Interview Questions for Pharmacists (With Example Answers)
Becoming a pharmacist is a job in the medical field that can be very rewarding. Before you go on an interview for a job as a pharmacist, you should think about what you would say so you are ready. This article has a list of common questions that a pharmacist interviewer might ask, along with some sample answers to help you think of your own. Interview Questions for Pharmacists
General interview questions
Your interviewer may ask you some of the following common questions to learn more about you:
- Tell me something about you.
- Where did you go to school? What did you like best about the time you spent there?
- What kinds of books do you like?
- In five years, where do you see yourself?
- What do your friends say about you?
- Why should we hire you instead of the other candidates?
- What is your biggest flaw, and how are you trying to get better at it?
- Do you like to do anything in particular?
- What do you think is your best work-related accomplishment?
- Tell me about a hard workplace decision you had to make.
Interview questions for a pharmacist about their experience and background
These questions help the interviewer understand your qualifications and experience as a pharmacist, as well as how well you would fit the job:
- What are some of the problems that pharmacists have to deal with these days?
- What kinds of skills does a good pharmacist need to have?
- What’s your favorite thing about being a pharmacist?
- How do you make sure you know everything there is to know about new drugs and current pharmacy practices?
- What do you know about how to work with companies that provide health insurance?
- Do you think that working in a pharmacy is boring? What keeps you going so you can do a good job?
- Is there anything you don’t like about working at the pharmacy? If so, what is it and why?
- How do you make sure that all of a customer’s medicines are safe to use together?
- Do you know anything about getting immunized?
- What do you need to think about before giving a patient medicine?
In-depth pharmacist interview questions
The interviewer may ask you the following questions to find out how well you think critically and solve problems, which are important skills for a pharmacist:
- How do you teach people how to take care of their medicines? What do you need to think about?
- Which medicine would you be and why?
- Tell me about a time you helped a patient who was hard to help. What did they need help with, and how did you help them?
- What do you think are the hardest problems to solve in a pharmacy, and why?
- Do you know what the Francis report is? Can you tell me what happened to the pharmacy because of it?
- What would you do if a doctor didn’t want to change a medicine you thought was wrong for a certain patient?
- What would you do if a customer brought you a prescription that you couldn’t read?
- Why might a doctor give you antibiotics for a viral infection?
- What should be written on a prescription for a controlled drug? What would you do if you didn’t have all of the information?
- What should you not do when you are giving out drugs? If you’ve done any of these things wrong, how did you fix them?
Sample interview questions and answers for a pharmacist
Here are some common interview questions and answers for pharmacists, along with tips on how to answer them. Your interviewer wants to see how well you can talk to people and give speeches:
- What made you want to become a pharmacist?
- A customer wants to buy a medication you don’t know much about. What would you do if you were in this situation?
- How can you tell if someone is looking for drugs? Have you been through it before?
- What do you think are the most important things to think about when running the pharmacy as a business?
- How would you handle it if employees at the pharmacy were upset? How about an example?
- What would you do if a customer who bought some medicine wanted a refund?
- A customer is unhappy because you don’t have the medicine they need. How do you handle the problem?
What made you want to become a pharmacist?
There are many things that go into choosing a career. Even if you chose to become a pharmacist because it pays well, the interviewer wants to know why you want to do it for reasons other than money. You could say that you like helping people and that you find pharmaceuticals to be interesting. This is a good chance to show how much you care about and understand the job.
How to answer “As soon as I started school, I knew I wanted to work in the health field. I was interested in science, the human body, diseases, and how to treat them. Before I chose my undergraduate major, I worked in a number of medical fields. That’s when I realized that pharmacy is my true calling, because it lets me work in a scientific field while also helping people. I’m sure I have the skills and personality to give your customers the best pharmacy service possible, and I’m really interested in and passionate about the job.”
A customer wants to buy a medicine you don’t know much about. What would you do if you were in this situation?
Situational questions like this are often asked by interviewers to see how you would deal with a customer when you don’t know the answer. The person doing the interview wants to see how you use your problem-solving and critical thinking skills to act in the right way. Your answer should show how well you can help customers, how you talk to customers, and how you do research to learn about the medicine.
