What do you feel is your greatest weakness, and how would you correct it during your time with us?
As your interviewers connect with and consider many great candidates for their Family Medicine Residency program, they know that every candidate has flaws. Your interviewers want to hear that you are cognizant of any shortcomings you have are willing to do what is necessary to overcome those shortcomings.
This is your chance to promote yourself despite your flaws. Your answer should point out a salvageable weakness; you should admit that you're imperfect but have the gumption to work on your weakness because you are committed to being the best you can be. Explain that, if you didn't perform at your best, you'd feel as if you were failing your program, and you find that unacceptable.
"I feel that my greatest weakness can be my desire to be social with every person I interact with. While this has never been a weakness in my life or education to this point, I realize that I need to have boundaries with my patients. While I know this is a positive trait when building rapport with my patients, I will strive to never cross any boundaries with my patients."
"One of my greatest weaknesses is overanalyzing situations. I have had to learn that while analysis is important, overanalysis can also be the enemy of progress. I have learned to use all the information available to me to make the decision possible and then to move on to the next task."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
Sometimes it is hard to say No, for example, if a college is asking me to cover for him I will not say No but I will mess up my schedule instead (outside of the hospital plan, with my family)
Also, I want to be polite and let the patient talk but this might be time-consuming. So I try to overcome this by focusing on the main reason why the patient came and do direct questions related to the reason for the visit.
Typing is another weakness that I have. I found a website on the internet and I am practice to type faster.
Chad's Feedback
Good! You have taken a smart approach to this question by honestly identifying your weaknesses. I recommend including an action plan for improving on each weakness. For instance, what steps are you taking to overcome the inability to say no? If you would like to read more advice about answering this question, you can find a guide here: https://www.mockquestions.com/articles/How to Answer 5 of The Most Common Interview Questions/
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