Fellowship Mock Interview
Master 40 Fellowship interview questions covering research goals, funding justification, and academic potential.
Question 40 of 40
As a fellow in our program, how would you change your communication style if a patient's family had trouble understanding what you were trying to tell them?
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Dianne Barnard is a Registered Nurse and former nursing instructor. She is also board certified in Psychiatric Nursing and Holistic Nursing Critical Care.
Patient care staff instruct patients on difficult concepts and challenging instructions. Your interviewers pose this question to hear that you value and prioritize patient education and that you have the communication skills necessary to educate patients.
Dianne Barnard is a Registered Nurse and former nursing instructor. She is also board certified in Psychiatric Nursing and Holistic Nursing Critical Care.
"If a patient and their family didn't understand me, I would explain things in a much simpler manner and ask questions of them so I could effectively gauge their understanding. We are fortunate as medical professionals to understand and grasp the complexities of medical issues, but a majority of the general population simply does not. My goal as a fellow would be to ensure that my patients understand their care plan and are ready to move forward with it after being sent home."
Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
First, your interviewers want to hear that you would be cognizant of your audience when discussing critical medical information with patients and their family members. Talk about how you would ensure that your audience fully understands what you are telling them and how you would adjust the conversation based on the audience.
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Anonymous Answer
Patient education is vital to our role as surgeons. With my various research projects in shared decision-making, I grew to appreciate different ways to convey a message as clearly as possible: via option grids or decision aids, hand drawing, or analogies to familiar references. After my explanation, I often practice callback with the patient to ensure no information was missed.
Jaymie's Feedback
These are great examples! Consider also mentioning utilizing resources like an interpreter if the patient has a language barrier and using plain language versus medical terminology or acronyms as techniques as well.
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