Physician: Pain Medicine - Crystal Lake, IL
Posted Sep 29, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 5, 2026
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
Are you trained through anesthesiology or PM&R, and how does that shape the way you approach a new chronic pain patient?
What they are checking: How their training background shows up in their exam and plan, and whether they see the whole patient.
Tell me about a time you had to taper someone off opioids. How did you keep the relationship intact?
What they are checking: Whether they can do a hard clinical task with compassion, which affects patient safety and complaints.
Describe a time a procedure did not help a patient. How did you talk about it with them?
What they are checking: Whether they are honest about limits of treatment and keep realistic expectations with patients.
What would you do
How do you handle a new patient who arrives on high-dose opioids from another prescriber and expects you to continue them?
What they are checking: Whether they can manage opioid risk firmly and fairly, without abandoning the patient.
How do you work with physical therapy, behavioral health and primary care in a multi-specialty group like ours?
What they are checking: Whether they practice team-based pain care, which matters in a large multi-specialty group.
A patient is angry because insurance denied the procedure you recommended. What do you do?
What they are checking: Whether they stay calm and help the patient work through prior authorization and other options.
About the work
Walk me through your workup of a patient with low back pain radiating down one leg who has failed physical therapy.
What they are checking: Whether they work through diagnosis carefully before choosing an injection or procedure.
Which interventional procedures do you do routinely, and what is your approach to safety under fluoroscopy in an outpatient procedure center?
What they are checking: Their procedural range and how seriously they take safety and imaging in the onsite procedure center at Crystal Lake.
How do you decide when a patient should go to a spine surgeon instead of having another injection?
What they are checking: Whether they refer at the right time instead of repeating procedures that are not helping.
How do you measure whether your treatments are actually improving function, not just pain scores?
What they are checking: Whether they track meaningful outcomes, which separates thoughtful pain physicians from procedure-focused ones.
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Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by Northwestern Medicine.