Residency Interviews

Manual
By: Docterule

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 Contents:

1. Interview Question Bank

2. Interview question topics
3. What program directors are searching for in residents
4. Key interview techniques
5. Key interview structures
6. How to answer interview questions

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 ‫نصائح عامة ‪:‬‬
‫اوال احب ابارك لكم وصولكم لهذهالمرحلة ‪،‬مرحلة المقابالت‪ ،‬هذا ان دل على شيء فهو يدل على درجاتكم العالية و اهتمام المكان اللي‬
‫مقدمين عليه فيكم‬
‫ثانيا‪ :‬احمدوا ربكم على هذا النعمة‪ ،‬في كثير يتمنى ولو فرصة وحدة‪ ،‬مقابلة وحدة في اي مكان‪ ،‬استغلوا الفرصة المقدمة لكم‪ ،‬وال تستهينوا‬
‫بأي مستشفى او اي تخصص انتم مقدمين عليه‬
‫ثالثا‪ :‬عاملوا كل مقابلة لكم كأنها مقابلتكم االولى و األخيرة ‪ ،‬كأنها فرصتكم الوحيدة ‪ ،‬هذه هي الطريقة الوحيدة انكم تتحمسون في المقابلة‪،‬‬
‫حتى ولو كان التخصص مو مرة تحبوا او المكان ما عاجبكم او في اخر اولوياتكم ‪ ،‬مجرد انكم اخترتم التخصص او المستشفى هذا في‬
‫تقديمكم خلوا ببالكم ممكن يكون هو فرصتكم الوحيدة‪.‬‬
‫رابعا‪ :‬المقابلة أبد ا مو شي ارتجالي‪ ،‬أكيد مطلوب أنه تكونوا على طبيعتكم بس الزم تحضرون لها و تجهزون افكار لكل سوال‪ ،‬خصوصا‬
‫الناس اللي انجليزيتها مو مضبوطة "زي مثال ‪ " ‬او يتوترون بسرعة او الخجولين ‪ ،‬هذه الفئات انصحهم انه بعد ما يجهزوا افكارهم‪،‬‬
‫يتدربوا مع شخص او يسجلوا و يسمعوا صوتهم حتى يستعدوا لوقت االمتحان‬
‫خامسا‪ :‬أثناء تدريبكم على االسئلة اكتبوا رؤوس اقالم بدل من فقرات‪ ،‬حتى تساعدكم في التذكر و تختصر الوقت عليكم ‪ ،‬ولكن ال تجعلوا‬
‫تدريبكم تعداد للنقاط ‪ ،‬استرسلوا باالجابة بقدر معقول مع ذكر امثلة شخصية‬
‫سادسا ‪ :‬في المقابلة اذا كنتم حافظين فقرة معينة من الجواب‪ ،‬ال تسمعوها تسميع‪ ،‬تدربوا على القاءها بطريقة ما تبين انكم حافظين‪ ،‬الن اذا‬
‫الدكاترة حسوا انكم حافظين راح يقاطعوكم و يحشروكم في اسئلة صعب الخروج منها‪ ،‬كل هذا حتى يشوفوا تفكيركم مو حفظكم‬
‫سابعا‪ :‬اللجنة في المقابلة تكون في حالة صعبةن تخيلوا اكثر من ‪ 51‬شخص على االقل يقابلون في اليوم ‪ ،‬و كلهم نفس االجوبة تقريبا‪،‬‬
‫فحيكونوا مالنين اصال‪ ،‬انتو حاولوا تكسروا هذا الروتين‪ ،‬ما اقول جيبوا اجابة من المريخ بالعكس اغلبنا حنجاوب نفس الشي تقريبا بس‬
‫الفرق في طريقة االداء و طرح االمثلة و المواقف‪ ،‬ال تستهينون ابدا في طرح المواقف اللي حصلت معاكم و تعلمتم منها اشياء مفيدة بما‬
‫يتناسب مع السوال‬
‫ثامنا‪ :‬اللجنة تحاول تختار الرزدنت بطريقة يقدروا يتحملوا الدكاترة ‪ 4‬الى ‪ 6‬سنين ‪ ،‬بناءا على هذا‪ ،‬ما يحبوا الرزدنت يكون شايف‬
‫حاله(اقصد ذرة غرور ممنوع) لتوضيح هذه النقطة في شعرة بين الثقة و الغرور‪ ،‬فأنت لمن تجي تذكر انجازاتك حاول ما تكون بطريقة‬
‫مبالغ فيها‪ ،‬مثال‪ :‬حاول ما تذكر كل الجوائز اللي حصلت عليها‪ ،‬حاول ما تذكر درجاتك في االختبارات الدولية اذا كانت عندك (اال اذا‬
‫سالوك) ‪ ،‬حاول ما تذكر ترتيبك على دفعتك او انك كنت متميز في هذا التخصص ايام الكلية و تكرمت فيه‪ ،‬هنا ممكن انا اكسر القاعدة اللي‬
‫تقول وريهم احسن ما عندك في المقابلة بس هذا صراحة من تجربة شخصية " ذكرت انا احد هذه الشغالت في مقابلتي ‪ ،‬قاطعتني الدكتورة‬
‫على انه لو حابين نعرف عنك اكاديميا نقرأ السيفي حقك! " ببساطة كذا و تخيلوا انتو التوتر اللي صابني‪ ،‬بعد ما كنت ان حاسبة اللي اذكره‬
‫نقطة ايجابية لصالحي‪ ،‬الخالصة ‪ :‬ممكن الموضوع يختلف بس اذا انتم مو متاكدين ال تتهوروا و تذكروا شغالت زايدة النه المقابلة ببساطة‬
‫هي مرحلة يختبروا فيها ال ‪ skills‬حقتك و ال ‪ logical thinking‬و الشخصية لحد ما‬
‫ميزة اخرى ابتعدوا عنها‪ ،‬انكم تتنرفزوا بسرعة‪ ،‬او ان تكونوا راعيين فزعات بمعنى اذا طلب منك الدكتور شغالت فوق طاقتك ال تجاوب‬
‫انه معلش اسويها حتى اكتسب خبرة‪ ،‬الرد االفضل انه اناقش معاه الموضوع و نحاول الشغل يتقسم بيناتنا ‪ ،‬غير هذا راح ياخذوا فكرة انك‬
‫ما تعرف تقول ال للشي اللي ما تبغاه‬
‫تاسعا‪ :‬اللجنة تحبث عن ناس منطقيين‪ ،‬بمعنى اذا سالوك في حال ما حصلت قبول في هذا التخصص‪ ،‬انقبلت برغبتك الثانية ايش تسوي‪،‬‬
‫طبعا ال تقول راح اقعد في البيت و ما حاداوم في التخصص الثاني انا بس ابغى هذا التخصص ‪ ،‬ال تذكر التخصص الثاني بسوء‪ ،‬قلهم ابدي‬
‫و اشوف ‪ ،‬في بعض طالب يقولوا انه هذا فخ لك حتى اذا قلت ايوا اداوم في ذاك التخصص يشطبوا اسمك من عندهم ‪ ،‬هو صراحة سوال‬
‫محير بس حاول تكون دبلوماسي بردك‬
‫عاشرا و اخيرا ‪ :‬في يوم المقابلة جهز حالك بشكل مالئم و التزم بقواعد اللبس و الجلوس‪ ،‬و توكل على الله و كن على يقين انه اللي يكتبلك‬
‫اياه ربنا هو الخير لك‬

