The Two Best Interview Questions To Ensure You Hire The Right Candidates for Your DPC Practice.

We are doctors, and as we get into DPC we are forced to learn skills on the fly. One of the most difficult, and impactful, for better or worse, is interviewing potential employees.

Here’s the two interview questions that you can ask to cut through the act that makes interviewing so inefficient. 

“Tell me about my practice”

 While not technically a question, this does three things: it helps you determine whether or not they are interested in YOUR practice and what it can bring to their career/ how it can enable them to practice medicine better, Or if they are just interested in getting a job that pays. 

Next, it helps you determine whether or not they do their research. We all know that we want to work with folks who practice initiative. This helps uncover that. 

Third, this gives you insight into what they find important. 

“Tell me about a time that someone proved you wrong.”

 This is an interview question that people aren’t prepared for, and can be a little difficult for them to come up with an answer right off the bat. But give them some grace in coming up with an example. But, once they do start answering, therein lies some psychological wizardry. If the interviewee is confident, and a team player, they will take ownership of their actions. However, if the person in the hot seat is arrogant, doesn’t play nicely with others, finds constructive criticism difficult, or is not willing to learn, you will hear condescension of deflection come into their answer.

Here are examples of phrases that reveal “condescension or deflection”: 

•  “…I didn’t know that I had to invert the tubes after I drew blood.” – weaponized ignorance
•  “… But, it turns out I didn’t need to do it that way after all.” – Rationalization or Minimizing
• “… Because nobody told me.” – Externalizing blame or Deflecting responsibility
• “… But that wasn’t my fault.” – Blame sitting or Defensive distancing
• “One of the nurses thought my dose was wrong. Technically, she was right according to the protocol…” – Discounting others’ expertise or Qualified acknowledgment
• “… But, nobody told me…” (sounds similar to the one above, but illustrates a different emotional rationale) Excuse making or According initiative 
• “Someone said I was intimidating. I have high standards, and some people aren’t used to that. I’ve learned that certain coworkers need a softer approach.” – Self-serving reframing or Condescension 
• “My manager showed me numbers suggesting everyone had the same workload. But numbers don’t capture how thorough I am. I agreed to her suggestions (so we could move on).” – Self-exoneration through superiority or Performative agreement (Agreeing to end the conversation without meaningfully considering the feedback.)
• “My partner thought I was being unfair to a quiet employee. Apparently, she was doing more than I realized. But I still think people need to speak up if they want recognition.” – Conditional ownership or Shifting the burden 

Bonus! If you’re not sure, use one of these follow-up questions that make it harder to bluff:

• “Even given those circumstances, what part was yours to own, and what did you change?”
• “What did you initially say when they challenged you?”
• “What specifically convinced you that you were wrong?”
• “What did you do differently afterward?”
• “Tell me about a later situation where you applied that lesson.”

It is so easy for people to put on a good face for the interview. These two questions will help you tease out who is going to help you change health care and who is going to be a liability.