Questions to Ask the Interviewer
Adapted from: Reile DM and Nickols JL. Survival Strategies for Your New Career. 2006; 38-40.

It is important to plan questions to ask during the interview. Remember that this is a time for you to evaluate the organization, residency, or fellowship. The following is a list of questions you might consider asking in a residency interview and those you might reserve for current residents only. You may also adapt questions from these lists if you are interviewing for a new pharmacy position.

Questions to Ask in General

• Is code team participation required or optional?
• How many hours are spent with service commitments per week/month?
• Are residents ever pulled from clinical areas for service commitments?
• Can rotations be changed during the year?
• How easy is it to get a desired elective rotation?
• How is the topic of the residency project decided?
• Are there any opportunities to teach or precept pharmacy students?
• Are there any opportunities to publish?
• Are there any opportunities to do a rotation at another institution?
• How do you think this year’s residents are doing?
• What current research projects are other residents or pharmacists at this institution working on?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of this program/department?
• What will participation in this program do for me?
• How are residents evaulated during the program?
• Do the pharmacy faculty ever work with the medical faculty on research projects?
• How would you describe the relationship between the distributional pharmacists and the clinical pharmacists or residents?
• Is the staff given the opportunity to attend national pharmacy meetings (e.g., ASHP, APhA, ACCP, SCCM)? If so, is funding available?
• Do pharmacists or residents ever give lectures to medical house staff?
• Can residents select their own ambulatory clinic?
• What clinics are available?
• Is it possible to tailor the structure of the residency to meet my interests (infectious disease, pediatrics, etc.)?

Questions to Consider Asking Only Other Staff

• What is your typical day like?
• What time do you get to work, on average?
• Have you had any problems working with the director?
• Do you ever spend time with the other residents outside of work?
• What do you plan to do next year?
• What would you change about this program/department?
• What are the best and worst things about this institution?
• Is photocopying paid for or is there an allowance?
• How accessible is the library?
• Are you ever on call?
• What do you do on the weekends?
• Do you have to pay for parking?
• Are the medical and nursing staff easy to work with at this institution?
• Are health, life, dental, and disability insurance and retirement benefits provided or available?
• How many calls have you received in the middle of the night while on call?
• Do the current residents work well together?
• How far do you live from work?
• How long does it take you to get to work?
• Is the neighborhood near the institution safe?
• Have you had the opportunity to give lectures to pharmacy students? How many?
• Have you received enough positive or negative feedback throughout your residency?
• What is the policy for working on holidays?
• Have you had the opportunity to write or publish (review articles, hospital newsletter articles, case reports)?
• Are your suggestions to medical staff taken seriously?
• How much impact do you have on drug therapy decisions?
• Are you asked for input?
  

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