‫بالتوفيق‬

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 Interview Questions Bank
Types of questions in the residency interviews:
1. Personal (background questions + motivational questions)
2. Behavioral
3. Ethical
4. Medical Knowledge
Some institutions use MMIs (Multiple Mini Interviews) **separate manual

Personal questions;
Background and motivational
1. Tell Me about yourself/ what do you want us to know about you
2. What are your strengths
3. What are your weaknesses
4. Why you are interested in this specialty/ what do you know about this specialty
5. What other specialties did you consider
6. Why you are interested in our program
7. What you are looking for in our program/ what factors will leads you to rank
program high
8. Why should we choose you/ what could you contribute to our program/ How do I
know you can show initiative and welling to work/ why you are so sure that your
specialty is right for you/ what aspect of life’s experience do you think make you a
good candidate for residency program/ what do think we are looking for?
9. What is the negative aspect of this specialty
10. How well do you feel you were trained to start as resident
11. Describe your learning style
12. Can you tell me a deficit in your records?
13. What do you see yourself in five years/ ten years
14. What do you see is happening to you beyond residency
15. What subspecialty you are planning for
16. How do you want to contribute to this specialty/ specific goals in this specialty
17. Who inspired you in your life/ why
18. What motivate you to do good job
19. What do you do in your spare time/ what is your interest outside medicine
20. If you could no longer be a physician what career would you choose?
21. What if you didn’t match
22. Have you ever taught medical students
23. Any publications, research activities
24. Tell me something that changed your life
25. How could you have improve your career progress
26. Tell me about the latest treatment or article you read in your specialty or recent
advancement
27. What is your favorite college course

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28. Can you tell me about your volunteering experiences
29. How would your friends describes you

Skills
1. Tell me about your Leadership activities
2. How do you get along with nurses
3. Describe your communication skills
4. What are the critical aspects of communications with patients
5. Tell me about a time where you should empathy to ward patient
6. What makes you good team player
7. Give me a situation where you have to be a good team player
8. Do you work better in team or alone
9. Tell me a time where you showed professional integrity as a doctor

Presentation skills
1. What do you think about the current and the future state of health care system in
general or in your specialty in special
2. Present an interesting case/ Tell me about patient encounter that taught you
something
3. How do you make important decision
4. How do you describe your decision taking skills, and describe the most difficult
decision you have made and how did you go about it
5. How do you normally handle conflict pressure/ stress
6. Tell me about a time you worked effectively under pressure
7. Tell me stressful situation you experienced in the college
8. Teach me something non-medical in 5 minutes
9. What have you learned from previous experiences
10. Tell me something not mentioned in your CV
11. Describe the worst clinical experience you have
12. How do you handle failure
13. Tell me about something you tried to accomplished and you failed
14. Tell me about a time where you were disappointed with your performance
15. Tell me about a time where your performance was criticized
16. What is your biggest success

Difficult scenarios
1. Tell me about a time you had conflict with team member and how did you handle it
2. Which type of patients do you work with most effectively/ least effectively
3. What kind of patients you find most difficult to relate to and what is the tactics
would you use to establish optimal rapport with this patients
4. What kind of personality trait you find most difficult to deal with as coworker/ tell
me about a time where you have to build a relationship with someone you did not
like
5. How do you deal with angry patient/coworker
6. Tell me a time you did a mistake and you had to tell the resident about it

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 7. What do you do if you saw someone doing something that you are not comfortable
with ethically

Behavioral Questions:
1. What do you do if you know that one of your seniors is doing something wrong
2. What if your marriage anniversary or birthday or friend’s wedding was in the same day
of your oncall
3. Do you think that doctors should tell patient about his/her life expectancies
4. Your resident collogues requests from you to switch with her in her oncall, you accepted
and attended her duty, but your friend didn’t show up in you duty day and her phone in
switched off what shall you do
5. You accompanied senior doctor in his clinic what important things you will be eager to
learn from him and what practices you will try to avoid in future
6. You are in busy hospital where there is shortage of doctors in your specialties and
appointments are getting too far moreover patients are complaining, what measures could
you do to solve this problem
7. What if your husband oppose you from coming to hospital/ oncall
8. One of your junior team member has been late 20 minutes for the last 4 days, what shall
you do
9. Late night shift, then drunk patient assaulted you, what is your action?
10. If you are married and your wife gonna deliver during your shift, what shall you do
11. If you were travelling on Thursday unfortunately some airline delays, and you have your
duty on Friday, you will be late, what shall you do?
12. You were given 7 oncalls months, other residents were given 3 oncalls, what is your
action?
13. How many oncalls can you do per month
14. If you were oncall and one of your parent got arrested what shall you do?
15. If you were oncall and your daughter got sick, what shall you do?

