A recent patient survey comes back, and you find out that you did not meet a patient's expectations as their physician. What are the next steps you would take to improve as a Gastroenterology Fellow in training?
Patient satisfaction surveys are commonplace in any healthcare institution and are put in place to ensure that the best possible care is provided to every patient of the institution. During your time in Gastroenterology Fellowship training, your patients will fill out satisfaction surveys about your performance, and your team of interviewers poses this question to understand how you will take constructive feedback from a patient's survey and learn from it.
If you were to ask any physician if they have ever received critical feedback on a patient survey, the answer would be a resounding yes. The goal in answering this question is to demonstrate to your interviewers that you can take the feedback, analyze it, and use it as motivation to improve the care you provide moving forward. Keep in mind that most patient feedback is anonymous, and you may not be able to pinpoint the exact interaction that resulted in the feedback from the patient.
"My next step would be focused on using the feedback as a learning situation and moving forward to improve. That process would include breaking down the feedback and taking the time to self-reflect. I know that it can very difficult to know which patient situation the feedback came from given the anonymity of the patient survey, but I would always take the feedback to heart and learn. As a fellow with your program, I would also seek insight from an attending physician or senior fellow as well on where I could improve."
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
I would take the feedback as a learning situation, analyze it, and use it as motivation to improve the care I provide moving forward. I would also seek insight from an attending physician or senior fellow as well on where I could improve.
Marcie's Feedback
Great! This is exactly what the interviewer wants to hear - that you'll learn from the feedback and try to improve. Can you talk more about why it's important to you to meet patient expectations?
Anonymous Answer
I would sit down and analyze the survey to see what were the shortcomings so that I can take it as a learning opportunity and work towards improving those shortcomings. I would also seek guidance from my senior and/or mentor as patient satisfaction is the core of our profession and I would put all efforts into achieving this goal.
Jaymie's Feedback
It sounds like you're open-minded when considering patient feedback and use that information to improve the overall patient care experience. Nice job!
Anonymous Answer
I would first place the survey in a safe place and let the initial emotional response of rejection settle. I will go over the appointment date and reconcile my experience with the feedback. I will also touch base with my preceptor and seek their feedback on the survey.
I will work on modifiable factors. We must try to modify our behavior to the hilt and the remaining generally resolves.
Jaymie's Feedback
Receiving critical feedback can be difficult but it sounds like you have a solid strategy in place to receive, digest, and improve from it!
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