Tell me about an error you made while performing a procedure, during your residency program.

"I was assisting my surgery professor on ankle surgery and when he called for a certain screw to be handed to him, I dropped it, contaminating it. We had to wait an extra 20 minutes for another sterile one from Central Supply. I insisted that I inform the patient that she had undergone a lengthier surgery because of my mistake. From this, I learned that people are very forgiving when you deal with them in good faith and with honesty."

For this question you want to admit you're fallible, but you also want to make sure no one thinks you're dangerous. (Saying you operated on the wrong foot one time might be a deal-breaker!) Come up with a mistake anyone could make and then impress upon the interviewer how you took steps to prevent anything similar form ever happening again.

"Once, on a very busy day, I had three patients in a row who were having local anesthesia and surgical trimming for ingrown nails. The charts were mixed up and during my treating the first patient I called him by the second patient's name. The patient became concerned that I didn't know his case and left the office. From then on, I always included pictures of my patients in the chart, which helped make things unmistakeable for me about patients I didn't yet know well. I was sure to write that patient a letter of apology and simply explain how the mistake happened."