Ethical questions see MMI manual (more informative)

1. Blood transfusion refusal (Jehovah’s witness) : A patient has been in an accident, needs
blood transfusion she said that religion does not allow them, what will you do
2. Child abuse
3. Care of adolescence, consent and child assent
4. Mother against invasive tests from her child
5. Immunization refusal
6. Treatment refusal e.g. hemodialysis, ECMO, feeding devices
7. Diagnosis disclosure: family refuses informing the 14 years old about cancer
8. Invasive surgeries for down syndrome patient (down syndrome)

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 Interviews Questions Topics
We can divide formal interview in to 9 stations (main questions), you might be asked sub
questions from these
1. Portfolio/Background Station: you will be asked you summarize yourself in 30 sec or a
minute( maximum 5 minutes)
2. Motivational station: you will be asked about the reason that made you choose this
specialty
3. Interpersonal skills station: you will be asked about communication skills, team
playing and leadership skills
4. Academic station: designed to test your understanding and experience in form of :
a. Factual questions : you will be asked to describe your experience in research
b. Reflective : you will be asked to reflect what you learned from your previous
research experience
c. Probing questions: you will be asked to give you view about academic activities
(researches, teaching) and it’s importance for medical trainees
5. Dilemmas/ difficult scenario stations: you will be asked to show to handle difficult
situations :
a. Multiple critical patients at the same time
b. Dealing with task for which you are not fully qualified
c. Dealing with angry patients/ coworkers
d. Dealing with medical errors (self/ coworker)
6. Presentation stations: you will asked to talk about broad topics (they will try to see if
you are thinking outside the box)
a. Generic questions: commonly asked question in any medical interview e.g. what
makes good doctor
b. Political: e.g. challenges that your specialty is facing currently ( or health care
system in general)
c. Personal : your interest outside medicine
7. Behavioral questions: you will be given a scenario usually about discrepancies between
your personal life and medical career e.g. additional oncalls, can’t attend duty due to
child sickness
8. Communications skills: role player will be present
a. Angry patient
b. Breaking bad news
9. Ethical decision making: you will be given a scenario where you will try to implement
the 4 ethical principles in, to reach conclusion

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 What program directors are searching for in residents?
This can can be summarized in these points, they usually tend to ask specific question in each of
the following point
1. Clinical skills including clinical knowledge and skills:
2. Academic and research skills
3. Coping with pressure
4. Communication skills, empathy and sensitivity
5. Problem solving skills and decision making
6. Managing others, leadership and team playing
7. Organization and planning
8. Vigilance and situation awareness
Examples of interview question on each point
Skill Question asked Important point to include in you answer
Clinical skills Describe a difficult scenario that - Ability to prioritie the clinical needs
including clinical you have managed - Works in maximum safety
knowledge and skills
Academic and - Importance of research and - Relevant achievements
research skills audit - Show your understanding in evidence
- Importance of teaching skills based practice
- Show your interest in participation in
academic activities
Coping with pressure How to handle stress with - Show your capacity in working under
example highly pressurized conditions
- Show your awareness of your own
limitations
Communication Describe an example where you - ability to explain management plan
skills, empathy and have to deal with difficult patient/ for the patient effectively
sensitivity coworker - capacity to communicate effectively
despite language barriers
- Ability to build a rapport, listen,
influence and negotiate
Problem solving - Describe a difficult decision Logic thinking to solve problems and
skills (e.g. without senior support) make decisions
- An example of a situation Ability to think beyond the obvious, with
where you showed initiative a flexible mind
Capacity to bring a range of approaches to
problem solving
Managing others, - Examples where you have work effectively in a multidisciplinary
leadership and team played an important role in a team
playing team or where you have Ability to supervise junior medical staff
shown good leadership
- Describe your experience of
working in teams

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Organization and how you manage your workload Capacity to manage time and information
planning or your time effectively
Vigilance and example where you showed monitor developing situations and
situational awareness initiative anticipate issues

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 Key interview techniques
Some important keys to answer convincing and confident answer in interview:
1. Set a time limit for your answer ( usually 1.5 – 2 minutes): except in open ended question
e.g. tell me about yourself, your experiences, ethical questions
2. Answer directly without lengthy unneeded introduction
3. Structure your answers in organized manner: this usually vary depending on the question
that is asked examples provided
Question Key points to talk about
Teaching experience - Target: students, subject, frequency of teaching
- Teaching method: classes , bedside
- Experience: teaching courses attended
- Feedback received
Mistake made - Describe the scenario
- How did you deal with mistake at that time
- What you learned from this incident
- Incident report (so others can learn too)
Your strength point This 3 strength points can be used to justify being placed in:
1. Dynamic and proactive
2. Approachable and supportive
3. Self-starter and constant willing to learn and develop
Remember to elaborate more about it by providing examples

4. Use example and relevant stories to make interview more engaging and interviewers will
remember you
5. Signpost important point: In other word say clearly what you want to tell them in your
answer e.g. when they will ask about why you want to be in XYZ specialty? , your
answer must be be structured following this example:
a. Experiences (clinical/academic): during my attachment in XYZ specialty
i. Clinical experience: say what you like in this specialty with justification
and relevant examples
ii. Academic experience I was involved in xyz research ……then explain
simply about it, follow that by saying through my involvement in this
project I learned ……….
b. Signpost: “Finally, I feel that xyz specialty is a field that will provide an ideal
opportunity to apply both my clinical and academic skills
Other signposting example:
“I really enjoying working under pressure and in close cooperation with other team members
Thus I would like to peruse this specialty because it provides me with enjoyable environment
that I can achieve well in it academically and clinically …….etc”
‫ فانت حتعطي صفات‬، ‫ ببساطة انه اقبلوني‬، ‫ ايش ودك تقلهم‬، ‫ النقطة اللي تبغى ياخذوها منك‬Signpost : ‫بالعربي‬
‫فيك و مواقف صارتلك في هذا التخصص باالضافة لالنجازاتك االكاديمية فيه من ابحاث و غيره‬

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‫صفات في شخصيتك تحس انها مهمة في هذا التخصص مثال هذا العمل تحت الضعط اعطي مثال بسيط بالنهاية‬
‫تقوللهم الزبدة اني انا احس حالي مالئم لهذا التخصص من ناحية عملية واكاديمية (الخالصة حاول تقنعهم بشتى‬
)‫الطرق بس من دون غرور او كذب‬
6. Avoid “we” in your answer “talk about yourself”: in the interview they want to know
more about you “personally” don’t confuse your achievements with your team
achievement, unless actions has been taken from seniors so you can mention it
7. Bring objectivity in your answers: if you feel that you used “I” too much in the interview
then use feedback method e.g. “My colleagues have often commented that I am good
listener” instead of saying I am good listener
8. Make clear statements: for example when the ask you why this specialty try to use 5 W
and H in elaboration about your answer(5 w = what, where, who, when, why +H : how)
instead of saying briefly “I want this specialty because I like it” very poor answer
9. Avoid being wordy: no need for too much details.
10. Remain positive: don’t be shy of saying I have clinical gap or I don’t have research
experience, say it clearly “only if asked about specifically”
‫اما اذا انسألتوا عنها جابوا‬، ‫اذا ماسألوا باالسم عن الشغلة الناقصة عندكم ال تطلعوها‬، ‫ال تحطوا حالكم ب مواقف مالكم فيها‬
"‫بوضوح عنها و ال تخجلون او تحطوا اضافات من عندكم "خليكم بالسليم‬

