Tell us about a time you had to work with new technology. What did you do to ensure proficiency as quickly as possible?
Technology in the medical field has been evolving and will continue to evolve year after year. While you may be academically gifted, your interviewers need to know that you can pick up and master any new technologies in the field during your time with them. During your residency, you will likely work with many pieces of equipment you haven't had the opportunity to in the past.
Think of a time you had to learn new technology and choose an example that proves your ability to study, learn, and master its use in short order. Then, discuss with your interviewing team the fact that you know you will be learning a new EMR and other medical equipment during your residency program and are willing and ready to be a great learner of any new technologies thrown your way during your time with them.
"First and foremost, I want you to know that I understand that today's physicians need to embrace technology to provide the best patient care possible. I've always been enamored by great technological advancements in healthcare. More recently during the pandemic, one area that physicians need to embrace is telehealth, and I was fortunate to be exposed to this during my clinical rotations. Learning technologies like Zoom and other video conferencing apps was a new concept to me. Before beginning their use, I watched training videos and practiced having virtual consults with my classmates to ensure that there wouldn't be any technical glitches when I worked with patients. I am fully confident in my ability to use video for telehealth consults with patients."
"The first time I ever used an electronic medical record was when I started clinical rotations during medical school. I attended a class to learn how to use it and wrote down questions I had and areas I didn't fully understand. Following the class, I did research on my own time to be able to use the EMR as effectively as possible while on rotation."
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
1. Learned new technology- robots for sample transfer and ran extraction.
2. Most importantly, I learned it by immersion.
3. Read the manuals beforehand, watched the training videos- practiced on dummy runs.
4. Had onsite support at that time, so I utilized that often initially.
5. More than just clicking buttons, I understood the concepts of what each step involved.
6. Later made me efficient as a trainer and for when my team came to me for help.
7. Learning a new EMR or working a ventilator- I trust we’ll get training- but I’m confident I can manage it the same way.
Marcie's Feedback
Nice! You do a great job here of explaining the many ways you learn new technologies quickly. Including an example (e.g., robots for sample transfers and extractions) further strengthens your answer, but just make sure to walk the interviewer through exactly what happened in this situation. Good answer!
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