Updated
Tell Me About a Time You Went Above and Beyond: Healthcare Answers
To answer “Tell me about a time you went above and beyond,” say what your role normally required, describe the need you noticed, explain the extra steps you took and who you checked with, and end with what changed. Oklahoma State's pre-health packet lists this question under the AAMC core competencies and says to use STAR (Oklahoma State), while the Villanova Career Center lists going above and beyond for a patient among behavioral and situational interview questions drawn from clinical rotations and patient care experiences (Villanova).
The example answer is ours and the applicant is invented (sources read October 31, 2026).
Who asks it
- Oklahoma State's pre-health interview packet: “Tell me about a time you went above and beyond the call of duty” (Oklahoma State).
- Villanova's career center, preparing nursing students for externship and full-time nursing job interviews, lists “Going above and beyond for a patient” among behavioral and situational topics based on feedback from recent nursing graduates, alongside advocating for a patient or speaking up for proper care and building rapport with a patient who could not communicate (Villanova).
- A general job-interview list hosted by University of Detroit Mercy asks about going above and beyond the requirements for a project or assignment (UD Mercy).
It maps to the AAMC's service orientation competency, “a commitment to something larger than oneself” and a dedication to service that meets the needs of communities (AAMC). Across the 17 premed competencies that medical schools evaluate through a holistic review of the application, a strong patient story also shows related professional competencies (AAMC):
- Empathy and Compassion: being sensitive to the needs and feelings of others, and showing a desire to help others and alleviate their distress.
- Reliability and Dependability: prioritizing and fulfilling obligations in a timely and satisfactory manner, and understanding the consequences of not fulfilling responsibilities to self and others.
- Teamwork and Collaboration: adjusting your role between team member and leader based on your own and team expertise and experience, and sharing information with team members.
Examples of going above and beyond for a patient, not outside your role
In healthcare, “extra” has limits. Interviewers want initiative that stays within your training, recognizes potential communication barriers, and shares information with team members rather than crossing scope-of-practice lines (AAMC). Compare strong examples of going above and beyond for a patient with risky stories (ours):
| Strong story | Risky story |
|---|---|
| Staying late to finish a handoff properly | Risky story: Doing a task you are not trained or allowed to do |
| Finding a patient an interpreter, a ride or a form they needed | Risky story: Giving medical advice as a volunteer or scribe |
| Fixing a process so the next person does not hit the same problem | Risky story: Skipping your own duties to do something more visible |
| Checking back on someone after your part was done | Risky story: Contact that crosses a boundary, like personal social media |
A four-step shape
- The baseline. What your role normally required, in one sentence. The "above" only makes sense next to it.
- What you noticed. The need nobody was covering.
- What you did. The extra steps, and who you checked with first.
- What changed. For the person, and for the team or process afterward.
If the story is about making something lasting, consider using it for your greatest accomplishment instead, and keep a smaller story for this one.
Practice question: above and beyond
“Tell me about a time you went above and beyond.”
In healthcare, the best version of this story is about noticing something and getting it to the right person, not about doing someone else's job.
Example answer written by Confetto (the applicant is invented)
As a patient transporter, my job was to move patients between floors and imaging. One afternoon I brought an older man back from a CT scan, and he asked me three times when he could go home. He seemed confused, and I noticed his discharge paperwork on the bed was in English, though he had been speaking Vietnamese with his daughter on the phone.
Transport was technically done when I parked the bed. Instead I told his nurse what I had seen and asked whether an interpreter had gone over the discharge instructions. One had not. While she called the interpreter line and pulled up the translated medication sheet, I stayed with him for ten minutes and helped him call his daughter back so she could be on the call too.
The next week the nurse manager added a line to the discharge checklist asking whether instructions were reviewed in the patient's language.
I didn't do anything outside my role. I noticed something and made sure the right person knew. In healthcare, I think that is usually what going above and beyond looks like.
Sources: Oklahoma State's pre-health packet, the AAMC, Villanova's career center and a University of Detroit Mercy job-interview list, checked October 31, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How do you answer tell me about a time you went above and beyond?
Say what your role normally required, describe the need you noticed, explain the extra steps you took and who you checked with, and end with what changed. Oklahoma State's pre-health packet recommends the STAR formula. See Oklahoma State's pre-health interview packet.
Is this asked in medical school and nursing interviews?
Yes. Oklahoma State's pre-health packet lists it among behavioral questions adapted from the AAMC core competencies. Villanova's career center lists going above and beyond for a patient as a common topic in nursing job interviews, so expect it after graduation too. See Villanova's nursing interview topics.
What if I have no clinical experience?
Use any role with a clear baseline: a job, tutoring, volunteering or caring for a family member. The structure is the same.
Can going above and beyond be a red flag?
Yes, if the extra was outside your training or authority, or came at the cost of your own duties. Choose a story where you stayed within your role and involved the right person.
How do I keep it from sounding like bragging?
Keep the baseline short, credit the people who did their part, and spend most of the time on what you noticed and did, not on how much extra it was.