Talk about a difficult surgical case you had during your residency training. How did you handle the situation professionally and respectfully?
After five years of General Surgery residency training, you have worked with patients in various settings. This likely has included performing some challenging cases in some difficult circumstances. This question allows your interviewers to assess the patience, communication, conflict resolution, and stress management skills you would bring to their team as a new fellow in their program.
"The most difficult case I was a part of during residency training was an esophagectomy with some bad initial bleeding. My attending walked me through the steps calmly while letting me direct the first assistant and the entire OR team. While it would have been easy to let my emotions get the best of me, remaining focused and working quickly was essential to ensure the procedure was successful. In our debrief following the procedure, my attending praised me for my focus and diligence."
Talk about a simple scenario you experienced during your residency training, and don't spend too much time describing the details of the patient's story. Instead, spend your time describing your thoughts and actions. Your answer should demonstrate your ability to remain calm, patient, and logical while helping the patient to the best of your abilities.
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
During my PGY3 year, I was consulted on a very complex case of necrotizing fasciitis. This was of course at the end of the day during the transition into the night shift with the handover of staff occurring. The case required consultation with orthopedics, plastic surgery, and neurosurgery given the extent of the tissue injury. Unfortunately for reasons outside of my control, no attending seemed to want to take ownership of this patient for the OR due to logistics associated with ownership over organ systems. I remained calm and professional and reminded everyone involved that at the end of the day, all that mattered was doing the best for the patient. I was able to come up with an operative plan that included the appropriate services and get the patient the care they needed as soon as possible. I was commended for my dedication and commitment to patient care.
Jaymie's Feedback
This sounds like a very difficult case that you handled! Your answer demonstrates your commitment to the patient and your ability to collaborate and coordinate with other clinicians to get the job done.
