Pharmacist Mock Interview
Practice 35 Pharmacist interview questions covering clinical scenarios, patient safety, and medication management.
Question 7 of 35
Describe a difficult work experience, and what you learned from it.
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Example Answer
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Stephanie Baumhover, PharmD, BCPS is a board certified clinical pharmacist with over 20 years experience interviewing and hiring pharmacists in several practice settings.
The employer is looking to see how you handle conflict. You want to describe a pharmacy work experience if at all possible. If you need to pull from a prior job not in pharmacy that is fine as well but try to use a pharmacist example.
This is a two-part question, so make sure you answer both parts. You want to briefly describe the situation without assigning blame, just the facts. The best scenarios are those with misunderstandings, or two different parties having different priorities. If you don't have this example, just use something that happened to you. The employer wants to see a moment of effective communication and conflict resolution while being able to look for ways to minimize this situation in the future.
Stephanie Baumhover, PharmD, BCPS is a board certified clinical pharmacist with over 20 years experience interviewing and hiring pharmacists in several practice settings.
"I was working the evening shift and Dr. Smith, a cardiologist, called wanting ---- for his patient for ----. This is a REMS medication and off-label for the reason he wanted. I explained the limitations and why I could not obtain that for him tonight. He was extremely upset stating I would be responsible for delaying his procedure tomorrow morning. I told him I understood the urgency and I would make sure to pass along this situation to my manager for resolution in the morning as soon as possible. I suggested trying ----- as it was immediately available and labeled for this reason. He declined this option but appreciated me trying to find a solution. He said this was a home medication and he was trying to keep it going. I suggested a stat consult with ---- who could find an alternative."
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Anonymous Answer
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.
Stephanie's Feedback
Great example! Interestingly enough, talking on the phone feels uncomfortable for many people; I'm glad you overcame this discomfort. To improve your response, I suggest adding a couple of additional sentences explaining what you learned from this experience and/or how it improved your work going forward.
Anonymous Answer
I had a nurse who didn't understand how to give a certain medication and rather than ask for help was just trying to give it how she thought was right. I saw it was incorrect, pulled the nurse aside, and told her it shouldn't be administered that way but should be given over more time than she thought. I learned that patient safety and optimization of care is the most important thing and being professional and educating others in a professional manner can help educate them.
Stephanie's Feedback
This is an excellent response! You provide a compelling example and clearly illustrate how you navigated through a challenging situation.
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