A recent patient survey comes back and you find out that you did not meet a patient's expectations for their care. What are the next steps you would take to improve?

If you were to ask any physician prior to your residency interview if they have ever received critical feedback on a patient survey, the answer would be a resounding yes. The for you in answering this question is reiterating to your interviewers that you would be able to take the feedback, analyze what you may have done and use that as motivation to improve in the care that you provide to patients moving forward. Keep in mind that as you answer, most patient feedback received is anonymous and you may not be able to pinpoint the exact interaction that created the feedback from the patient.

"When faced with this situation as a resident, I certainly wouldn't let it get me down. Rather, I would see it as an opportunity to improve and get better. I would do my best in analyzing the feedback to see if I could remember which patient encounter it came from. If the feedback was more general, I would take time to reflect on why the patient may have said this about me and take all necessary measures to improve going forward."