What is your greatest weakness?
The person asking this question wants to know if you can critically evaluate yourself. It is important to recognize your weaknesses so that you are aware of how they can affect you as a PA student and as a working PA. Be genuine in your response and show them how you are trying to grow despite your weakness.
"I would say my introverted nature is my biggest weakness. I grew up pretty shy but as I have worked with populations that are unable to advocate for themselves and realized that as a PA, it would be my job to make my patients feel comfortable and confident in the care I provide. I always try to acknowledge the introverted habits that do not serve me and push myself to be more extraverted, by doing things like asking questions when I am uncomfortable and taking on more public speaking roles."
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 think that my greatest weakness is how introverted and soft-spoken I am. While being introverted in itself is not a weakness, I feel like it can sometimes be misunderstood as me not wanting to communicate or take part in the conversation. During my experience volunteering as an EMT and working as a clinical assistant, I have been able to find my voice a bit more to take part in conversations, especially when advocating for a patient and their needs.
Stephanie's Feedback
You do an excellent job of naming a specific growth area. To deepen the impact of your response, I suggest adding an additional sentence or two to further develop the part where you explain how you've been working to overcome this weakness. You mention being able to find your voice; can you provide some specific examples of how this has impacted your work?
