Tell me about a time you had to deal with significant changes in your workplace. How did you manage those changes?
"During my years in college, I worked at a large grocery store as a cashier. After working there for one year, the company purchased a new touchscreen register system that replaced the old system I was familiar with. Knowing how much more efficiently and accurately I would be able to work when the changes came, I was happy when the announcement was made to our team of cashiers. Of course, others were not happy as they'd have to learn a new system. For me, knowing how much the new system would help our work process made it easy to embrace the change. Moving forward, I fully understand how the healthcare world needs to embrace change on a regular basis and you'll find that I'm a person that can help lead change management among my peers."
"While I was in medical school, I worked in a medical lab. The lab corporation purchased some new equipment that was expected to help cut our time for delivering results significantly. When my manager announced that the new purchase was made and the machine would be arriving in two weeks, I was shocked to see that many of the teammates reacted so negatively to that change. They were not happy that they would have to learn a new machine and were so narrow-minded in their perception of how the new technology would impact their routines. My manager appreciated the fact that I was the positive member of the team was able to calm my teammates down and help them see the good that would come once we all were trained on how to operate the new piece of equipment."
In any healthcare setting, change is inevitable. Technology, processes, leadership, laws, and organizations change on a regular basis, and with change at a high level comes changes in work processes. For this question, it is important to stress how you are open to change when it makes the end results better for the patient. Talk about a specific change you had to endure in the workplace and express how you embraced the change.
"In my previous employment roles, I have been a part of many changes that affected my day-to-day duties on the job. I have always embraced technological changes and work process advancements because, in the end, they make our jobs easier, safer, and better for individual patients. The biggest change that I had to endure was an organizational merger when a private hospital I was working for merged with a larger health system. During this merger, my day-to-day work was flipped upside down from new computer systems to work on, a new work location, a new leadership structure, and a change in pay and benefits. With a focus on the end in mind and how great it was going to be to work for a much larger and well-established employer, I was able to be a positive influence on my team for helping others embrace the change and see the light at the end of the tunnel while changes were happening."
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
When I came from Greece, I was asked to work at a restaurant as a busser. It was hard to shift from mental work to physical work. My shift was 12-14 hours per day, and I could walk more than 20,000 thousand steps per day because the restaurant was very busy at that time. It was not easy, but I made it. The only thing that helped me was reminding myself that this job was temporary, and it allowed me to save some money and start studying for the USMLE exams.
Chad's Feedback
Working in a busy restaurant as a busser can be a physically demanding position, but it sounds like you were able to maintain focus on your ultimate goal and use the experience as motivation to pass the United States Medical Licensing Examination. Nice work! Because this question specifically asks about a "significant change" in your workplace, I suggest including more information about the change aspect. Describing your previous position in Greece will provide the interviewer with the full picture and allow them to fully comprehend how significant the differences, or changes, between the two roles were.
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