Pharmacy Residency Mock Interview

Master 37 Pharmacy Residency interview questions covering clinical scenarios, patient cases, and program fit.

Question 30 of 37

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
Example Answer
How to Answer
Community Answers

Erica is a University Career coach with almost 5 years of experience working with candidates for positions in pharmacy, healthcare, accounting, and more.

As your interviewers speak with a large pool of candidates hoping to match into their Pharmacy Residency program, they'll look to get to know you a bit better to gauge your fit with the staff at the training site. This questions puts the onus on you to give another sales pitch about yourself.

Erica Wondra

Erica is a University Career coach with almost 5 years of experience working with candidates for positions in pharmacy, healthcare, accounting, and more.

"I'm a fourth-year student at (university name). While in school, I was vice president of (university's APhA chapter), served as a student ambassador, and worked at CVS. The most impactful experience I had though was an ambulatory care rotation at St. Joseph's Hospital. This experience solidified my desire to become a certified ambulatory care pharmacist and apply solely for AmCare residencies. I believe your program here at (hospital name) will provide me with excellent training to eventually become board-certified and precept future pharmacy students."

Ryan Brunner

Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.

The best way to answer this question is with the present/past/future formula. Discuss where you are now, how you got there, and how this residency will help you get there. Things such as fluency in another language can always be mentioned here too, but this is is not a time to discuss personal topics like hobbies, marital status, religion, etc.

Interview Coach

Jaymie

A real coach, not AI. I read every answer myself and write back with personalized feedback.

Typically responds within 24 hours.

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Anonymous Answer

I am a final year student at FDU & Health Sciences. I am originally from New Jersey. I am currently completing an APPE at NJ Poison Control in University Hospital. My interest in pharmacy really began from my work experience as a CVS intern and a chemist at a specialty pharmacy and I had an opportunity to work side by side with a pharmacist and watch the way in which they bonded and built relationships with patients and also how they are able to advocate for patients. That was really something that was profound I found myself very interested in and thought I would do a great job at this for my people skills but also my commitment for wanting to help people just made it a fit for me. As a pharmacy student, I was involved in research projects that focused on the quality initiative in a hospital and a patient case presentation on acute valproic acid overdose and my degree in biochemistry really made research something that was easy, it is something I am interested in and something I am skilled for. Some research projects I have completed have been published including patient cases present on acute valproic acid. I am passionate about my professional development and passionate about patient care. I think health care is changing in our country and it's taking highly qualified individuals that are elevating health care and the quality of care that the patients can expect from us. This really brought me to the realization that I needed further training. And this is part of the reason I am seeking residency training.

Scenario

Pharmacy Residency Mock Interview

Tell us a bit about yourself.

37Pharmacy Residency Interview Questions & Answers

1.What drives your passion for success in the pharmacy field?

2.How did you decide to apply for this particular type of pharmacy residency training?

3.What does patient safety mean to you as a pharmacist?

4.Let's imagine you're stranded on a deserted island. You walk around and find a first aid kit. What three over-the-counter products do you hope are in there?

5.What has been your favorite APPE rotation thus far and why?

6.Being a clinical pharmacist is an incredibly stressful and demanding career. How will you manage stress as a resident in our program?

7.Please describe your personality in three words.

8.While in pharmacy school, what was your favorite course and why?

9.Our pharmacy residents have the option to earn a teaching certificate in our program. Does this interest you?

10.As a pharmacy student, how did you handle the additional stress during the COVID-19 pandemic?

11.What are you currently reading in your spare time?

12.What was the last pharmacological article you read?

13.What personal and clinical strengths would you bring to our team as a pharmacy resident?

14.What is one weakness you would strive to improve during pharmacy residency training?

15.Tell us about a time when things didn't go your way. How did you respond?

16.Describe your experiences working in teams. What role do you play and how do you work with others?

17.Can you summarize your CV for us?

18.Why are you interested in pursuing training in a pharmacy residency versus heading right into the workforce?

19.Fast forward 35 years to your retirement party. What would you want your colleagues to remember about you?

20.What are your short and long-term career goals? How does this program fit into your vision?

21.What will make you a great pharmacy resident?

22.What do you imagine a typical day will be like here in our pharmacy residency program?

23.Tell us about one of your journal clubs during your pharmacy school.

24.How would you counsel a patient on warfarin?

25.If you were a drug, what drug would you be and why?

26.What is one interesting issue facing pharmacists today, and how would you plan on tackling this as a pharmacy resident?

27.What are your plans if you don't match into a pharmacy residency this year?

28.A patient comes in with hypotension. What do you do?

29.How do you adapt and deal with the continually changing pharmacy environment?

30.Tell us a bit about yourself.

31.What drew you to apply to our program?

32.What qualities are you looking for in a preceptor as a pharmacy resident?

33.What are you hoping to accomplish by pursuing pharmacy residency training?

34.What three things would you do on your first day as a pharmacy resident with our program?

35.What do you feel are your biggest weaknesses you would have as a new pharmacy resident?

36.Why should we rank you high for matching into our pharmacy residency program?

37.Why do you want to pursue this pharmacy subspecialty training and do you feel our program will help meet your goals?