As a resident, how would you handle a situation where a member of the patient-care team clearly wasn't pulling their weight on the team?

Your answer to this question should be direct in your approach and always consider what is best for the patient in the end. If the team member's lack of care on the job puts a patient at risk, talk about how you would both have an immediate conversation with the employee and bring it to the attention of their leader. If it was a situation where the person was having an off day, talk about how your ability to build a good rapport with your entire care team would enable you to have a professional, caring, and frank conversation with any member of your care team in this situation.

"Coming to your program as a first-year resident, I would pride myself on my ability to build respect and trust with all staff that I would be working with. This would include the administrative leaders, RN's and patient care techs that I would be bedside with on a daily basis. This trust and respect would enable me to have a clear and respectful conversation with any staff member that I thought wasn't pulling their weight at any time. My conversation with them would end on a positive note by me telling them that I believe in them. In the case a situation would put the health of a patient at risk, I wouldn't hesitate to escalate that to the direct supervisor of the employee immediately."