Here is an interview prep sheet with some questions in order of priority
Applicants will respond to standardized questions from the oral interview committee. The applicant’s responses will be evaluated based on verbal communication skills, life experience, emergency service experience, and maturity.
(Grouped In Order of importance)
High Priority/Probably Will be Asked
What drew you to Emergency Medicine?/ Why do you want to be an EMT?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?
What are a few traits YOU think an EMT needs to have?
Tell me about yourself.
Tell us about your experience in EMS?
What makes you a good fit for our program?
Why do you want to work here?
What do you do in your spare time?
What steps do you take when you are first on scene?
Tell us about a mistake that you made and how you fixed it.
Describe your least favorite aspect of an EMT job?
How do you fill downtime?
How is the role of EMTS and Paramedics changing?
Tell me about a time when you worked with your team to help a patient?
Is there was anything important about you that doesn't come across in your application.
What is your most memorable patient encounter?
Why did you choose this school?
Why do you want to be an EMT?
What are a few traits you think an EMT needs to possess?
What personality traits do you possess that make you feel you would be a good EMT?
List your top three weaknesses.
List your top three strengths.
What do you know about our organization? (look some stuff up beforehand on EMTLife, the internet, yelp, your county EMS website and also their own website if they have one)
Do you have any questions for us? (HAVE QUESTIONS FOR THEM!! AT LEAST 1 or 2- and not things like "What is the pay" or "how much vacation" .... smart questions that convey your interest.)
Medium Priority/Maybe Will be Asked
How do you handle stress?
What are some ways that you handle stress? (list healthy things, lol)
How will you negotiate extricating a heavy patient?
You have a 300+ pound patient in a four story walk up apartment. Pt complaining of crushing CP and SOB. Just you and your 110 pound female partner. What would you do?
Describe what you will do if your partner shows up to work and you suspect he or she may be intoxicated?
How do you cope with people that you do not like working with?
How would you handle a family member who is distressed over the injury of a child?
Tell us about a mistake you made and how you corrected it.
Give us 3 strengths and 1 weakness.
How do you work in a team, and name a time there was a team failure and how you dealt with it?
Name times when given higher responsibility in other jobs? How do you handle it? What can you do better?
You are dispatched to a single vehicle MVC in the dead of winter, vehicle is upside down in a ditch filled with almost freezing cold water. One patient walking around, distraught with minor injuries. Other pt (the driver) is upside down still in her seatbelt, appears to be VSA but you cannot reach her or touch her. How do you proceed?
You have an irate nurse at the hospital calling EMS drivers "lazy, bad medics" etc. How do you deal with her?
Psychiatric patient not wanting to go to hospital, but their wife wants you to take them. How do you proceed?
Colleagues did 1 call overnight and left the truck completely dirty for you in the morning when you come on shift. How do you deal with them?
What was the worst situation you’ve faced in your life?
What is the thing you are most proud of in your life?
What do you do to stay calm during a crisis?
Tells about a time you had a disagreement with your supervisor, and how it was resolved.
Tell us about a time you worked in a team.
When you work in a team what role do you tend to play?
How do you gain the respect of your co-workers?
Low Priority/Oddball Questions- Probably won't be asked but good to look at and think of what you might say or handle something along these lines
Who are your "customers" in EMS?
Tell us about a time you had to be flexible.
Complete this sentence "If you really want to make me angry then do this...."
How do you resolve conflict?
What are your short term/long term goals?
What book are you currently reading? What is your favorite book?
What made you join EMS?
Are your parents disappointed with your career aspirations?
What was your greatest failure?
What was your greatest accomplishment?
If you were asked to describe yourself in 3 words, what would they be?
How do you handle adversity?
If two of your coworkers are having a fist fight out in the hallway, what would you do?
What would somebody who hates you say about you?
If Germans were the tallest people in the world, how would you prove it?
What do you think of garden gnomes?
Is your college GPA reflective of your potential?
If you could be #1 employee but have all your coworkers dislike you or you could be #15 employee and have all your coworkers like you, which would you choose?
How would you cure world hunger?
Room, desk and car – which do you clean first?
Does life fascinate you?
Please spell ‘diverticulitis’
Name 5 uses of a stapler without staple pins.
How would you get an elephant into a refrigerator?
You have a bouquet of flowers. All but two are roses, all but two are daisies, and all but two are tulips. How many flowers do you have?
How many different ways can you get water from a lake at the foot of a mountain, up to the top of the mountain?
What is 37 times 37?
If you could be a superhero, what power would you possess?
Are you exhaling warm air?
What is the biggest problem Paramedics will face in the next 40 years?"
What is the greatest tragedy you have experienced in your life and how did it change you?
Describe a clinical situation in which you feel an error was made, what you did and how you would do it differently in the future?
What is the most challenging thing you've been through in your life so far?
What are your thoughts on/do you agree with the sentiment that EMTs/Parmaedics are "jack of all trades, master of none."
Tell me about a mistake that you have made?
How do you handle disagreements /conflicts?
Why don't you have more leadership experience?
What is the biggest misconception people have of you?
one more thing, they said they highly recommend me bringing a resume but I haven't had any other job before. Should I just bring one with all the volunteering I've done and my traits etc? One more thing should I bring a letter of recommendation from a fire captain or someone high up in the ems service or just leave that out? Thanks again!!!!
