Physician Assistant Mock Interview

Master 40 Physician Assistant interview questions covering clinical scenarios, patient care, and medical decision-making.

Question 1 of 40

What are some highlights from your clinical rotations?

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Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

You may have a long list of experiences worth sharing, but see if you can narrow it down to three. After logging over 2,000 hours worth of rotations, you have learned about treating everything from broken bones to infectious diseases. Describe what you found most intriguing from your clinical rotations and why.

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"I've experienced situations where I was able to jump-start someone's healing process and times where I felt like a fish out of water. In both types of scenarios, I learned so much. One of my most memorable experiences was working with an elderly lady who broke her hip. She survived the hip surgery, which was amazing, but we noticed some problems with her heart in the meantime. After some investigating, we learned that she had a blockage. While I learned how delicate and sensitive elderly patients could be, I also learned how powerful having a good attitude can be. After multiple surgeries, this 75-year-old woman was still going and still smiling!"

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"My most powerful experience during clinical rotations was working with the pediatric oncology unit. I had worked with cancer patients in the past, but never with children and this rotation sparked my passion for oncology care and research. I left that rotation knowing that I wanted to work in hospitals for the rest of my career, it lit a spark in me."

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"During my clinical rotations, I learned just how critical it is to work as a team. Physicians and nurses juggle a large caseload, and it is critical to collaborate with the patient care team and to communicate effectively. When we worked together, we were able to deliver the highest quality of care, and our patients were so grateful for the partnership."

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Anonymous Answer

Throughout my clinical rotations, I have received excellent feedback about the quality of my care from preceptors, patients, and their loved ones. I have displayed a strong commitment to providing high-quality and efficient medical care. I believe I possess the ability to practice comprehensive primary healthcare such as performing exceptional history and physical exams, formulating a proper differential diagnosis, providing thorough patient education, and conducting adequate treatment and management plans.

Rachelle's Feedback

Your answer is very robust, and you provide excellent detail. It seems you had many strong takeaways from your clinical rotations. Your confidence shines through!

Anonymous Answer

I'm very proud of the positive feedback that I received from peers, patients, and their beloved ones. Throughout my rotations, I learned how to best treat different patients in different situations. I'm very glad of my strong ability to reach a diagnosis after doing thorough history, physical examination, and listing differential diagnosis. In addition, I was always on the right track when it comes to treatment and follow-up.

Stephanie's Feedback

It sounds like your clinical rotations went very well for you! The only feedback I have for improvement is that you may want to change the wording from "I learned how to deal with different patients" to "I learned how to best treat different patients"

Anonymous Answer

The highest quality of patient care is met when everyone works together During my OBGYN rotation, I encountered a patient with a learning disability who had failed her IUD removal multiple times in the office as she was scared of the procedure.
During the office encounter, my preceptor was about to give up as the patient was non-cooperative at which time I stepped in. With my encouragement and reassurance, she gathered the courage to go ahead with the procedure again. The device was successfully removed in the office and thereby, we were able to avoid scheduling the procedure in the OR which would have been time-consuming and expensive.

Stephanie's Feedback

The specific example that you shared here really highlights your ability to connect with patients in a manner that is compassionate, as well as your willingness to collaborate closely with colleagues to provide a high level of care. I suggest adding a closing sentence to this response, to connect your ideas together and share why this was a highlight (for example: "This experience was the highlight of my clinical rotations as it illustrates my ability to collaborate with colleagues in order to provide the highest level of care to patients from all backgrounds."

Anonymous Answer

Throughout my clinical rotations, I have noticed myself getting more comfortable with creating differentials and developing management plans. I've learned how to best treat a multitude of presentations and I'm proud of how far I've come. I'd say my personal highlights stem from patient interactions which is why I wanted to pursue a career in medicine. Most recently I had a patient tell me that she wished I could deliver her baby. And although I am not a qualified obstetrician, it made me feel like I was doing my part to give the patient a comfortable experience in the hospital.

What are some highlights from your clinical rotations?

40Physician Assistant Interview Questions & Answers

1.What are some highlights from your clinical rotations?

2.What is an issue in the current healthcare system that you would like to see change?

3.Why should we hire you to be our next physician assistant?

4.What are some of the challenges of working as a physician assistant?

5.How would you describe your work ethic?

6.What will you do if you have a patient that refuses to take care of their health?

7.What do you like about being a physician assistant?

8.Tell me about yourself.

9.What are your strengths as a physician assistant?

10.What are your weaknesses as a physician assistant?

11.Healthcare professionals are under a great amount of stress. How do you manage your work stress?

12.Tell us about your community involvement.

13.What department of the healthcare field most interests you?

14.Who is your mentor in the healthcare industry?

15.How do you plan to continually grow as a physician assistant?

16.Are you available to work nights?

17.How would you rate your performance in this interview so far?

18.How do you gain a physician's trust and respect?

19.How do you feel when a physician criticizes your work?

20.What qualities does a great leader have? Which do you possess?

21.What is a dependent practitioner, and how do you feel about practicing as one?

22.Talk to me about your GPA while completing your Masters' Degree.

23.Are you comfortable making tough decisions in regard to a patient's care?

24.What do you know about our facility?

25.What are your salary requirements?

26.What made you pursue a career as a physician assistant?

27.The medical industry is constantly evolving. How do you stay current on medical advancements?

28.This concludes our interview. Do you have any questions for me?

29.This position requires a great deal of compassion. Would you describe yourself as a compassionate person?

30.We conduct early-stage criminal background checks, credit checks, and drug tests on all of our candidates. Is there anything you'd like to talk about at this time?

31.Some patients can be pretty challenging to work with. Do you consider yourself a patient person? How do you increase your patience level when working with complex patients?

32.Our organization promotes a healthy work-life balance with all staff. What do you like to do in your free time to find that healthy balance?

33.How did you hear about this position?

34.This position requires out-of-town travel at times. Will traveling be a problem for you?

35.How would you describe your communication skills?

36.Why did you leave your last job?

37.Have you ever had a disagreement with a physician? If so, how did you handle it?

38.After reading the job description, what do you like most about this position?

39.Are you willing to work a flexible schedule rotating with 2nd and 3rd shifts?

40.Can you work independently, or do you prefer to be closely supervised?