Pediatric Dentistry Residency Mock Interview
Master 35 Pediatric Dentistry Residency interview questions covering clinical scenarios, behavior management, and program fit.
Question 28 of 35
Talk about some of the ways that you would build rapport and trust with your pediatric patients. Why is this important?
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Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
As you've made the difficult journey through dental school, you've learned the importance of building rapport with your patients to help ensure a long-term relationship. As you venture into pediatric dentistry residency and a future practicing as a pediatric dentist, working with confused, vulnerable, and scared kids bring a whole new necessity for building trust with your patients. Your interviewers want to ensure that you will come to their program with the ability to do this from the start.
Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
"To build trust with my patients, I first would rely on my instincts to gauge how they were feeling in the moment and use the best technique for gaining their trust. If a young patient is brave and determined, I will communicate openly with them to educate them and let them talk me through stories. If a patient is scared, I would be very reassuring and compliment them with every step we take. If needed in any situation, I wouldn't hesitate to use a toy to help distract them in any necessary procedures."
Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
With pediatric patients, building trust and rapport doesn't necessarily mean getting the patient to like you. But more often than not, building solid trust with pediatric patients comes down to positive communications and a harmonious relationship during your time together. There are many great methods and tools to building trust in your work with patients, so be sure to think of what will be your go-to methods. These can include but are not limited to, using words of encouragement for positive reinforcement, expressing interest in the child, making small talk, and using toys (or other props) to make them more comfortable.
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