Tell us about a time you received constructive criticism from a faculty member or preceptor during your medical school training. How did you handle that situation?
Your work will be scrutinized to the highest degree by the senior residents and the faculty of the program you join. Your interviewers want to know that you can take constructive criticism and turn it into a positive learning opportunity.
"Looking back on my medical school training, constructive feedback from faculty during classroom learning, labs, and clinical rotations was common because of the many new situations. My approach was to always keep an open mind, listen and learn. During a family practice rotation last year, my preceptor let me take the lead for a day with patients. It was a busy day in the clinic with no breaks in between patients. At the end of the day, my preceptor sat me down to stress the importance of taking my time and not rushing through patients to get to the next. While I was worried about waiting time backing up, she helped refocus my efforts on taking time to provide education to patients at the moment. This was an important lesson to learn, and I will remember it during my urology residency training."
Choose an example that does not highlight a significant or persistent deficit in your ability to provide care. How you handled this criticism should show your devotion to providing optimal care and your willingness to use constructive criticism to shape how you approach patient care moving forward. Don't hesitate to reiterate to your interviewers that you would join their urology residency program ready to accept any constructive criticism that would come your way.
