Pathologists Assistant Float I-Full Time Days
Posted Sep 30, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
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Likely interview questions for this role
Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.
About your past
Tell me about a time you found something unexpected during gross examination. How did you handle it with the pathologist?
What they are checking: Whether they communicate findings promptly and know when the pathologist must see something before it is cut.
The posting mentions helping with resident training. How would you teach a first-year resident to gross a colon resection?
What they are checking: Whether they can break down their technique and reasoning so someone else can learn it safely.
What would you do
You open a container and the requisition doesn't match the label. What do you do?
What they are checking: Whether they stop and resolve discrepancies through the proper channel instead of guessing and moving on.
This role floats between Lake Forest, McHenry, Kishwaukee and Delnor. How do you handle differences in grossing setup and routines between sites?
What they are checking: Whether they can adapt to different labs while keeping their own standards the same everywhere.
You have a high-volume day with biopsies stacking up and a large specimen that needs careful work. How do you prioritize?
What they are checking: Managing turnaround time without letting volume pressure compromise the quality of complex specimens.
About the work
Walk me through how you'd gross a mastectomy specimen with a known invasive carcinoma.
What they are checking: Whether they know orientation, inking, margin sampling and lymph node handling well enough to support staging.
How do you make sure a specimen never gets mislabeled from the moment it arrives until the cassettes go to histology?
What they are checking: Their personal system for specimen identification, since one mix-up can lead to the wrong diagnosis for a patient.
How do you decide how many sections to submit from a large, complicated specimen?
What they are checking: Judgment about representative sampling, following protocols like CAP synoptic requirements without over or under sampling.
How do you handle a frozen section request when the OR is waiting?
What they are checking: Speed and accuracy under time pressure, and clear communication with the pathologist and surgical team.
What safety practices do you follow around formalin and sharp instruments at the grossing bench?
What they are checking: Whether they take chemical exposure and cut injuries seriously as part of daily work, not just training.
How do you keep your gross descriptions clear enough that the pathologist can rely on them without seeing the specimen?
What they are checking: Precision in dictation, since the gross description becomes a permanent part of the diagnostic record.
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Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by Northwestern Medicine.