Internal Medicine Residency Mock Interview
Prepare for 40 Internal Medicine Residency interview questions covering clinical reasoning, patient care philosophy, and program fit.
Question 20 of 40
What personality type or characteristic do you find most difficult to work with?
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Ryan Brown created and launched MockQuestions in 2008.
As you enter Internal Medicine Residency training, you will work side by side with a very diverse group of residents and faculty, each with their unique personality and work style. Your interviewers ask this question to understand your ability to work with even the most difficult personality styles.
Ryan Brown created and launched MockQuestions in 2008.
"I am most often challenged by staff who are poor communicators. As an Internal Medicine Resident, communication lines should always be open between residents, faculty, and the care team. If someone on my team wasn't communicating properly, I would respectfully approach them to explain what I need from them concerning communication. If the problem persisted, I would take it up the proper chain of command."
Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
Pick a quality that doesn't reflect poorly on you. Talking about demanding personalities may make you seem lazy or unable to work with demanding faculty at the program. Instead, choose a quality that impairs the ability of even the most competent and hard-working doctors from delivering high-quality care or working as part of a high functioning team.
"It can be difficult to work with individuals who aren't interested in being a team player. I think that being a team player is very important in medicine in order to be able to provide the best care to patients."
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Anonymous Answer
I'm very tolerant and have always gotten along with most of my peers. I’m usually able to ignore and work with any annoying traits. I think every person has strengths that add value to a team. Any annoying or difficult qualities can be smoothed over or tolerated if I can maximize their good qualities. If for instance, a person that I work with has a bit of an ego, but they’re also very knowledgeable and confident in their ability. That person has knowledge and skills that I can learn from and rely upon. If however, there is some trait they have that repeatedly creates risk for a patient, then I would address it with them first and if not remedied, bring it up the chain of command.
Marcie's Feedback
Your answer is good, but consider replacing the word 'annoying' with 'undesirable' or 'difficult.' (Just sounds less judgy!) It's great that you can overlook challenging traits by focusing on the good ones. If there's a specific example you can cite, that will make your answer even stronger. And don't forget to directly answer the question by indicating what personality trait bothers you the most and why (laziness? arrogance?) Nice job!
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