Emergency Medicine residency interview questions
Emergency medicine interviewers listen for someone who can make sound decisions quickly with incomplete information and stay steady when the department is full. They also want to know you understand shift work, can work with the whole team, and give the same care to every patient who comes through the door.
- Decisions with little information
- Steady in a full department
- Works with the whole team
What emergency medicine programs ask
Questions about the specialty itself, beside the ones every program asks.
Three patients arrive at once: a child with a fever, an older adult with chest pain and a young adult with a cut that is still bleeding. Who do you see first?
- What they're listening for
- How you prioritize by risk, and whether you use the team rather than doing everything yourself.
- How to answer
- Get a quick look at each (vital signs, how unwell they look) and see the one at greatest risk first, which is often the chest pain. Use the team for the others, such as direct pressure on the wound, and tell your senior.
- Where it goes wrong
- Answering "first come, first served," or trying to see all three alone.
Emergency medicine means nights, weekends and holidays, often changing week to week. How will you manage that over a career?
- What they're listening for
- Whether you understand shift work and have a plan to stay well and safe within it.
- How to answer
- Describe what you learned from shift-based rotations, the habits you use (a sleep routine, regular meals, protected days off), and how you would notice that fatigue was affecting your work.
- Where it goes wrong
- Saying nights have never been a problem for you.
A patient with abdominal pain looks well and their tests are normal. How do you decide whether they can go home?
- What they're listening for
- Whether you can manage uncertainty safely when a patient leaves the department.
- How to answer
- Examine again, think about what you cannot rule out yet and discuss it with your senior. If they go home, give clear return advice in plain words, check they understood it, and make sure follow-up is arranged.
- Where it goes wrong
- Treating normal tests as proof that nothing is wrong.
A patient comes to the department most nights, often intoxicated, and the staff are tired of seeing them. How do you approach them tonight?
- What they're listening for
- Whether you give full care to every patient, including those others have stopped listening to.
- How to answer
- Examine them properly each time, because a new problem is easy to miss, keep them safe while intoxicated and treat them with respect. Then think about what might help beyond tonight: social work, case management or addiction services.
- Where it goes wrong
- Assuming it is the same as last time.
You call a specialist about a patient you think needs admission, and they disagree. What do you do?
- What they're listening for
- Whether you can make the case for a patient clearly and professionally to a colleague.
- How to answer
- Give a short, clear summary and the reason for your concern, listen to their view and ask what would change their mind. If you still think the patient is unsafe to send home, involve your attending.
- Where it goes wrong
- Arguing, or accepting a no when you still believe the patient is not safe.
What kind of emergency medicine career do you picture: community, academic, rural, or a fellowship such as ultrasound, toxicology or critical care?
- What they're listening for
- Whether you know the range of careers in the specialty and what you want from training.
- How to answer
- Give your leaning and what shaped it, the experience you would want in residency to test it, and that you are open to change.
- Where it goes wrong
- No picture at all beyond liking the pace.
The questions every program asks
Expect these too. Each is explained in full on the main questions page.
- Tell me about yourself.
- Why emergency medicine?
- 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 emergency medicine programs
Ask what their website doesn't answer. These show you have thought about training there.
- How are shifts scheduled, and how does the program handle the change between days and nights?
- When do residents begin leading resuscitations, and how is that responsibility built up?
- What experience do residents get with pediatric emergencies, ultrasound and different hospital settings?
- How does the department support residents after a difficult case or a patient's death?
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