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 Key interview structures
To make our life easier and make our answered structured and meaningful, the following
frameworks will help you
For background and Motivational Questions use
Background questions e.g. tell me about your self
Motivational Questions e.g. why you want this specialty
CAMP
Clinical: special clinical skills or interest
Academic : research interest
Management : further experience in this area , or educational supervisor
Personal : personal related causes, interesting hobbies , or skills
Skilled based question & asking for specific examples
“Tell us about a situation where you worked under pressure”
“Describe a situation when you dealt with a difficult patient”
“Tell us about a time when you played a key role in a team”
“Describe a situation where you had to ask for senior help”
“Give an example where your communication skills made a difference to the care of a patient.”
STAR
Situation : context of the story
Task : your achievement
Action : how did you achieve it and the reason
Results/ reflection : what happen in the end and your reflection
Difficult colleagues or conflicts
“One of your junior colleagues keeps coming in late. What do you do?”
“What would you do if your consultant came into the ward/theatre drunk one morning?”
“One of your colleagues keeps turning up 20 minutes late each morning. What do you do?”
“Your consultant is asking you to do something that you feel is wrong (e.g. modifying notes to cover up a
mistake). What do you do?
SPIES
Seek information : Before you can do anything, you need to understand the nature of the problem
Patient safety :anything if you do yourself will solve the problem
Initiative
Escalate : If the situation is too serious for you to deal with, then you must involve other colleagues at
appropriate levels of seniority. Lowest local authority
Support

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 How to answer each interview questions

Portfolio/ Background Questions

Tell me about yourself/ what do you want us to know about you

Tricks
- Do not literally take them through the CV instead address the point that you want the interviewers to
remember about you
- Do not worry about overlapping with future questions
، ‫ ال تخاف انت اعطي نبذة كاملة عنك و الدكاترة ما حيقصروا معك حيطلعوا اسئلة ليك‬، ‫بمعنى اذا تكلمت كل شي فب البدراية ايش حيبقى لباقي المقابلة‬
‫سهل عليهم‬، ‫بس ال تكون بوضع يسالوك عن كل شي بنفسهم‬

- Avoid the chronological approach ‫مش يعني بديت اسوي اتاجمنت هنا بعدين سويت بحث بعدين رجعت سويت اتاجمنت بعدين‬
‫ جمع االبحاث مع بعض و الخبرات مع بعض حتى يصير ارتب‬، ‫مرة ثانية سويت بحث‬

Apply CAMP structure

1. Clinical: special clinical skills or interest
2. Academic : research interest
3. Management : further experience in this area , or educational supervisor
4. Personal : personal related causes, interesting hobbies , or skills
Clinical Brief chronology of your training
My name is XYZ, I am currently intern house officer in xyz hospital, I graduated
in 2020 from xyz university.
Description of skills and experience
I have trained in xyz hospital during my internship year which I have experienced
a range of specialties, including Cardiology, Respiratory, Accident and
Emergency, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and General Practice.
How this motivated you for this specialty/post, or why you want to train in
this specialty.
Out of all of these, I have particularly enjoyed the medical specialties because of
the analytical and communication challenges that they offer and this is the reason
that I am applying to Internal Medicine Specialty
- During my medical school and the ensuing internship year, I have gained a
lot of confidence in history taking and basic procedures such as
cannulation, ABG sampling and urethral catheterisation.
- Through my cardiology attachment, I gained a good knowledge of ECG
interpretation. I was able to perform cardiac catheterisation under
supervision, I assisted in the placement of pacing wires and I took the
opportunity to observe transoesophageal echocardiography.
- My A&E attachment helped to increase my confidence in dealing with
acutely ill patients; it also provided me with excellent training in how to

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 remain calm and organized under pressure, which has proved extremely
useful during my oncall work.
Academic Teaching skills:
As well as developing good clinical skills, I have sought to develop my teaching
skills. I have been involved in teaching undergraduates on basic clinical matters
and procedures with both bedside or ward teaching and formal lectures.
Teaching is something that interests me greatly, and which I’d be keen to develop
further throughout my training and my career
Research and audit experience:
Over the past few years, I have also played active role in researches and audits , I
published a research about “xyz research name here” in 2018 in xyz journal, I was
the leader editor in the research
Management: Put any volunteering , extracurricular activities, events you organized
As well as this, I have played a key role in organizing departmental activities,
including a weekly departmental teaching session and some mock vivas for
medical students in their final year
I volunteered in school visits to spread awareness about ………..
I shared in breast cancer campaign …………
Personal Overview of your personal strengths/interpersonal skills
From a more personal perspective, my colleagues see me as someone who is
reliable and very supportive.
Basic information about your social life (e.g. hobbies).
Outside of work, I enjoy painting, which give me an outlet to de-stress, and help
me building my perseverance. I also enjoy reading and spending time out with
friends.”

14
 What are your strengths?
- Any strength you choose try to use it in improving your program
Answer structure:
1. Name your strength
2. Mention how did you use it before and what benefits you gain from
3. Mention how you will use it in future career
What are the main 3 strength points you can mention?
1. Dynamic and proactive
2. Approachable and supportive
3. Self-starter and constant willing to learn and develop
How to choose your strength point based on specialty?
Emergency medicine: Orthopedics
• Patience and understanding. Intelligent, interactive, confident, enthusiastic, self-
• Cool under pressure. starters, able to work well with others and teachable.
Family medicine Surgery
• Intellectual curiosity. Strong, independent, motivated people, but not so
• Interest in a variety of clinical situations. independent that they are not TEAM PLAYERS
Internal medicine: Pathology
• Willingness to work hard and answer the question, • The ability to deal realistically with uncertainty
“Why?” • Organizational skills
• Ability to make difficult decisions confidently.
• An open-minded approach to patient problems.
• Enjoy talking, listening and sorting out things with
patients.
Neurology Pediatrics
• Enjoyment of the intellectual challenges of diagnosis. Good analytical abilities
• Must be willing and able to communicate with Good communication skills
patients and be patient with treatment. Teaching skills
Flexibility and creativity
OBG Psychiatry
• Hardworking, able to handle complicated cases. This Good communicator
is a field where males and females have an equal
chance of excelling.
• A team player who is able to work well with the other
residents.

