"During my anesthesia rotation as a medical student, I was told that I spent too much time with patients in the preoperative rooms. As a result, I was causing delays in the surgical cases. I was not aware of hospital benchmarks to improve case turnover until an attending told me. I asked the attending if it was okay to call patients the night before to ask my questions about their medical histories and remind them to not eat or drink after midnight, and he said that would be okay. For the remainder of the rotation, I always called my patients the night before instead of trying to get a history before a surgical case started."

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.

"During medical school, I was told by an attending physician that I really internalize the struggles of my patients. That physician discussed with me the importance of self-care and other good habits to start early in my career in order to prevent burnout. I really appreciated this advice and have been trying to incorporate it into my life."