Pharmacist Mock Interview
Practice 35 Pharmacist interview questions covering clinical scenarios, patient safety, and medication management.
Question 5 of 35
How would you handle a patient or physician yelling at you?
How to Answer
Example Answer
Community Answers
Stephanie Baumhover, PharmD, BCPS is a board certified clinical pharmacist with over 20 years experience interviewing and hiring pharmacists in several practice settings.
Answer Tips: This is unfortunately a realistic situation and you want to pull from a real-world example if possible. If you do not have an example, you want to discuss your approach to this situation. A good answer involves discussing ways to de-escalate the situation, employ empathy with the person, and work towards an efficient resolution while protecting yourself and following policy.
You may consider adding that you are aware of what to do if you are threatened (call security or a manager), and also if you need to hand off a situation to another pharmacist if possible to de-escalate the situation further if needed. The most important tip is to recognize that engaging in the dispute is not appropriate and rarely leads to resolution.
Stephanie Baumhover, PharmD, BCPS is a board certified clinical pharmacist with over 20 years experience interviewing and hiring pharmacists in several practice settings.
"I would tell the patient I am sorry they have to wait, and I know they must be uncomfortable. I would ask them if we could have the medication delivered to them. I would communicate that this is the current process and I understand this is not currently working for them. I would let my manager know about this in the hopes of it being better in the future and am sorry they are dealing with this.
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Anonymous Answer
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.
Rachelle's Feedback
Good response. It is evident that you care about others and understand that heated situations can be misdirected frustration. If you have a story-based example of a time when you used this approach to diffuse a patient-related situation, this question is a great time to include some storytelling.
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