Example of an answer: good communication skill was used

Name it and give brief introduction:
I believe that the key to have good communication skills is continuous practicing it and trying to
improve it during each and every position you are in, being good communicator makes good
team member and good physician and vice versa

15
How you use it before?
During my medical school I tried to be good communicator during my research project through
respecting others opinion and dealing with it in diplomatic way, correct mistakes in constructive
manner as per sandwich approach (example …)
I continued to develop my communication skills in internship, but this time I understand that I
have to deal with different groups in different position levels (seniors, nurses, colleagues,
patients, other departments) I believe that without good communication skills we will not
achieve our mission in providing the maximal care to patient (give example if you have)
How to use it in your career (in this example pediatrics was used)
Dealing with children in different age groups may be one of the challenges in pediatrics, thus one
of the keys to build good rapport with child and to destroy the wall between me and the child is
good communication skills, sense of humor, and being flexibly with the child

16
 What are your weaknesses?
Answer structure;
1. Quick positive introduction
2. Mention negative point(weakness) provide examples, explain the negative impact it has
3. Explain what you learnt from that situation
4. Explain how you attempt to deal with the weakness generally
Examples of weaknesses you could use in your interview
Weakness Positive thing about it Negative thing about How to deal with
Finding it You are a good team You may take on too - Learn to become more assertive (more
difficult to say player, a good colleague, much work and get experience, course)
“no” and always willing to stressed, or fail to - Learn to manage colleagues’ expectations
help. deliver on some (so that they are okay about you saying
projects (hopefully “no”)
minor ones!). - Work with colleagues to help them find
alternative solutions
- Be more realistic about your ability to
deliver and more open with colleagues
about issues
- Be more proactive in delegating to others so
that you can say “yes” without having to
take on everything yourself
Having high Being driven, you have Some of your - Learn to be a bit more flexible with
standards and a achieved a lot and you colleagues may not be colleagues. Take the time to know them. It
tendency to deliver results to your able to follow your may give you ideas about how you can
expect others to team above their pace. approach them.
follow the same expectations - Ensure that all team members have been
standards as you trained in the skills you are expecting them
to perform.
- Be more open-minded in your approach and
accept that others may have ideas which are
as good as, if not better than, yours.
Finding it You deliver consistently People may see you as - Be more attentive to juniors and find
difficult to good results and, in an someone distant opportunities to delegate
delegate environment where most (sometimes). Also, by - Get to know your colleagues early on so
people rotate frequently, it trying to do everything that you find it easier to trust them and
can be an asset not to yourself, you end up therefore delegate
overload new team having too much on - Discuss with your seniors and/or go on a
members until they have your plate, with a risk course
established their ability of getting stressed
Tendency to Taking things personally Being over-negative - Discuss with colleagues and see how they
take criticism or pushes you to act on may make you appear deal with criticism, complaints and negative
negative problems quickly under-confident (and outcomes
outcomes miserable) - Use every incident as an opportunity to
personally learn
Getting too You are thorough and You can overrun and/or - Learn to become gently assertive
involved with caring. get stressed - Discuss with colleagues to understand how
patients they do it.
Getting too You are caring and You get stressed. - Learn through experience to keep the
attached to empathetic appropriate distance
patients - Discuss with colleagues/seniors.
Taking your You are thorough and You may get stressed or - Optimise your communication with
worries home conscientious even irritate others, who colleagues so that you can be sure they
with you feel you don’t trust know what needs to be done
them. It may also - Discuss with colleagues how they deal with
it

17
 interfere with your - In the more extreme cases, call the ward
social/private life once only when back home so that you then
have your entire evening clear afterwards.

Example
I have always been punctual person and as result, I always show a lot of enthusiasm in getting
things done with most perfect manner
However there are times where I have been stressed because I sometimes find it difficult to
delegate particularly when working with new colleagues as result I either will place myself under
pressure or I have to arrange for deadline extensions
One example was …..research projects ……..’
I was believing that delegating work to others means wasting of time, losing my control on the
project, but overtime I have realized the error in my way, delegating to others is not only helpful
it is crucial to success, it will save your time and allow you to focus on bigger and more
important aspects
More over sharing responsibilities will help you in creating a more productive, competent and
confident team
I am trying to use different strategies to help me know how and when to delegate e.g.
- Decide what to delegate
- Choose the right people it is the key for effective delegation
- Communicate clearly
- Check on work regularly but not overbearing
- Be patient and understand

18
 Why you are interested in this specialty/ what do you know about this
specialty
Tips:
- State at least 3 reasons preferable 4
- Ensure that your reasons are sufficiently different from one another so that you do not sound
repetitive
- Strong explanations, with a personal slant: simply listing your reasons for choosing the
specialty will not be sufficient. You need to explain why these reasons are important to you
and how you developed your interest
- Career focus: you have set a clear plan for yourself within this specialty
- Use CAMP method
Ideas to use in your answer (as per specialty)
Clinical - The technological aspect (e.g. surgery, radiology, pathology)
- The variety of work that the specialty offers, for example:
o You deal with different specialties (e.g. Paediatrics)
o Good mix of medicine and surgery (e.g. Ophthalmology, Obstetrics &
Gynaecology)
o A mix of ward work and clinics (most medical specialties)
o A mix of chronic and acute patients
o Involves prevention as well as treatment
o Mix of interventional and other activities (e.g. Cardiology, Radiology)
o Opportunity to work in different settings (e.g. community and hospital for
Psychiatry, Paediatrics, GUM)
- You get immediate results from your work (e.g. most surgical specialties). Be careful
with this reason because surgeons also deal with chronic patients. A better reason may be
that you enjoy the combination of the two.
- A strong investigative component, or, on the other hand, there aren’t many investigations
available so it offers you a challenge.
- The diagnosis is easy to establish, or on the contrary it is challenging.
- The holistic/psychosocial approach (e.g. Psychiatry, Oncology)
Academic - Fast advancing specialty, with a real challenge in keeping up to date and constantly
reasons learning new skills (e.g. most surgical specialties, Oncology)
(research, - Good opportunities for research
teaching) - Good opportunities for teaching
- Great variety in teaching styles (e.g. simulation in Anaesthetics)
- Opportunity to develop a special interest.
Management - Opportunities to get involved rapidly in areas of responsibility where one has greater
Reasons autonomy (e.g. Psychiatry)
(responsibility, - Strong multidisciplinary focus (e.g. Psychiatry, Paediatrics, Oncology)
working with - Mix of independent work and teamwork
- Opportunities to develop services and make a real difference to service provision
others)
- Prefer to work in small teams and therefore hold greater responsibilities (e.g.
Dermatology, Haematology, Urology)
Personal - Offers a communication challenge (e.g. Paediatrics, Psychiatry)
reasons - The challenge of dealing with difficult patients and sensitive situations (e.g. Paediatrics,
(personality, Psychiatry, Obstetrics & Gynaecology)
soft skills,
social)

19
 - Your input has a strong influence on patient satisfaction: makes a big difference to the
patient’s lifestyle and mobility (e.g. Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics) and therefore leads to
greater satisfaction
- The buzz of working under pressure (e.g. surgery, emergency medicine) Enjoy working in
an environment where detail matters (e.g. Radiology, Pathology)
- Prefer to work in larger teams to learn from a greater variety of people and develop in a
more sociable environment.

