Anesthesiology residency interview questions
Anesthesiology interviewers listen for calm under pressure and steady attention when nothing seems to be happening. They also want to see that you can work closely with surgeons and nurses in the OR and speak up when the patient needs it.
- Calm in a crisis
- Vigilance through long cases
- Speaking up in the OR
What anesthesiology programs ask
Questions about the specialty itself, beside the ones every program asks.
Much of a long case is watching monitors while nothing changes. How do you stay sharp through it?
- What they're listening for
- Whether you understand that vigilance, not procedures, is the center of the job.
- How to answer
- Say what you have seen of a long case, the habits that keep you focused (a regular scan of the patient, the monitors and the surgical field, watching trends rather than single numbers), and how you would handle fatigue honestly.
- Where it goes wrong
- Saying you would never get bored, or talking only about intubations and lines.
Your attending has stepped out, and partway through the case the oxygen saturation starts to fall. Walk me through your first steps.
- What they're listening for
- Whether you think in a clear order and call for help early, more than how much physiology you know.
- How to answer
- Call your attending back right away, increase the oxygen and confirm the reading is real, then work through a structured check (airway, breathing, circulation, equipment) out loud so the surgeon and nurse know what is happening.
- Where it goes wrong
- Trying to fix it alone before calling for help.
During a case you think the patient is getting worse, and the surgeon wants to keep going. How do you handle it?
- What they're listening for
- Whether you will speak up for the patient in the OR and keep the team working together.
- How to answer
- Say what you see with specifics, call your attending early, ask for what the patient needs (a pause, more help, a change of plan), and keep the conversation about the patient rather than who is right.
- Where it goes wrong
- Staying silent because the surgeon is senior, or turning it into a confrontation.
You meet a frightened patient a few minutes before surgery. What do you do with the time you have?
- What they're listening for
- Whether you can build trust quickly with someone you may meet only once.
- How to answer
- Introduce yourself and your role, ask what worries them most, explain what will happen in plain words, check they understand and have their questions answered, and tell the team about anything that changes the plan.
- Where it goes wrong
- Racing through the consent form without looking up.
Anesthesia care is often given by a team that includes nurse anesthetists. How do you see yourself working in that team?
- What they're listening for
- Whether you will be a respectful colleague and understand the physician's role in the care team.
- How to answer
- Show you have seen the team at work, what each member does, the physician's part in planning and supervision, and respect for colleagues who may have far more OR experience than you.
- Where it goes wrong
- Speaking dismissively about nurse anesthetists, or turning the answer into scope-of-practice politics.
Have you thought about a fellowship (pain, critical care, cardiac, pediatric, obstetric or regional), or about general practice?
- What they're listening for
- Whether you know the range of the field and have begun to test where you fit.
- How to answer
- Give your current leaning and what you have seen of it, what you would want from residency to test it, and that you are open to what the rotations show you.
- Where it goes wrong
- Picking a subspecialty for its reputation with nothing behind it.
The questions every program asks
Expect these too. Each is explained in full on the main questions page.
- Tell me about yourself.
- Why anesthesiology?
- Why are you interested in this program?
- What is your greatest weakness?
- Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a colleague or team member.
- Tell me about a mistake you made in patient care, and what happened.
- That's everything from me. What questions do you have for us?
Questions to ask anesthesiology programs
Ask what their website doesn't answer. These show you have thought about training there.
- How is independence in the OR built up during the first clinical anesthesia year?
- How do residents get experience in cardiac, pediatric, obstetric and regional anesthesia?
- How are simulation and debriefing after difficult cases used in training?
- How does the program support a resident after a bad outcome in the OR?
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