Tell me about a time you caught an error before it reached a patient. What happened and what changed afterward?

What the interviewer is looking for

• This question tests medication accuracy & safety. Uses barcode scanning, checks look-alike and sound-alike drugs, stays in scope, and refers clinical questions to the pharmacist.
• What to bring out: Stopped the process, involved the pharmacist, corrected it, reported or documented it, and suggested a process fix.
• Expect a follow-up like: How did you share the lesson with the rest of the team?

Another way it may be asked: Think of a time you noticed something wrong with a prescription or fill. What did you do?

A structure to follow: STAR, with the weight on Action and Result

1. Step 1

   Situation

   One or two sentences: where, when and what was at stake. Pick a real example you were close to.

2. Step 2

   Task

   What you personally were responsible for. Say "I", not only "we", so the medication accuracy & safety you showed is visible.

3. Step 3

   Action

   The two or three things you did and why you chose them over the alternatives. This should be about half your answer.

4. Step 4

   Result

   What changed, in your own measure of it, and what you would do differently. Only use numbers you can stand behind.

This is guidance on shape, not a script. Use your own real experience and facts; never invent details to fill a gap. See the STAR guide and answer frameworks.

Common slips

• Describing what the team did without saying what you did.
• Choosing an example with no clear outcome, or one you cannot answer detailed questions about.
• Ending on the action and skipping the result and what you learned.

How to practise it

Write two bullet points for each STAR letter, then say the answer aloud in about two minutes.

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