Tell us about a setback or failure during your residency training. How did you respond?
"I'd say the most major setback I experienced during residency training was the first time I lost a patient. Following a car accident, two subjects were transported by ambulance, and we simply could not save one of them. Our team that night worked hard, but it simply wasn't enough. It hit me very hard emotionally to the point where I had a bit of a breakdown, but a senior resident and my attending were there to pick me right back up. That night, I learned the importance of communication and reflection in the emergency setting, and I know these will be valuable skills as a Pediatric Emergency Medicine fellow."
Your interviewers are trying to understand and predict how you will work in the face of adversity. They want to know that you will rise to the occasion when the going gets tough.
You must be able to give a concrete example of a setback or failure you experienced during residency training and then show how you were able to improve your circumstances. You should be able to show that you learned from the failure and that you won't make the same mistake again. As long as you can do this, your interviewers know that setbacks happen to any physician in training, and explaining how you handled your success will go a long way with your interviewing team.