Here’s an example: “I like to be friendly and sure of myself when I talk to customers, so I would tell them I didn’t know anything about the medicine they asked about. If the problem was how to say the name, I would ask them to write it out. You should also find out what the product is used for. I would check the store’s database to see if we had the product, and if I still couldn’t find it, I would ask the customer about their symptoms and offer them an alternative product if I couldn’t find it.
If the customer was only interested in the original product, I would ask for their contact information and tell them I would get back to them after doing more research to see if we could order it or give them more information about it.”
What do you think are the most important things to think about when running the pharmacy as a business?
It’s important to take care of patients’ needs, but the pharmacy is also a business. The person interviewing you wants to know that, in addition to knowing a lot about medicine and drugs, you also know how a pharmacy works as a business. You need to be able to show that you know everything a pharmacist does and that you would be a good employee.
Here’s an example: “I think that it should be a pharmacist’s job to give great customer service. This means I have to use both my skills as a pharmacist and my skills as an employee who knows the customer comes first. If I care about the customers, treat them with respect, and make sure their needs are met, they will come back to the pharmacy and spend their money there again and again. They will also tell other people about the great service we provide.”
How would you handle it if employees at the pharmacy were upset? How about an example?
As a pharmacist, you might have to manage and keep an eye on people who are less experienced. You must be able to show that you are good at managing people and communicating with them. You must also be able to show that you know how to handle conflict at work and make sure it doesn’t affect customers in the pharmacy.
Here’s an example: “Working in a pharmacy means working closely with the other people on staff, and we have to work as a team. In my previous position, I had to resolve an issue between the pharmacy technicians there. I think the most important thing is to figure out why the conflict is happening and how to move forward to solve it. I talked to each technician on their own to find out what they thought about what was going on. One of the technicians thought they were unfairly given more work because the other technician often had to leave work early to take care of her kids.
Together, we made a new work schedule so that each tech could work the hours that worked best for them. We were able to solve the problem and stop any public fights by being flexible and understanding. Whenever possible, it’s best to work things out peacefully.”
What would you do if a customer who bought some medicine wanted a refund?
The interviewer wants to know how you’d handle tough situations in the pharmacy and how you’d solve them while still giving great customer service. You must give an answer that shows you can work with other people and solve problems.
Here’s an example: “Find out why the patient wants a refund. This is the most important thing. If they say the medicine didn’t help their symptoms, I would ask them about their symptoms and how they took the medicine. If the patient doesn’t follow the directions exactly, the medicine might not work as well as it should.
I would check how much and how often they were taking. If they hadn’t taken all of the medicine, for example, I would tell them that they need to take the whole course to get better. Depending on the store’s rules, I may be able to give you a refund or a different medicine.”
A customer is unhappy because you don’t have the medicine they need. How do you handle the problem?
When you work in a pharmacy, you have to be able to deal with customers who are hard to please. There will be times when you can’t fill a patient’s prescription because you are out of stock. The interviewer wants to know that you can handle tough situations like these and keep them from getting worse and making other customers in the pharmacy unhappy.
Your answer should show that you can stay calm and collected in these situations and that you can use problem-solving and interpersonal skills to defuse situations that could be bad for the business.
Here’s an example: “I would call the customer to a quiet area away from other people and tell them that we do not have their medicine in stock right now. I would let them talk about their problems and tell them I could call the nearest pharmacy to see if they had what they needed.
If the other pharmacy had what the customer needed, I would send them there. If they didn’t have the medicine either, I would find out when we could get it and set up a time to call the patient as soon as we could fill the prescription.”
Jobs similar to a pharmacist
If you want to become a pharmacist or work in the health care field, here are 10 interesting jobs you might want to think about:
1. Pharmaceutical sales representative
2. Pharmacy technician
3. Assistant to a doctor
4. Pharmacy manager
5. Registered nurse
6. Therapist for work
7. Surgeon
8. Manager of health care
9. Patient services representative
10. A person who works in a medical lab
