"The biggest cause of stress in my first couple of years of residency training was the hours and long periods on my feet. While this caused physical stress, I needed to quickly learn new ways of ensuring I was as energized as I could be and as rested as possible at the same time. This meant a change in my home life. Exercising more, relaxing more, and eating much healthier became a part of my everyday life, and it helped while in the OR. These are habits I will bring here every day as well."

It is okay to open up about the aspects of your residency training that caused you to stress because your interviewers understand that every surgeon is exposed to it. The key is how you handled the stress in a healthy, safe, and productive manner, so be sure to key your answer in how you were able to do that during your residency and will continue to do it in fellowship training.