Tell me about a time you received constructive criticism from an attending physician or senior resident during your residency training. How did you handle that situation?
It should be abundantly clear as you enter Gastroenterology Fellowship training, that your work will be scrutinized to the nth degree by the senior fellows and the faculty of the program you join. Your interviewers want to know that you can take any constructive criticism you receive and turn it into a positive learning opportunity moving forward.
"During my ambulatory medicine rotation during my 2nd year of residency, I was told that I spent too much time with patients and caused backups in patient flow. My nurturing inhibitions were taking over in most situations. After some coaching from my attending physician on how to best handle these patients, I got a very good feel for the patient moving forward in that environment. I didn't take the criticism personally and knew it was for the best in my professional development."
Choose an example that does not highlight a significant or persistent deficit in your ability to provide care. How you handled this criticism should show your devotion to providing optimal care and willingness to use the criticism to shape how you approach patient care moving forward. Don't hesitate to reiterate to your interviewers that you would join their Gastroenterology Fellowship program ready to accept any constructive criticism that would come your way.
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 was told by my attending that I took too much time interviewing patients in the clinic and it caused backups in patient flows. After some coaching from my attending physician on how to best handle these patients, I got a very good feel for the patient moving forward in that environment. I didn't take the criticism personally and knew it was for the best in my professional development. I used to see 28 patients as internists without any delay and compromised patient care and at the same time providing high-quality care.
Marcie's Feedback
Nice job using the STAR method (situation, task, action, result) to answer this question! It sounds like you didn't take the criticism personally and instead used the feedback to improve yourself professionally. Consider talking a bit more about the coaching that you received. (In other words, what did you change in your process to speed things up?) Excellent!
Anonymous Answer
Once on my renal rotation, I was told I was too slow at clinic. This made me reflect on my time efficiency and I changed my practice.
Jaymie's Feedback
If you can, go into more detail here, as this is a critical interview question that tells the interviewer a lot about you. For example, were you receptive and open-minded when approached with this feedback? Did you actively listen and ask questions to seek guidance on what you could do differently? In what ways did you take that feedback and implement change? Did you see a positive outcome or receive positive feedback after making those changes? All this information will make your response more well-rounded and highlight your professional maturity, communication, and interpersonal skills.
Anonymous Answer
During 1st month of residency training, when I was presenting the case in the morning report; the attending asked me about the patient’s echo results from 2 years ago and I did not know the results since I did not know how to look up old echo/results. After some guidance from kind seniors and the chief resident; I learned to navigate EMR and look up old results, and by the end of that rotation I became proficient in case presentations. I did not take the criticism personally and instead utilized it for my own good to the point that I received very positive remarks from the same attending in my subsequent rotations throughout the residency. I also incorporated teaching extensive data search and case presentations to my junior and incoming residents/interns
Jaymie's Feedback
Perfect! This example shows the interviewer that you can receive feedback and use it to grow and develop your skills. You learned from your mistake and took it a step further by using your new knowledge to help educate other team members.
Anonymous Answer
I see constructive criticism as very important feedback on my performance, I usually self-reflect and re-assess my performance, try to seek more advice regarding the issues, and find solutions to improve what I have been criticized about. During my training years, one of the consultants approached me advising that he noticed that I had been demanding with the junior team members, he understood that the reason behind that was trying to be as good as possible but his advice was to try and see the bigger picture and assess whether small details needs to be chased or time spent on. I self-reflected on his advice and I agreed that at that time when I had less experience than now, I was spending time and effort on smaller details and I was also asking other team members to spend effort on these things, this extra work could potentially lead to unnecessary stress which might affect the team performance. Now, that I am more aware of this issue, I am a better person in seeing the bigger picture rather than delving into the tinniest details, I added to my practice a discussion with Junior doctors to always let me know and feel comfortable in telling me if I am asking for too much. Reassuringly, no junior team members have ever mentioned this and I always have a very good relationship with all team members at work and outside work.
Jaymie's Feedback
This is a very thorough response! It really shows that you are receptive to feedback and can digest and internalize it to make improvements and adjustments that better support the team. Great job!
Anonymous Answer
As soon as I entered residency I learned the importance of "precision." This pertained to the competency of system-based practice and included data gathering as well as close attention to EMR: MAR summary, nursing updates, and labs. I worked hard on it during the initial months and it paid off for the rest of my training. I appreciated that this skill intertwined with patient care, medical knowledge, and professionalism.
Jaymie's Feedback
Constructive criticism is a type of feedback that offers specific and actionable advice to help you improve in a particular area or skill set. Early in your residency, did you receive constructive criticism leading to your abovementioned example? If not, try to find another example that shows you can be receptive to critical feedback and use that feedback to grow and improve.
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