Healthcare professionals are under a great amount of stress. How do you manage your work stress?
We all experience stress daily, but how you relay this to the interviewer will say a lot about you. Steer clear from when you lost your cool and raised your voice- we all have days like that but now is not the time to bring it up. Tell the interviewer how you manage your work stress and keep a healthy balance between home and work.
"I handle work stress best when I feel organized and when communication is strong. Every day we have a morning huddle for the turnover. We discuss current patients, who we are expecting in, and what everyone is working on. Our morning huddles help alleviate work stress by distributing the work evenly as best we can. It allows everyone to hear what needs to be accomplished and work together."
"I fully understand that physician assistant's jobs come with a lot of stress. Stress is part of any demanding job, and I fully embrace it. I take good care of myself and prioritize my workload to maintain a healthy balance in my stress levels."
"I handle stress very well, and when you call my references, they will attest to this fact. When I am under pressure as a PA, I focus on the task or patient at hand and make sure not to get distracted. Staying on deadline is very helpful to keep the day running smoothly, and I will delegate to others on my team when necessary to alleviate some stress."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
When I find myself under pressure and feeling overwhelmed, I focus on giving myself some time to take deep breaths and reassess the priorities of the day. That helps me focus on what's most relevant first and move on to the next task. The biggest thing that alleviates my stress is taking the time to take deep breaths and telling myself everything will be okay. If I don't do that, then the anxiety caused by the pressure will take over which will lead to decreased productivity.
Rachelle's Feedback
It seems that you know yourself very well, and the techniques that you use to overcome stress and very smart and helpful! If you have an example of a time when you deployed this stress-management technique, you could also add in a brief story based example.
Anonymous Answer
I could say I handle stress quite well. At my current job, whenever I am under pressure, I try to focus on the patient,on the task I have been given by the senior nurse or doctor, and I make sure I don t get distracted. Sometimes I will delegate tasks to members of my team in order to relieve me of some pressure.
Rachelle's Feedback
It sounds like you handle work stress very well! If you have a specific story about a time when you deployed these stress-management techniques, that would be a nice addition to help bring your story to life.
Anonymous Answer
I handle stress very well. Whenever I feel overwhelmed I just think to myself that breaking now will make things worse. I just take a deep breath, prioritize my work, and make a fresh start. I remember back on my rotations, a colleague of mine called sick on his night shift, and I ended up taking care of 40 patients on 2 floors. I was overwhelmed at first, but then I decided to beat the stress and do my job. As a result, I did very well and it was a night shift that I would never forget.
Stephanie's Feedback
It's evident that you're very skilled in balancing competing priorities and navigating highly stressful situations! To round out your response, you may wish to consider including a sentence or two about how you practice self-care or how you work to recharge when you're stressed.
Anonymous Answer
I would take breaks; get involved in extracurricular activities such as FNB field games, amusement parks, and volunteer in low-income clinics, and go on small vacations whenever I can.
Marcie's Feedback
Great! These are all good ways to alleviate stress. Can you cite an example of a time when you were under a lot of stress and talk about how you successfully managed this? Don't forget to mention some of the smaller daily things you do to also release stress (like relaxing during your lunch break, socializing, listening to music during your commute, taking walks, deep breathing, and so on). Nice job!
Anonymous Answer
I think good communication and rapport among coworkers are very important for preventing unnecessary stress. I enjoy the camaraderie of the medical field and especially here at INOVA because people are there to support you and can relate. I also do my own part to take care of myself and destress through running, meditation, cooking, and hanging out with my friends, family, and dog.
Jaymie's Feedback
Great job including aspects in the workplace and also how you destress during your off-shifts.
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