30 Pharmacist Interview Questions & Answers

"My 27 years as a pharmacist have been in the retail setting; however, I look forward to engaging in new areas that would allow me to help my patients."

"As a former manager in my last pharmacy role, I would hold huddles each morning. I was able to make sure my team was prepared for the day with updates, schedules, and assigned tasks. It was a great time to answer questions and concerns also. Everyone always felt they had a path set before them to follow for the day."

"What are the challenges you are currently facing within the healthcare organization?"

"I enjoy helping people. That said, I believe that as a manager due diligence is imperative in this role. As a leader, I should know my team. I found learning each person's strengths and weaknesses allowed me to train them in a way that would be productive. Setting goals and targets for the team also implemented positive feedback. This benefits both the individual and the company."

"I use Outlook and Onedrive for my day-to-day. Having everything all in one place is important for productivity and accuracy. Having files named, dated, and assigned in the proper places allows me to find anything quickly. As a pharmacist, we need to be able to be efficient and accurate at all times."

"The end of the month seems to be the busiest. I had a situation where I had to write a quarterly report, make the technician schedule, and go to 2 meetings in one day. My first meeting started at 8 am. I went to work an hour early that day and was able to put the schedule together rather quickly. The first meeting was mandatory, and the second meeting was not. I was able to have my assistant manager go to the second meeting for me and take notes while I wrote the quarterly report. The result was completing all tasks on time with the help of my assistant manager."

"Because I have extensive skills and work experience, I am looking for a salary of $110-120k."

"Why We Get Sick" by Dr. Ben Bickman. It is a very interesting and well sited book about how insulin resistance is the root cause of many diseases. The well researched concepts are fascinating!"

"I exercise regularly, whether it be hiking, yoga, or walking. I find exercise clears my mind and gives me clarity. Exercise also helps me sleep. That said, I feel rested and aware when I return to work."

"I get to know the members of the team, their culture, and their habits. Then I can bring some fruits, biscuits or chocolate. I would volunteer to make tea for everyone."

"I would be thinking about what kind of dinner I was going to make and going to the grocery store. I love trying new recipes and cooking."

"You provide expert geriatric pharmacy services and care. You offer cost-effective benefits and services that support LTC and acute care patients."

"We all deal with stress at work. I have found the best way for me to deal with a stressful situation at work is to take five minutes of rest to perform some deep breathing. This allows me to come back to my work, feeling less tense and more productive and focused."

"They would describe me as hardworking and attentive to details."

"I became interested in pharmacy in my last position. I noticed that many patients had issues taking their medications correctly or taking medication for an incorrect length of time. I saw a need, decided to step up to the plate, be the patients' advocate and help them received the benefit from the medication that they are supposed to receive."

"The shortage of medications. Due to the pandemic going on and Brexit, we realized that many essentials medications are out of stock for a long time. For example, Pregabalin now that several patients are taking is out of stock. We have to request alternatives from GP and sometimes we lose patients that go to other pharmacies."

"When I was working at the cancer center, I would review treatment plans for patients receiving chemotherapy to ensure that their labs were sufficient to safely receive treatment. I remember a particular situation with an oncologist who had signed (approved) treatment for a patient whose kidney function was not ample to receive a full dose of cisplatin. When I called the oncologist to voice my concern, he quickly disagreed saying "I have used cisplatin plenty of times in my career in patients with similar renal function." I calmly responded with my recommendation to at least reduce the dose and cited the literature to support my proposal. The oncologist replied favorably and thanked me for taking the time to help him care for his patient. After this incident, the oncologist and I would communicate on a regular basis and he would even ask for me when calling the pharmacy for advice."

"Patient and helpful. I encountered patients who had difficulties explaining their issues because of a language barrier. I take my time to understand them and help them. As well as the elderly patients who need some time to speak."

"I received a phone call from a patient who would run out of her inhaler over the weekend and as it was a Friday. She panicked and was in distress as she thought the GP was not going to issue a prescription until the following week. I reassured her and told her I would try my best to get her prescription by the end of the day. I sent an email request to them. I called the GP surgery explaining the situation. A few hours later I received the prescription and I called the patient who was relieved and thankful."

"When I first started working in a hospital pharmacy, one of my tasks as a decentralized pharmacist was to dose vancomycin. I remember a particular incident when I was dosing vancomycin for a patient who had a history of acute kidney injury. Being that the patient's renal function during that admission looked stable, I set them up on a standard regimen. A day later, their serum creatinine began to spike and I received a call from my clinical supervisor. He asked me why I had chosen to give the patient a full dose of vancomycin being that they had a history of AKI. I explain to him that the labs from the current admission looked fine (with exception of today's blip in serum creatinine). My boss emphasized how crucial it is to go back into a patient's chart if possible to look at historical serum creatinine values. Being that I was so new to the art of Vanco dosing, I had not done this. I thanked my boss for his feedback and we continued our discussion with the next steps to follow up. From that point on, I worked closely with my supervisor when I encountered complex patients like this one. We even worked together to revise our company's policy and procedure for dosing vancomycin."

"Being on my feet all day long can be very tiring sometimes and painful for my feet. I make sure I have comfortable shoes and have two minutes sitting break every 3-4 hours."

"During the busy Easter period, there were three days worth of prescriptions on the computer waiting to be printed and dispensed. I, therefore, decided, after discussing with the pharmacist, to print at least two days of prescriptions before going home, aside from serving customers and answer phone queries. At the end of the day, I successfully printed two days of prescriptions and a few from the third day."

"During a summer placement in a pharmacy, I had difficulties answering the phone as I had no experience and it made me anxious. I was constantly avoiding the phone when it was ringing and I eventually came to realize that I could not indefinitely run away. I, therefore, decided to make it my responsibility to answer the phone in order to get some practice and build my confidence."

"My long-term goal is to pursue a career as a clinical specialist and instructor at an academic teaching hospital. I have a strong interest in academia and would love to see myself as an instructor after a few years of practice as a clinical specialist."

"I try to maintain a calm demeanor and try to listen to what the real issue is. Most of the time, it's not a pharmacy-related issue, and they need someone to vent to. I address the situation and their feelings and offer solutions to their problems if possible."

"I would have a conversation with my patient to make sure they know why they are taking the medication and know what types of side effects could occur if taken incorrectly. I would then contact their provider to make sure they know strange filling patterns and address my concern."

"The patient interactions and working with my health care team! I love being an accessible resource to my patients and my team members."

"I continue my pharmacy education by attending local, state, regional, and national conferences to listen to CE presentations. As a pharmacist at your organization, I will have the opportunity to learn from other pharmacist and residents during committee meetings, journal club presentations, and CE meetings. I will also continue my pharmacy education every day by researching topics that I am unfamiliar with. We have access to numerous resources that can help fill in any gaps of knowledge. Also, I plan on precepting students in the future, so I will make sure that I am up-to-date with new therapies to provide my students with the best education."