Reasons as per specialty

Medicine
1. Excellent problem-solving
environment Opportunity to
deal with psychosocial issues
as well as physical
2. Good mix of ward and clinic
work
3. Opportunity to follow up
patients with chronic illnesses
4. Enjoy contact with patients
5. A lot rests on your
communication skills
6. Enjoy the varied teamwork
Surgery
1. Enjoy manual/technical skills
and challenges
2. Enjoy the satisfaction of
making an immediate
difference to patients
3. Good mix of acute and chronic
patients
4. Enjoy the fact that it is very
evidence-based and fast
moving Look forward to
research opportunities
5. Enjoy working under pressure.
Acute Care
1. Enjoy working under pressure
2. Enjoy the challenge of dealing
with the unexpected
3. Strong communication
challenge too in terms of
reassuring patients and
relatives, and managing
expectations
4. Good teamwork angle,
particularly in dealing with
other specialists.

This question may be followed by the following question;

What other specialties did you consider? Answer as per your application

20
 Why you are interested in our program
This question has two sections to cover:
1. Why this city (city of program)
2. Why this program in this city
Starting sentence: “I feel that pediatrics training in xyz hospital is ideal for many reasons”
List reasons (you can use CAMP approach)
- Clinical:
o Firstly offers huge Varity in terms of settings where training in in JCI accredited
hospitals
o This XYZ city consist of different populations from different ethnicities, countries
thus provides good mix of cases during training
o Rotations provide good mixture in different settings (wards, ER, outpatient clinics in
different subspecialties
o Well-structured program, supportive for international exams: high pass rate in arab
board reflect the quality and support received
- Academic:
o Encourage involvement in researches
o Create interest in teaching especially that it is a teaching hospital
- Personal:
o I have worked here and enjoyed my experience
- Signpost :
o Overall, I feel it will provide me with excellent training in a dynamic environment
both academically and clinically and will give me opportunity to develop strong
portfolio which will enable me to give back fully to the specialty once I become
consultant

21
What you are looking for in our program/ what factors will leads you to rank
program high?
Same as per last question
Summary
- Good exposure for cases in an accredited hospitals
- subspecialties availability
- friendly teaching environment
- higher pass rate in international exams
- opportunity in researches

Why should we choose you?

Other questions formula:
- what could you contribute to our program/
- How do I know you can show initiative and welling to work/
- why you are so sure that your specialty is right for you/
- what aspect of life’s experience do you think make you a good candidate for residency
program/
- what do think we are looking for?
Answering this question is divided into 2 sections
Start with:
I know that I am not different from others but I have a passion in work that made me:
1. Fit in pediatrics in general and program in special
2. Trying to contribute back to program
To cover the first point;
“I think that pediatrician should have these skills: flexibility, creativeness, analytical problem
solving as well as sense of humor” I tried to build these skills in me since my medical school
“mention them in form of strength points in you”
And sense there is no place of monopolism in medicine we should always contribute back to the
program that we are in:
“I am eager to improve my academic experience in researches with xyz program, to improve the
unit and perform audits to stand on the latest statistics in our local units,
Furthermore, share in teaching process in the hospitals for the juniors and continuous medical
education activities”

22
 What is the negative aspect of this specialty
I believe that there is no negative aspect in my specialty rather than a challenges or obstacles that
made it difficult to be practiced initially
But with experience challenges will fade gradually
Challenges in pediatrics:
1. Children are poor historian (depend many on family recall), then the bulk of diagnosis
will come from examination “so building good examinations skills is essential”
2. Investigations are mostly avoided because mothers will refuse needle brick, although we
can override it only for extreme necessary cases

Can you tell me a deficit in your records?

Examples:
- Gaps
- Lack of research experience
To answer gap deficit: mention that :
- I tried to use it positively from both professional and personal development
- Did attachments in different hospitals
- Attended activities , events, conferences
- Volunteers in campaigns, events
- Research experience
- Organization membership
- Did international exams

What do you see yourself in five years/ ten years?

Near plan 5 years:
- Board certified specialist
- Research publication
- Participate in Medical Conferences representing my program locally and
internationally
Far plan 10 years:
- Membership exams

23
 - Subspecialties
- Associated professor in medical school
‫ كل واحد و طموحه‬، ‫في بعض مقابالت سالوا عن ايش طموحاتكم بعد عشر سنين خارج الطب‬
Other related questions:
- What do you see is happening to you beyond residency?
- What subspecialty you are planning for
- How do you want to contribute to this specialty/ specific goals in this specialty?
- How could you have improve your career progress

What do you think about the current and the future state of health care system
in general or in your specialty in special?
Answer is divided to:
1. Future advancement in health sector globally and locally in general and in particular in
the specialty
2. Problems and challenges this specialty in facing locally and measures to improve that
So: Depends on each specialty, but
In general:
- Corona changes the world’s plans and strategies
- Advancement in medicine are targeting prevention of diseases rather than dealing with
complications and treatment through education programs and campaign
Specialty related
- if you are in specialty were technology is a key e.g. radiology, cardiology mention about
technologies and so on
- Oncology: genetic and stem cells studies
- Family medicine: advancement in prevention measures and screening program
If you are applying in country where there is advancement and development plan in medical
sector mention that e.g. vision 2030 in KSA
Example answer for pediatrics specialty:
Patient care must meet standard of safety, sustainability, and high quality services that’s meet
each child requirement
Advancements:
- Helps in saving ex preterm babies with very low birth weight reaching 500g with
advancement of technology

24
 - Genomic medicine targeting genetic diseases e.g. DMD
- Intrauterine surgeries to targeting congenital anomalies
Problems were are facing:
Shortage in pediatrics subspecialties, this will decrease access to specialist doctors and increase
waiting time with far appointment and failure to meet the standard care for children in needs

What if you didn’t match?

