4 answers
Claudia
Student
Gaithersburg, Maryland
1
Question
Updated
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How can I prepare for Healthcare interviews?
Hello!
I am an ultrasound student in my first year of school and clinical rotations. Once I start applying to jobs, how can I prepare for the interview process? Are there certain questions that I should be prepared for?
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4 answers
Dianna Soto
Non Sterile Pharmacy Technician
51
Answers
Tampa, Florida
Updated
Dianna’s Answer
Most places for any healthcare position ask similar generic questions that you would cross reference from previous experiences. They may ask, “why do you think you would be a good fit for the position? I see you have experience in (info from your resume), why did you decide to come to this field? What experience do you have that you can bring to our team/ company? Where do you see yourself in 5/ 10 years? What would you do if patient seems irritate/ upset? How would you handle someone who is not feeling well? Do you have any questions for us or about the position?”
I know there’s a list of questions that you can sometimes find for some companies and positions online. Not all people post. But I hope you get the position and good luck!
I know there’s a list of questions that you can sometimes find for some companies and positions online. Not all people post. But I hope you get the position and good luck!
Téa C.
Diagnostic Medical Sonographer
6
Answers
Salt Lake City, Utah
Updated
Téa’s Answer
Hi there! While you're still doing clinicals is a great time to prepare for future interviews.
I'm my hospital's lead tech for Ultrasound (US), & I've become more involved in interviewing US techs & choosing who to hire. We tend to be a bit short-staffed in US, so while we're not desperately going to hire just anyone, we're very open to hiring newly graduated techs. I'll mainly be answering from that perspective.
In summary, for entry-level US techs in particular (which is what you'd be) I look for someone who's willing to learn, can handle criticism/feedback, isn't afraid to ask questions, wants to improve, & can be adaptable in new or difficult situations. I look for those things because I know they're fresh out of internship, so I don't expect the skills of an experienced US tech. After that, it helps if they're someone who's genuinely interested in the field, whether they just found some aspect(s) of ultrasound fascinating, wanted to get involved in the healthcare field for some reason, started with an interest in anatomy & physiology, etc. I prefer looking for this because I find if you've got a genuine interest in some way, you're more likely to want to learn/improve & won't get tired of what you're doing too easily.
So, I'll ask questions that help me get to know the person I'm interviewing & figure out if they're someone who fits my criteria. My interview questions can include the following:
1) Tell me/us about yourself.
- This can be a tough question since it's so vague, so it helps to think ahead of time what you need to or want to share about yourself. For example, this can include when you graduated, where you currently work at & with what position (full-time, part-time, or PRN), where you'll be commuting from, what your plans are for board exams (like "I'm scheduled to take my abdomen board February 2nd"), etc.
2) What made you want to get into ultrasound?
3) What ultrasound exams are you most familiar with? Least familiar with?
4) How would others, like peers or coworkers, describe your approach to work?
5) How do you approach learning new skills or techniques, like from your training or studies?
6) Could you share an example from your clinicals or related experiences when you used feedback to improve?
7) Could you tell me a situation where you had to adapt to unexpected challenges or changes during an ultrasound exam?
- This is not only a good opportunity to show how they handle new/challenging situations, but also to possibly see how they interact with difficult patients.
8) Can you share an example from your training or related experiences when you relied on someone else to complete a task?
9) Where do you see yourself in 1yr? [And/or 5yrs?]
- If I'm going to put time & effort into training someone, I'd like to know if they plan on sticking around or not. It can feel unfair & tiring to put in the time/effort investments, just for the person to leave (like moving to a city farther away or something). You could also answer with what additional credential(s) you see yourself with or preparing for, or mention you prefer the consistency of staying at the same workplace(s) (I don't want job-hoppers).
10) Situational Q: As an entry-level ultrasound tech, you may encounter types of ultrasound exams that you haven’t performed before. If you were assigned to perform such an exam, what steps would you take to make sure you’re prepared?
11) [Could you tell me something you’re proud of accomplishing?]
- It's a potential question I may ask if I still want more information, though I'm way less likely to ask this given these other questions.
I might not ask all the above questions. For instance, if an interviewee's answer to one question also relates to another/other questions, I won't need to ask everything. For example, your answer to question #1 could include info relating to question #2 or #5. Basically, I want to see how someone draws on their different experiences, especially from clinical internships. So, it could help to write down feedback/critique, notable situations, & learning experiences that you could use for the above questions.
