"During my GI rotation just a few months ago in residency training, I had the opportunity to really pick the brain of my attending physician there. While she was certainly glowing about the future of the field, she also warned me of what she saw as the biggest issues facing the field in the future. The one issue that really piqued my interest and further discussion was what she felt was complacency in the field and a lack of entrepreneurial innovation in the field. She felt that because of the high demand for simple screening colonoscopies, the field has become complacent in using the same techniques and technology for years where there could really be more innovation. Being someone who is enamored and interested in technological advances in medicine, I look forward to learning more during my time in your fellowship program."

Before your Gastroenterology Fellowship interviews, research this question so you can come to your interview prepared to talk about a couple of the issues. Remember that the unstated question is how to fix the issues. You are more than welcome to give your own educated opinion on this as you answer. As you may have learned through residency training or your research, you'll quickly learn that many issues face the physicians in the GI field today, including payer reimbursement issues, the shortage of physician staff, and the impact of COVID-19 on screenings for colon cancer.