Tips:
- Try to keep reapplying again for the same hospital the last in your list
- Be clear to them that you have plan b in your hands
- Try to make plan B that is related to specialty that you are interviewing in
Other tricky question:
What if you get accepted in your 2nd choice specialty (specialty other than the one you are
interviewed in)?
No clear answer, but always getting in any specialty is better than having clinical gap

Have you ever taught medical students?

Teaching experience
Use STAR method:
- Situation :name the teaching activity that you were involved in, targeted students
- Task : Your position in teaching (teaching only/ organizer for a course)
- Action : method of delivering information (lectures/bedside)
- Results/ reflection : feedback from students, professors/ lessons you learned from this
experience
This station is focusing mainly of you communication skills, team playing, and leadership try to
show that you implement that in correct way
Try to show that you are trying to continue improving your teaching skills in residency,
Mention if you attending any teaching courses to improve your teaching skills

Any publications, research activities

25
Research experience
Answer is same as teaching experience using STAR method
- Situation :
o name the research,
o methodology,
o target population,
o results and conclusion
o Feedback and lessons based on research results
- Task : Your position in research (member or leader)
- Action :describe you role in research (how was your relation with other members)
- Results/ reflection : feedback from research experience, presentation experience, team
work experience
Add to it the following points
1. Research-related skills that you gained from your experience, e.g. literature review,
critical appraisal, statistics and general understanding of research principles.
2. General skills gained from your experience, e.g. writing skills, negotiation,
communication, teamwork, planning, time management, etc.
3. Any relevant courses attended such as research methodology, critical appraisal or
statistics courses.
4. Your future plans with regard to research
‫بمعنى انه حاول تقدم شرح مبسط و شامل عن البحث من ناحية اكاديمية بس بنفس الوقت تذكر انه الدكاترة مو مهتمين ببحثك‬
‫ فال تنس ان تعرض ايش المشكالت اللي واجهتك‬،‫بقدر مو تجربتك في البحث و العمل مع جروب و طريقة التعامل و كذا‬
‫كباحث و ايش الشغ الت اللي وصلتك من الفريق اللي اشتغلت معاه و ايش الشغالت اللي تحب تطورها بعدين بنفسك حتى تكون‬
‫تجربتك مع االبحاث ناجحة اكثر‬
‫اذا سويت اكثر من بحث حاول تظهرلهم ايش الشغالت اللي تطورت فيك بين بحث واالخر و هكذا‬

If you have no research experience at all,

think carefully first about any project in which you have been involved and which is not an audit.
Can this project be considered research, even if it was informal?
- If yes, then you can present whatever you did in line with the principles explained so far.
- If not, then don’t panic. Many people will be in your situation and you can still score
marks by mentioning some of the following:
1. Literature reviews undertaken (which gave you an insight into research principles)
2. Case reports published. Strictly-speaking, case reports do not constitute research because
they are simply reporting how a specific patient presented or was managed. But benefits
of case report:
- Sharing your experience with others, will helping them change or improve their
practice.
- Practicing literature review

26
 - Practice writing concisely
- The overall experience of how to construct a paper and bibliography.
3. Attendance at journal clubs (which will have given you critical appraisal skills and an
understanding of the research process)
4. Attendance at conferences (where you have gained an appreciation of research
methodologies)
5. Research-related courses

Can you tell me about your volunteering experiences?

As per STAR method:
- Situation :name the volunteering activity that you were involved in, targeted population
- Task : Your position (member or organizer)
- Action : activities where done
- Results/ reflection : feedback / lessons you learned from this experience

27
 Interpersonal skills questions
These questions may not be asked directly instead they can evaluate it in your during answering
your experiences questions (research, teaching and volunteering)
If the asked in person then provide examples is the best method of answering and concluding you
answer with your reflection about the situation, this will reflect your self-awareness and your
trials in improving yourself
: ‫نصائح‬
‫ انت مو بدرس توعية بشرية انت في مقابلة اي شي تقوله الزم تربطه فيك اوال‬،‫ابتعد ثم ابتعد كل البعد عن القاء كلمات انشائية‬
‫ النه هذا يعطيهم انطباع انك جاهز لهذا التخصص من كل الجوانب‬، ‫و في المجال ثانيا‬
‫ ال ابدي كذا‬، ‫ ما تقعد تعد بالقواعد اللي الزم يتحلى بها المحاور‬، ‫بمعنى اذا سالوك كيف تحاور حد‬
1. “Throughout my training I have developed effective communication skills across a wide
range of areas. One of my main strengths is my ability to ..”mention a quality” then provide
example of that …(see down how to provide example with feedback and reflection)……..
2. Over the course of my training so far, I have developed good negotiation and influencing
skills
3. One of the lessons that I have learnt as a junior doctor is …..

When you mention the example, try to cover it all using STAR method:
- Situation : context of the story
- Task : your achievement
- Action : how did you achieve it and the reason
- Results/ reflection : what happen in the end and your reflection
In the following questions, I will provide qualities to use in each skills, your answer will be
structured as above.

How would you describe your communication skills?

Qualities of good communicator
- Active listening and empathy
- Influencing and negotiating skills
- Conveying information in a clear and structured manner

28
 What makes you good leader?
Leadership can be described in three words: – Change – People – Results
- Initiating and implementing Change
- Developing People (and creating a positive environment)
- Delivering Results
Qualities for good leader
Approachable Assertive Clear communicator
Consistent Constructive Creative
Decisive Diplomatic Encouraging
Fast learner Flexible Good listener
Honest Innovative Integrity
Open-minded Organised Patient
Resilient Supportive Tenacious

Other related questions:

- Give an example of a situation where you showed leadership?

What makes you good team player?

Qualities of a good team player
1. Understands their role in the team and how it fits within the whole picture
2. Treats others with respect and is supportive and willing to help
3. Is flexible and adaptable and can compromise
4. Communicates constructively and listens actively

Do you work better on your own or as part of a team?

You should say I can work in both environments
Structure your answer as the following:(with examples and personal feedbacks)
- describe how you can work independently,
- describe how you can also work as part of a team

29
Describe a situation when you demonstrated professional integrity as a doctor
Use STAR method
Examples:
- Situations where you should know how to handle a particular issue but somehow you
don’t. Integrity is about admitting your lack of knowledge and working towards
addressing it (a lack of integrity would be pretending that you know what to do, which
may put your patients and colleagues at risk
- Situations where you discover that something is wrong and where you take proactive
steps to address the situation (for example, if you discover that one of your colleagues
has made a mistake
- Situations where you were pressurized to do something that you knew or felt was wrong
and where you resisted the pressure (e.g. a relative, a friend or a colleague encouraging
you to breach patient confidentiality or a patient wanting you to prescribe a treatment that
you know would not work).

