Family Doctor Interview Questions:
1. What, in your opinion, is the most important skill in building good relationships with people?
Family doctors need to be people "experts," having the ability to connect with patients. Candidates should, to some degree, ruminate on the benefits of empathy, not only in the capacity of caring for others but as it relates to understanding perspectives outside of their own.
2. Describe a situation in which you used historical data to solve a patient's medical needs. How did you use the data?
This question examines a candidate's quantitative ability. Candidates should speak on the significance of data's role in building patient profiles and demonstrate creative uses for data in solving medical problems.
3. What, to date, is your greatest medical success story?
This question gives candidates an opportunity to display their medical ability or emotional intelligence. Look for stories where candidates utilized good listening or perceptive skills to understand a patient's problems.
4. Describe your biggest mistake in dealing with a patient. What lessons have you learned from the experience?
Candidates should use this opportunity to list, in detail, cases where they erred, learned from their mistakes and grew as a doctor. Look for examples where candidates felt they could not treat the patient and referred them to a specialist.
5. Describe an experience you had in dealing with an emotionally distressed patient. How did you overcome the situation?
Family doctors are expected to deal with emotionally distressed patients. They should talk about demonstrating good interpersonal skills to effectively communicate with them, manage to calm them down, and provide them with the reassurance that they will be taken care of.