Health Unit Coordinator Interview Preparation Guide

Download PDF

I believe the three strengths that have helped me in this role are effective communication skills, organization and time management.

I am a perfectionist. I like my work done in an excellent manner and it annoys me when my team members are not performing up to the mark. However I usually overcome this weakness by briefing them regularly on how to maintain high standards of patient delivery service at the hospital.

You should hire me because my profile is in exact synchronization with your job demands and additionally, I bring hands-on experience in implementing satisfactory health unit SOPs along with proven team coordination skills.

A health care unit coordinator is mainly responsible for ensuring delivery of high quality patient care, compiling patient’s demographics and data related to services delivered for billing and maintaining patient case files.

Many consider this question to be a loaded gun – dangerous in the hands of the inexperienced. Often times, an interviewee will start talking salary before they’ve had an opportunity to illustrate their skill set and value making any sort of leverage valueless. Here, knowledge is power, as salary often comes down to negotiation. Do some research into your industry to establish base rates of pay based on seniority and demand but keep in mind – your employer is hiring you for what they believe you are worth, and how much benefit they feel you will provide.

I used to lock heads with a fellow nurse in the INCU ward. We disagreed over many things – from the care of patients to who got what shifts to how to speak with a child’s family. Our personalities did not mesh. After 3 months of arguing, I pulled her aside and asked her to lunch. At lunch, we talked about our differences and why we did not get along. It turns out, it was all about communication. We communicated differently and once we knew that, we began to work well together. I believe that talking a problem through with someone will help solve the issue.

This can be a great way to stand out from other applicants and demonstrate initiative. Almost every company will have a website, Facebook page, Instagram account, or some sort of digital footprint. Spend a bit of time doing some online research:

☛ If they have a website, check out their “About us” or “Culture/Mission/Vision” pages.
☛ Who are some of the principal people who work there? Who are the founders?
☛ What sorts of things does this company care about? Do they donate to a particular cause or charity? Which one(s)?
☛ What are their core values? Which of their core values resonate with you?
☛ Has the company been in the news recently or have they won any awards (Social Media can be a great place to find this information).

While your interviewer won’t expect you to have in-depth company history, a little here can go a long way.

I really enjoyed working with patients and providing care. I especially liked working with elderly patients because they can teach you so much.

When I was promoted to DON, I was particularly satisfied at work. I felt that I had worked diligently on the med-surg floor for 10 years and the promotion was well-deserved. I also enjoyed the challenge of supervising my fellow nurses, though I always tried to remain a peer rather than an authority figure.

Last year the department was given a task of disinfecting all rooms using a new sanitizing technique and I allocated duties to all staff members accordingly. One of them did not perform the additional duty too well so I distributed his duties among the rest of the staff who had performed well. Later I realized my mistake; not only other employees complained about being over-burdened but also the employee who had refused developed a habit of walking out on duties. Next time I was required to allot extra duties, I assigned him his part of the extra work and explained to him that his job will not be done by any of the other workers at any cost. I asked him to work extra hours in case he was unable to complete assigned tasks on time.

In 10 years, I see myself as a nurse practitioner. I would like to attend school at night and on weekends while I work. I enjoy working in med-surg right now, but I would like to end up in pediatrics eventually.

I imagine that I will continue my work as a radiologic technologist for at least 5 more years. I love the field of radiology and would like to move up in the field either through expanding my education or gaining on-the-job experience. I would like to challenge myself by taking a leadership role, perhaps the head of a department, one day while still maintaining a clinical role working with patients.

I’ve always loved the health care industry, but my interest in nursing really started when I volunteered at a neighborhood clinic. I knew our department capabilities were amazing but that the staff could practice better patient care. So I worked with management to come up with a strategy that increased our patient satisfaction rates by 25% in a year. It was great to be able to contribute positively to an industry I feel so passionate about, and to help promote a clinic I really believed in.

The work a health unit coordinator does is primarily office based. Most work involves paperwork, scheduling, and working to handle a variety of different clerical duties. However, additional duties may exist depending upon the specific employer you find work with.

