What types of patients do you have the most difficulty treating?

"Through my career, the patients that have been a struggle the most for me are those that are not receptive to my treatment. While I had a hard time at first with these patients by taking their unwillingness to receive treatment personally, I quickly learned that it was usually something personal happening in their lives that caused this. With these patients now, I take a patient and empathetic approach with them, and I've also found that providing education on what I'm doing helps put them at ease. Knowing that my treatment will help them makes them much more open to it."

Depending upon where you worked and your experience, you may have already encountered the worst of the worst! In an emergency setting or even in your everyday pediatrician's office, you might have encountered a difficult personality or a scenario that caused a patient to resist treatment or give you an attitude. Draw from your experience and give an example of someone who was extra challenging for you. Show you are competent in handling those tough patients by explaining your reaction and how you helped through the situation.

"Having worked in the field now for eight years, I'd say that the patients that I'd have the most difficulty treating right now are pediatric patients. Since coming into the role that I'm currently in, peds patients are treated by pediatric specialists on our team. Even though I have not used the skills I developed in school and rotations for many years; I am confident in my ability to be able to work with these patients once again with some training and hands-on experience."