You may also want to be able to show how you interact with patients in at least one of your answers, whether it's by showing how you handled a difficult patient and/or an example of being more interpersonal with patients. I still prioritize the other aspects I mentioned for new techs, but some facilities may focus more heavily on this. My internship site was very focused on their techs using more "customer service" skills when interacting with patients to make it a more positive & memorable experience. For example, I don't remember it as well now since it was years ago, but I had an elderly female patient I nicknamed 'sunshine' (we became friendly enough for that). She'd remember me & say hello when she came in for imaging. She was bright & bubbly, so I'd welcome her with something like "Hey there sunshine!" & ask how she was doing.
During interviews, I also check basic scanning ability by having interviewees scan me and/or a coworker. Even though they may have just graduated, they should be able to perform ultrasounds at least on 'easy' to 'normal' difficulty people. I don't have them do a whole scan, but just parts such as my or my coworker's common bile duct, pancreas, aorta bifurcation, & left kidney, or certain calf veins in the leg (if they said they've done leg vein US's before). I'm less concerned with the specific techniques they use or how well they optimize their images (as long as it doesn't look absolutely terrible...), because those things come with training & experience.
Lastly, while I'm easier/less picky when interviewing entry-level US techs, I'm still going to observe how they act such as with their body language, if they'll take a moment (if needed) to give a more thoughtful answer, & how they scan. I'll ask myself: are they maintaining eye-contact (confident), fidgeting with their hands a lot (nervous), does it seem like they're second-guessing themselves a lot while scanning (unconfident), etc.? I'll still hire someone who may have seemed nervous/shy or somewhat unconfident as long as they're willing to learn, but I'll be much pickier if there's only one position I can fill & there are multiple applicants.
This can all seem like a lot & be stressful, but as long as you go through clinicals with the mindset of continuous improvement/learning & work hard, I think you'll do great!
I'm my hospital's lead tech for Ultrasound (US), & I've become more involved in interviewing US techs & choosing who to hire. We tend to be a bit short-staffed in US, so while we're not desperately going to hire just anyone, we're very open to hiring newly graduated techs. I'll mainly be answering from that perspective.
In summary, for entry-level US techs in particular (which is what you'd be) I look for someone who's willing to learn, can handle criticism/feedback, isn't afraid to ask questions, wants to improve, & can be adaptable in new or difficult situations. I look for those things because I know they're fresh out of internship, so I don't expect the skills of an experienced US tech. After that, it helps if they're someone who's genuinely interested in the field, whether they just found some aspect(s) of ultrasound fascinating, wanted to get involved in the healthcare field for some reason, started with an interest in anatomy & physiology, etc. I prefer looking for this because I find if you've got a genuine interest in some way, you're more likely to want to learn/improve & won't get tired of what you're doing too easily.
So, I'll ask questions that help me get to know the person I'm interviewing & figure out if they're someone who fits my criteria. My interview questions can include the following:
1) Tell me/us about yourself.
- This can be a tough question since it's so vague, so it helps to think ahead of time what you need to or want to share about yourself. For example, this can include when you graduated, where you currently work at & with what position (full-time, part-time, or PRN), where you'll be commuting from, what your plans are for board exams (like "I'm scheduled to take my abdomen board February 2nd"), etc.
2) What made you want to get into ultrasound?
3) What ultrasound exams are you most familiar with? Least familiar with?
4) How would others, like peers or coworkers, describe your approach to work?
5) How do you approach learning new skills or techniques, like from your training or studies?
6) Could you share an example from your clinicals or related experiences when you used feedback to improve?
7) Could you tell me a situation where you had to adapt to unexpected challenges or changes during an ultrasound exam?
- This is not only a good opportunity to show how they handle new/challenging situations, but also to possibly see how they interact with difficult patients.
8) Can you share an example from your training or related experiences when you relied on someone else to complete a task?
9) Where do you see yourself in 1yr? [And/or 5yrs?]
- If I'm going to put time & effort into training someone, I'd like to know if they plan on sticking around or not. It can feel unfair & tiring to put in the time/effort investments, just for the person to leave (like moving to a city farther away or something). You could also answer with what additional credential(s) you see yourself with or preparing for, or mention you prefer the consistency of staying at the same workplace(s) (I don't want job-hoppers).
10) Situational Q: As an entry-level ultrasound tech, you may encounter types of ultrasound exams that you haven’t performed before. If you were assigned to perform such an exam, what steps would you take to make sure you’re prepared?
11) [Could you tell me something you’re proud of accomplishing?]
- It's a potential question I may ask if I still want more information, though I'm way less likely to ask this given these other questions.
I might not ask all the above questions. For instance, if an interviewee's answer to one question also relates to another/other questions, I won't need to ask everything. For example, your answer to question #1 could include info relating to question #2 or #5. Basically, I want to see how someone draws on their different experiences, especially from clinical internships. So, it could help to write down feedback/critique, notable situations, & learning experiences that you could use for the above questions.