Nearly any health facility in the country will employ at least on health unit coordinator, and many employ multiple HUCs. Potential locations for employment include hospitals, nursing homes, medical clinics, insurance companies, private physician practices, public health clinics, rehab centers, and more. As such, finding employment in the field is a fairly straightforward process that yields results quickly.

That is a really great question. While I haven’t had the opportunity to develop within this particular role per se, I have actually become very involved in my local foodbank this year. This has taught me a great deal about community, teamwork, and taking initiative.
I took it upon myself to enroll in a summer business admin course at the local community college. Through this, I picked up some really great knowledge on communication and teamwork, as well as further develop overall managerial skills. Though it may not be directly applicable to this particular job, I believe the overall experience I gained could be a real asset here.

☛ What have you learned from mistakes on the job?
☛ What can you do for us that other candidates cant?
☛ What kind of personality do you work best with and why?
☛ Has anything ever irritated you about people you've worked with?
☛ What kinds of situations do you find most stressful?

☛ What would make you happy in a job?
☛ What do you think, would you be willing to travel for work?
☛ What is the difference between a good position and an excellent one?
☛ What have you been doing since your last job?
☛ Have you ever had difficulty working with a manager?

☛ What changes would you make in your college or university?
☛ What will your last supervisor tell me are your two strongest areas?
☛ What college subjects did you like best? Why?
☛ Which areas of your work are most often praised?
☛ What is the next step in your career?
☛ What can I do for you?
☛ What is your definition of intelligence?

☛ What do you see yourself doing within the first days of this job?
☛ Do you have the qualities and skills necessary to succeed in your career?
☛ What irritates you about other people?
☛ What type of work environment do you prefer?
☛ Describe a recent unpopular decision you made.

☛ What concerns do you have about this job?
☛ What do you expect to be earning in five years?
☛ Why did you choose our company?
☛ What types of people do you get along with and why.
☛ What do you prefer: recruitment or selection?
☛ Why haven't you found a position before now?
☛ What's the most important thing you learned in school?

☛ Tell me about an important goal that you set in the past.
☛ How would you describe the experience of working here?
☛ What are three positive things your last boss would say about you?
☛ Why did you decide to pursue this career?
☛ What was the most stressful situation you have faced?

☛ Tell me about a time you had too many things to do at the same time. How did you manage without losing your patience?
☛ Recall a time you had a conflict with someone in your team. How did you handle it?
☛ Give an example of a time you felt a sense of fulfilment as part of your job

☛ What do you feel is the best educational preparation for this career?
☛ How well did your college experience prepare you for this job?
☛ What is your greatest achievement outside of work?
☛ Tell me about yourself.
☛ When were you most satisfied in your job?

☛ List five words that describe your character.
☛ What assignment was too difficult for you?
☛ What do you believe are your key strengths?
☛ Who else have you applied to/got interviews with?
☛ Time when you made a suggestion to improve the work.

It is meant to see whether or not you'll speak poorly of an employer. Always focus on the positive reason such you were seeking the opportunity to expand your career opportunities.
The best strategy for effectively answering these tough Health unit coordinator interview questions is to prepare for it.

☛ Do you prefer to work independently or on a team?
☛ What kinds of situations do you find most stressful?
☛ Give me an example of when you involved others in making a decision.
☛ What motivates your best work?
☛ What kind of personality do you work best with and why?
☛ Tell me about the most effective presentation you have made.
☛ Give an example of a time you successfully worked as Health Unit Coordinator on a team.

☛ Where do you see yourself in five years time?
☛ Situation in which you had to arrive at a compromise.
☛ What would you say are your strong points?
☛ Give me an example that best describes your organizational skills.
☛ How have you changed in the last five years?

☛ If you weren't working in this industry, what would you be doing?
☛ What qualities would you look for if hiring someone?
☛ What can I do for you?
☛ This job means you will have to relocate, what problems do you foresee, if any?
☛ Have you written any articles for a professional journal, magazine, or newspaper?
☛ How do you continue learning on a daily basis?
☛ What's the most important thing you've learned in life?