Are you mentally and physically prepared to handle the required shift work in our surgical critical care fellowship program?

Explain to your interviewers that you know their program will require you to work 12-hour shifts any day of the week, any day of the year. If you are used to this type of clinical coverage during your residency training, be sure to discuss that experience and the steps you took to give all of your focus on the job. This is also a great time to reiterate that you will have all of the support you need in your personal life to ensure you can meet all of the program's requirements.

"I'm certainly ready to dedicate the next year of my training to your program and my future. During most of my rotations in my general surgery training, 11-12 hour days were common with morning rounds starting as early as 5:30am and afternoon rounds finishing after cases sometimes at 6:00pm. Being able to handle this both physically and mentally came down to me taking care of myself while not in clinic. This included getting plenty of sleep, eating healthy and doing the things that I enjoy to relax."