we prepared the child for transport. I'll never forget as we walked out of the house through the living room to see both the mother and father being taken into police custody. It took some willpower to not give them a piece of my mind, but my focus needed to be on getting the child into the ambulance so we could transport them to the hospital."
Written by Krista Wenz on November 11th, 2022