Fellowship Mock Interview
Master 40 Fellowship interview questions covering research goals, funding justification, and academic potential.
Question 35 of 40
Tell us about a time you showed initiative and took the lead with your care team during your residency training.
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Example Answer
How to Answer
Community Answers
Christine Pasqueretta is a human resource and recruitment professional with experience creating, developing, implementing, leading, and measuring HR impact initiatives.
Your interviewers want to see that you are confident enough to take the initiative to lead. Most medical training programs don't provide formal leadership training, so your interviewers want to know if you are a natural leader. You may also be expected to lead teams of residents, and your interviewers will want to hear that you can lead others with success.
Christine Pasqueretta is a human resource and recruitment professional with experience creating, developing, implementing, leading, and measuring HR impact initiatives.
"Growing up and into my college years, I was a natural leader to my peers. This is evident in my years as a captain of my sports teams. Before my final year of residency started, I was elected as our chief resident. Our program director highlighted my ability to lead with dignity, responsibility, and respect. When I started as our chief a few months ago, I immediately took the set the call schedule for the year and coordinated the lecture schedule for our residents for the remainder of the year. I'm confident that my time serving as chief will benefit my communication and leadership skills as a new fellow with your program."
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.
Before your fellowship interviews, think about a couple of situations in which you demonstrated leadership abilities. Talk about how your leadership led to success and your biggest takeaway from the experience. Make it clear that you possess key leadership skills, like solid communication, decisiveness, and problem-solving.
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Jaymie
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Anonymous Answer
This past year marked a transition from junior to senior residency. I supported junior residents as the backup on-call resident and managed our inpatient consult and head and neck teams as the senior resident. The transition had some growing pains but overall I learned important lessons about communication, task delegation, and managing interpersonal differences. Before starting the year, I read a book by Brené Brown called “Dare to Lead,” which provided many helpful tips for effective and empathetic leadership.
Jaymie's Feedback
Great job! You demonstrate your willingness to step up and lead and your desire to improve your leadership skills through self-directed learning.
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