Behavioral Residency Mock Interview

Practice 30 Behavioral Residency interview questions covering clinical scenarios, patient interactions, and program fit.

Question 28 of 30

Tell us about a time when you were dissatisfied with the quality or outcome of your work. What did you do to rectify the situation?

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Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

As a resident, there will certainly be highs and there will certainly be lows as you will be learning and developing into a self practicing physician. In asking this question, your interviewing team would like to get sense for how you will handle the sure failures you will experience during residency in a healthy manner by having you talk about a time you handled a situation positively in your past. Ultimately, your reaction will determine whether or not you can recover from an on the job disappointment.

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"I am rarely dissatisfied with my work because I keep very high standards for myself and what I deliver. With that said, I did face a tough learning situation during medical school during a very difficult semester of block scheduling. With having a very demanding lab and other chemistry and biology coursework, a heavily weighted research paper was very difficult for me to put extra time into. For a period of a few weeks, I was staying up extra hours and living on three to four hours per sleep at night and the final paper I turned in didn't meet my expectations. A few days after I turned it in, I took time to speak to my professor about my paper and how it didn't meet my expectations. While I didn't expect a pity grade or the ability to resubmit it, it felt great to get the weight off of my chest. Looking back, I realize that taking care of myself and getting more sleep would've helped my overall work in the end."

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

Think about a time in the past when you were unsuccessful in your work. As a potential resident in their program, your interviewer would welcome an answer that talks either about a work experience or an experience from your schooling. Briefly discuss the situation with your interviewer and describe how you reacted. Be sure to include the action steps you took to recover from the situation. Discuss what you learned from the situation at the end of your response. Then, explain how you will apply that lesson to improve the quality of your work as a resident.

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30Behavioral Residency Interview Questions & Answers

Operational

1.Talk about a time when you successfully educated someone on a complex topic. What was key for you to focus on to ensure the information was understood?

Situational

2.Have you ever had a situation where you felt you could have communicated better?

Operational

3.Talk about a time you had to work with a new technology. What did you do to ensure proficiency as quickly as possible?

Behavioral

4.Do you have experience working long hours? How would you motivate yourself during long stretches of shifts and call time that will be required during your training?

Operational

5.How will you successfully interact with some of the difficult physicians and ancillary staff in our program as a resident?

Behavioral

6.Tell me about a time when you worked with a person who did things very differently than you. How did you collaborate effectively?

Discovery

7.What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment to date?

Behavioral

8.Talk about a time when you had to learn something new within a short deadline. How will this experience help you as a new resident?

Behavioral

9.When have you had to make a split second decision? How do you react under unexpected pressure?

Behavioral

10.Tell me about a time when you undertook a project that demanded a lot of initiative. How do you think this experience will benefit you in your residency?

Behavioral

11.Tell me about the most competitive work situation you have experienced. How did you handle it, and what was the result?

Discovery

12.What would you say is the riskiest decision you have made in your educational path so far?

Behavioral

13.Talk about a time when you had to adapt to major change. How did you cope and why do you think being adaptable to change is important as a medical resident?

Behavioral

14.Talk about a time when you used good judgment and logic to solve a problem.

Situational

15.Have you ever had to work with an angry patient or family member during your medical training? How did you successfully manage that situation?

Situational

16.Have you ever worked in a situation where the policies and guidelines were not clear? How did you cope in that situation?

Situational

17.Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision without all the information you needed.

Situational

18.Tell me about a time when you had to work with someone who was difficult to get along with.

Leadership

19.Tell me about a time when you showed initiative by taking the lead on a team project.

Behavioral

20.Talk about a time when you were unable to meet a deadline. How did you react and what steps did you take to ensure this was communicated?

Discovery

21.What was the most difficult decision you have had to make up to this point in your career path?

Operational

22.How would you build a relationship with someone who intimidates you?

Situational

23.Tell me about a time you wish you had handled a workplace situation differently.

Behavioral

24.Talk about a time when you made a good impression on a new patient, customer or coworker. Why was it important to do so?

Behavioral

25.Tell me about a time that you failed. How did you get back up again with a positive attitude?

Behavioral

26.How do you handle working under very close supervision?

Behavioral

27.How do you handle working with little to no supervision?

Behavioral

28.Tell us about a time when you were dissatisfied with the quality or outcome of your work. What did you do to rectify the situation?

Behavioral

29.Which statement sounds more like you: 'I hate to lose' or 'I love to win'? Give an example of a time you proved this.

Leadership

Behavioral Residency Mock Interview

Tell us about a time when you were dissatisfied with the quality or outcome of your work. What did you do to rectify the situation?

30Behavioral Residency Interview Questions & Answers

1.Talk about a time when you successfully educated someone on a complex topic. What was key for you to focus on to ensure the information was understood?

2.Have you ever had a situation where you felt you could have communicated better?

3.Talk about a time you had to work with a new technology. What did you do to ensure proficiency as quickly as possible?

4.Do you have experience working long hours? How would you motivate yourself during long stretches of shifts and call time that will be required during your training?

5.How will you successfully interact with some of the difficult physicians and ancillary staff in our program as a resident?

6.Tell me about a time when you worked with a person who did things very differently than you. How did you collaborate effectively?

7.What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment to date?

8.Talk about a time when you had to learn something new within a short deadline. How will this experience help you as a new resident?

9.When have you had to make a split second decision? How do you react under unexpected pressure?

10.Tell me about a time when you undertook a project that demanded a lot of initiative. How do you think this experience will benefit you in your residency?

11.Tell me about the most competitive work situation you have experienced. How did you handle it, and what was the result?

12.What would you say is the riskiest decision you have made in your educational path so far?

13.Talk about a time when you had to adapt to major change. How did you cope and why do you think being adaptable to change is important as a medical resident?

14.Talk about a time when you used good judgment and logic to solve a problem.

15.Have you ever had to work with an angry patient or family member during your medical training? How did you successfully manage that situation?

16.Have you ever worked in a situation where the policies and guidelines were not clear? How did you cope in that situation?

17.Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision without all the information you needed.

18.Tell me about a time when you had to work with someone who was difficult to get along with.

19.Tell me about a time when you showed initiative by taking the lead on a team project.

20.Talk about a time when you were unable to meet a deadline. How did you react and what steps did you take to ensure this was communicated?

21.What was the most difficult decision you have had to make up to this point in your career path?

22.How would you build a relationship with someone who intimidates you?

23.Tell me about a time you wish you had handled a workplace situation differently.

24.Talk about a time when you made a good impression on a new patient, customer or coworker. Why was it important to do so?

25.Tell me about a time that you failed. How did you get back up again with a positive attitude?

26.How do you handle working under very close supervision?

27.How do you handle working with little to no supervision?

28.Tell us about a time when you were dissatisfied with the quality or outcome of your work. What did you do to rectify the situation?

29.Which statement sounds more like you: 'I hate to lose' or 'I love to win'? Give an example of a time you proved this.

30.Describe a time when you showed initiative at work.