"During my training as a vascular surgeon, I worked alongside demanding surgeons and a variety of characters. I can't say I had difficulty working with any of them. But the one personality type I encountered that I didn't mesh well with was a person who was easily angered. We all work and practice in very stressful situations every day, but taking the frustration out on colleagues and support staff is unacceptable. My approach to working with this person was letting things bounce off my shoulder quickly while being there to support our surgical techs and nursing staff."

As you answer this question, you ideally want to pick a quality that doesn't reflect poorly on you. But on that note, you likely had to work with someone who was difficult to please during your residency training. Talking about demanding personalities may make you seem lazy or unable to work with demanding faculty in the program you are interviewing with. Instead, choose a quality that impairs the ability of even the most competent and hard-working doctors to deliver high-quality care or work as part of a high-functioning team.