Psychiatry residency interview questions
Psychiatry interviewers listen for curiosity about people's stories and the patience to stay with distress without rushing to fix it. They also want to see that you think about safety, boundaries and your own reactions, and that you have a sense of which parts of the field draw you.
- Listening with curiosity
- Sound judgment about safety
- Awareness of your own reactions
What psychiatry programs ask
Questions about the specialty itself, beside the ones every program asks.
Tell me about a patient with a mental illness whose care stayed with you. What did you learn from them?
- What they're listening for
- Whether you see the person behind the diagnosis, and how you reflect on your work.
- How to answer
- Describe the patient with respect, what you noticed in how they spoke and lived, your part in their care, and what it taught you about listening or about the illness.
- Where it goes wrong
- Telling the story as a curiosity, or describing the patient only by labels.
A patient tells you they have been thinking about ending their life and asks you not to tell anyone. What do you do?
- What they're listening for
- Whether you can respond with warmth while keeping safety above a promise of secrecy.
- How to answer
- Thank them for telling you, ask directly about thoughts, plans and access to means, and explain honestly that you need to involve your team to keep them safe. Make sure they are safe while you bring in your supervisor.
- Where it goes wrong
- Promising to keep it secret, or avoiding direct questions about suicide.
A patient on the unit is becoming loud and agitated, and the staff are worried. How do you approach it?
- What they're listening for
- Whether you put safety first and try to calm the situation before anything else.
- How to answer
- Keep yourself and others safe (space, a clear exit, enough staff), speak calmly and ask what the patient needs, and think about medical causes such as intoxication, withdrawal or delirium. If talking is not enough, follow the unit's process with your senior.
- Where it goes wrong
- Going in alone, or reaching for restraint or medication before trying to talk.
Why does it matter that a psychiatrist is a physician first? Give me an example.
- What they're listening for
- Whether you will look for medical causes of psychiatric symptoms and care for the patient's physical health.
- How to answer
- Give an example of a symptom that turned out to have a medical cause (delirium, a thyroid problem, a medication effect), or of a patient whose physical health was being missed, and what you did about it.
- Where it goes wrong
- Treating psychiatry as only talking, with no medicine in it.
Tell me about a time a patient left you feeling angry, sad or helpless. What did you do with that feeling?
- What they're listening for
- Self-awareness, and whether you use supervision and support rather than acting on strong feelings.
- How to answer
- Name the feeling honestly, how it could have affected your care, who you talked it through with, and how you look after yourself in emotionally heavy work.
- Where it goes wrong
- Saying patients never affect you.
Which parts of psychiatry interest you most: child and adolescent, addiction, consultation-liaison, psychotherapy, community work or research?
- What they're listening for
- Whether you know the breadth of the field and what you would want from training.
- How to answer
- Name one or two areas, the experience behind them and what you would want to try in residency, while staying open.
- Where it goes wrong
- Listing every area, or none.
The questions every program asks
Expect these too. Each is explained in full on the main questions page.
- Tell me about yourself.
- Why psychiatry?
- 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 psychiatry programs
Ask what their website doesn't answer. These show you have thought about training there.
- How much psychotherapy training and supervision do residents get, and in which approaches?
- How are residents supported after a hard event, such as a patient's suicide or an assault on the unit?
- How is training divided between inpatient, outpatient, emergency and consultation work?
- How does the program support residents interested in child and adolescent, addiction or other fellowships?
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