If you had too many patient priorities at once, how would you decide which to do first, and how would you seek assistance?

"I feel fortunate to have worked in a very high-paced setting over the last six years following my residency training. In my current practice, I learned how to handle busy situations with ease by prioritizing the high-needs patients first, moving on to other patients, and leading a team effort to ensure that everything gets handled in a shift. As your next Anesthesiologist, I would take this same approach to prioritize a large patient load. I intend to build a strong rapport with support staff and know their limits, so we could help each other when times get tough."

Taking the time to organize your day by doing the most important patient tasks first frees up time later. Sometimes, it is helpful to delegate to others, but it's never acceptable to allow a patient-care-related task to go undone because there wasn't time. Talk about your ability to be efficient in your tasks and your charting. Finally, let your interviewers know that you would always prioritize the most critical patient items before moving on to other tasks.