How do you answer the interviewer? Here is a quick review and some guidelines to help you.
1. Recall everything you learned about how to build relationships with patients. If you’ve forgotten some of the main points, here are a few that you can include in your response:
- Demonstrating to your patients that you fully understand their situation and feelings by showing empathy.
- Getting rid of distractions and interruptions when visiting and talking to your patients.
- Being sensitive and careful about the nonverbal cues you send.
- Offering feedback and summarizing what you’ve heard after the talk or interview.
- Letting the patient correct you or add responses until he or she confirms that you have understood it well.
- Engaging in active listening and concentrating on what the patient is trying to say verbally and nonverbally.
- Providing culturally responsive care and being aware of your own cultural values, beliefs, traditions, and assumptions that may affect or influence the patient.
- Keeping a private journal or a patient diary to document your personal journey and to keep track of the progress you’ve made in building rapport.
2. Providing specific examples from your training. Be sure to include the actions you used to address the more challenging patients, such as being more patient, more sympathetic, and remaining calm and tolerant.
3. Create an illustration in your interviewer’s mind of a similar scenario showing how you would build a relationship with a patient. Give a brief and concise answer. Don’t go over the unnecessary details, and stay focused on the important ones.
As with any other job interview, stay calm and confident when answering the question. Don’t forget to sell yourself and be honest in your answers. Follow these guidelines and you’ll be sure to see improvement in your interview results.
