Internal Medicine Residency Mock Interview
Prepare for 40 Internal Medicine Residency interview questions covering clinical reasoning, patient care philosophy, and program fit.
Question 36 of 40
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 an Internal Medicine Resident in training?
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Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
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 Internal Medicine Residency, 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.
Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
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.
Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
"When faced with this situation as an Internal Medicine Resident, I wouldn't let it get me down. I would see it as an opportunity to improve. I would do my best to analyze the feedback and remember which patient encounter it came from. I would take time to reflect on why the patient may have said this about me and take all necessary measures to improve. I also wouldn't hesitate to get feedback from a senior resident or faculty member."
"I realize that being a physician means being a lifelong learner. I would take the feedback graciously and figure out how I can improve going forward."
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Anonymous Answer
I see feedback and critique as an opportunity to improve. I would take what the patient mentioned and see how I can incorporate that into my future interactions with not only that patient but others as well. I would consider discussing the feedback and my proposed steps to improve with my seniors or PD.
Marcie's Feedback
Great! The interviewer will be happy to hear that you view feedback in a positive light. To strengthen your answer, consider adding an example of a time when you were given negative feedback and talk about how you used it to improve yourself. Good job!
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