You may also want to be able to show how you interact with patients in at least one of your answers, whether it's by showing how you handled a difficult patient and/or an example of being more interpersonal with patients. I still prioritize the other aspects I mentioned for new techs, but some facilities may focus more heavily on this. My internship site was very focused on their techs using more "customer service" skills when interacting with patients to make it a more positive & memorable experience. For example, I don't remember it as well now since it was years ago, but I had an elderly female patient I nicknamed 'sunshine' (we became friendly enough for that). She'd remember me & say hello when she came in for imaging. She was bright & bubbly, so I'd welcome her with something like "Hey there sunshine!" & ask how she was doing.
During interviews, I also check basic scanning ability by having interviewees scan me and/or a coworker. Even though they may have just graduated, they should be able to perform ultrasounds at least on 'easy' to 'normal' difficulty people. I don't have them do a whole scan, but just parts such as my or my coworker's common bile duct, pancreas, aorta bifurcation, & left kidney, or certain calf veins in the leg (if they said they've done leg vein US's before). I'm less concerned with the specific techniques they use or how well they optimize their images (as long as it doesn't look absolutely terrible...), because those things come with training & experience.
Lastly, while I'm easier/less picky when interviewing entry-level US techs, I'm still going to observe how they act such as with their body language, if they'll take a moment (if needed) to give a more thoughtful answer, & how they scan. I'll ask myself: are they maintaining eye-contact (confident), fidgeting with their hands a lot (nervous), does it seem like they're second-guessing themselves a lot while scanning (unconfident), etc.? I'll still hire someone who may have seemed nervous/shy or somewhat unconfident as long as they're willing to learn, but I'll be much pickier if there's only one position I can fill & there are multiple applicants.
This can all seem like a lot & be stressful, but as long as you go through clinicals with the mindset of continuous improvement/learning & work hard, I think you'll do great!
James Hanson
Pediatric Intensive Care Physician; Consultant
160
Answers
Oakland, California
Updated
James’s Answer
The most important thing to do for a job interview in healthcare is to be genuine. Share what you enjoy about caring for patients. What do you enjoy about the science and technology that supports sonography? How would you hope to grow, if hired, to be even more valuable to the organization?
Questions you may be asked relate to how you have (or would) managed a challenging case. How do you make patients comfortable and at ease when they are stressed, in pain, etc.? What would your response be if you saw something you felt was conclusive, and the patient asked you for the diagnosis (answer is: "I'm sorry, only the radiologist can read the images I am taking.")?
Most organizations want someone who is not just competent, but who wants to learn more, grow into leadership roles, work on problems to make precesses better, etc. Perhaps you would say you are motivated to become the local expert in trans-cranial doppler imaging, or whatever other special training might be helpful to the organization where you are applying.
Good luck!
Questions you may be asked relate to how you have (or would) managed a challenging case. How do you make patients comfortable and at ease when they are stressed, in pain, etc.? What would your response be if you saw something you felt was conclusive, and the patient asked you for the diagnosis (answer is: "I'm sorry, only the radiologist can read the images I am taking.")?
Most organizations want someone who is not just competent, but who wants to learn more, grow into leadership roles, work on problems to make precesses better, etc. Perhaps you would say you are motivated to become the local expert in trans-cranial doppler imaging, or whatever other special training might be helpful to the organization where you are applying.
Good luck!
Thank you so much for the detailed response! I'll be sure to keep this in mind.
Claudia
Aqsa Ahmed
Career counselor / Licensed pharmacist
2
Answers
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Updated
Aqsa’s Answer
In ultrasound jobs, employers look for:
- Strong scanning skills, high-quality images, and a focus on safety
- Caring for patients and good communication
- Professional behavior
- Handling stress, working in fast-paced settings, and dealing with emergencies
- Eagerness to learn and grow
These questions help employers understand your basic sonography skills:
- Which exams do you feel most confident about?
- How do you manage challenging or unclear studies?
- How do you make sure your images are top quality?
- How do you keep patients safe during ultrasound procedures?
- What do you do if you find something unusual or unexpected?
- What inspired you to choose ultrasound?
- Strong scanning skills, high-quality images, and a focus on safety
- Caring for patients and good communication
- Professional behavior
- Handling stress, working in fast-paced settings, and dealing with emergencies
- Eagerness to learn and grow
These questions help employers understand your basic sonography skills:
- Which exams do you feel most confident about?
- How do you manage challenging or unclear studies?
- How do you make sure your images are top quality?
- How do you keep patients safe during ultrasound procedures?
- What do you do if you find something unusual or unexpected?
- What inspired you to choose ultrasound?