Presentation questions
These question also targets your medical logic action and skills and focuses at that you should
understand you limitations and seek help when needed

Give an example of a recent situation where you played an important role in a

team
Describe any situation you have using STAR technique
Make sure to show them that you fulfill this criteria of safe junior doctor

1. Recognising your limitations

2. Informing his seniors and keeping them up to date about developments
3. Informing other colleagues about developments that are relevant to them (the
anaesthetist)
4. Using other team members to help out, based on their skills level
5. Getting things done (stabilising the patient, preparing the theatre, etc.)

30
 Tell us about a mistake that you made
Interviewers are trying to establish that you are safe in realistic context, so your answer will be in
form of demonstrating a mistake, how did you deal with that, and how it helps in improving you
clinical experience
Be clear that interviewers understand your work/orders limitations, so If you are going to invent
something, invent a logical mistake (always it is better to mention your own mistakes)
Answer structure; use STAR method to mention the situation
Mistake criteria: mistake should fulfill the following criteria:
1. Personal: you did it, not others mistake
2. Interesting “some drama element” don’t choose common mistakes, or boring mistakes
e.g. scoring bad in exams
3. Safe: try not to show that you are completely incompetent, at the same time . safe does
not mean that no harm was caused to the patient, but that if there was harm or risk of
serious harm you identified it quickly and took immediate steps to resolve the problem
4. Good learning ground: half the marks will be related to the learning point “very essential
to mention that”
Examples of clinical mistakes you can mention:
- Lab results misinterpretation
- Wrong drug ordering e.g. penicillin in in penicillin allergic patient
- Discharging patient with inappropriate medications
- Failing to take in account patient’s comorbidities e.g. thick file cant review it all
Examples of communication mistakes you can mention:
- Delegating tasks to nurses and colleagues with assumption that they know what they will
do
- Failure of communicating important information to the patient” explaining prescription”
- Being direct with the patient without empathy in hard situations

31
 How to handle stress?
This is bonus question where everybody will give similar answers, so try to give examples to be
more special
Answer structure: try to cover these points:
1. The variety of ways in which you can deal with stress
2. Your ability to identify that you are getting stressed
3. Your ability to show the relevance of the information to your work (i.e. by bringing
personal examples, and, in the case of your hobbies, by explaining what you gain from
them)
Examples of solutions based upon type of stress:
For stress caused by busy situations (e.g. being overworked):
1. Taking a step back &Remaining calm
2. Organizing your work, prioritizing and delegating
3. Trying to anticipate difficult periods and planning accordingly
4. Taking appropriate breaks
5. Breaking tasks off into smaller, more manageable chunks
6. Asking for help from your colleagues
7. Communicating well with others (e.g. maintaining momentum in a team to ensure full
coordination)
8. Managing others’ expectations (for example, if you are prioritizing, inevitably someone’s
main priority will become bottom of your list. Not managing their expectations would
potentially result in a conflict
For stress of a more emotional nature (e.g. difficulty in dealing with negative issues such as
personality clashes, patient deaths, high expectations from others, feeling of powerlessness)
1. Sharing your problems with colleagues
2. Discussing problems with your friends and family.
For general stress (e.g. accumulation of fatigue)
1. Socializing with colleagues or friends
2. Having time for yourself, hobbies, centres of interest outside medicine

32
 Behavioral Questions Examples

One of your junior colleagues has been late for 20 minutes every day for the
past 4 days. What do you do?
SPIES structure.
1. Seek information : Before you can do anything, you need to understand the nature of the
problem
2. Patient safety : concern if:
a. the colleague is missing handovers and provides substandard care
b. the colleague rushes jobs to make up for his lateness
3. Initiative It is possible that the problem is due to a temporary problem such as family
problems or train delays. If the problem is likely to be very short term and you are
reassured that your colleague has tried his best to sort things out
4. Escalate : If you feel that the problem is affecting patient safety, that there is a lack of
insight or that it is likely to persist, you will need to involve a consultant more formally
(Lowest local authority)
5. Support: If the issue is linked to a family problem, then your colleague will appreciate
your personal support during this difficult period.

Your consultant has made a mistake as a result of an error of judgement and

is asking you to alter the patient’s notes to match his version of events. What
do you do?
Use SPIES
1. Seek information There is no information to gather here as the nature of the problem is
obvious.
2. Patient safety Ensure that whatever mistake has been committed has been resolved and
that the patient is safe (if the mistake did not result in death).
3. Initiative Refuse to comply with the consultant’s request and explain that it is unethical.
You should also make a written record of the conversation that you are having with the
consultant as your evidence may be required if any further action is taken.
4. Escalate This issue is too serious for you to handle on your own. The consultant’s
behaviour is placing patients at risk and poses questions about his integrity. You should
report the matter to the clinical director at the first opportunity. If he is not available or
refuses to deal with the issue, escalate the matter to the medical director and thereafter to
the chief executive.
5. Support There is no support to give here, other than maybe towards the team in dealing
with a situation where a consultant has gone (since he will most likely be suspended if
your claims prove true

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 Your consultant is managing a patient against the recommendations of the
established guidelines. What do you do
Use SPIES
Seek information Before you jump to conclusions, you need to understand why the consultant is
making the decision to go against the guideline. After all, he has several more years’ experience
and his decision is most likely to be correct.
Many reasons why the consultant may have taken his decision. For example:
1. The guideline may not be suitable for the patient
2. The consultant may be aware of recent evidence which would supersede the guideline
(though the guideline has not yet been changed to allow for that evidence)
3. The guideline may be suitable but the patient may have refused the recommended
treatment.
Points to mention
- To raise with him the fact that you are struggling to understand the decision that is being
made and would like to discuss it with the consultant from an educational perspective.
- Ensure patient safety at all costs. Escalate if necessary.
- Remember not to contradict the consultant in front of patients. Any disagreement should be
raised away from patients.
- If the situation is an emergency and you do not have time to ask for a second opinion or
engage in a discussion, then you will have no choice but to let the consultant go with his
decision but you must record your disagreement in writing in the patient notes.
- Learn from the situation If the consultant ended up being correct then you must ensure that
you take steps to learn from that situation. You might want to read up on related matters or
discuss the case at a teaching session.

The end

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Resources:
 Olive Picard’s, Guide to CT and ST registrar interview:
o Download link from Telegram Channel: https://t.me/itismymednotes/177
 Residency Manual : https://t.me/itismymednotes/199

Contact details:
Docterule.notes@gmail.com

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