Weakness

[Guest grandmellon]

Just wondering what people's weaknesses are?

 

I am thinking of going along the lines of procrastination as it affects my ability to get things done in a timely manner. I would explain how I am working to fix this problem and how I realize it impacts my ability to be a better physician.

 

What sort of things are you guys thinking for your weaknesses?

GM

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hey there,

 

You might want to think a bit more and come up with a "back-up" weakness. Firstly, since "procrastination" seems to be a pretty prevalent response; secondly, in the event that you are asked for another, which I've seen in some interviews. On the upside, the fact that you're thinking about how to approach the weakness, etc., is positive.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest satsumargirl]

Hey Grandmellon

 

Perhaps you could ask your friends or family for their assessment of your weakness(es). It is sometimes hard to see them in yourself but maybe some help from family and friends can get your started.

 

Procrastination may not be a bad answer but to me it lacks in depth as far as self-reflection/assessment goes

 

Good luck!

Sats

[Guest newfoundlander06]

I was wondering, if lack of bedside manner was your weakness, would one admit it during an interview? Or lack of noticable compassion? Some people may in fact be compassionate towards other people, but they may not show it. Should one admit this?

[Guest RoseSmurfette]

Hey newfoundlander06,

 

Ugh, I don't know about telling the interview panel that "lack of bedside manner" or "lack of noticeable compassion" are your weaknesses. If they really are, then you might want to re-think your suitability to being a physician.

 

I suppose you could say that you have trouble displaying emotions [do you have examples of that?] and that this weakness hinders your personal relationships. Or perhaps that you hold back on your emotions and don't express them easily. But I'd still be a little careful about how you word that because you could come off as cold, or unsympathetic.

 

RoseSmurfette

[Guest grandmellon]

Ello my friend from the rock.

My personal opinion is that you have to be completely honest when answering this questions even if the weakness may show as something not suitable of a physician. The main idea behind this question is that you can self evaluate, you're honest and you acknowledge what you aren't good at.

Lacking bedside manner or any noticeable compassion are things that might seem to make you out to be some sort of emotionless rock. However, if you can show them that you are working on improving this or how it won't affect you when you are a physician (ie. you choose to be a radiologist with very limited patient interaction) you should be fine.

 

5 Stars for being honest.

GM

[Guest circusgirl]

I too think you should be honest in your answer. I'd be more specific than "bedside manner" though- that encompasses a lot of things! I'd focus in on one aspect of that- like showing your emotions (as Rosesmurfette mentioned)- and elaborating on that. Demonstrate that you know it's a problem for you, why it will be important in your future career, and consequently how you are adressing that issue to make yourself a better person/ more suitable physician.

 

As for the procrastination answer, I agree that it seems like it's the type of thing that is heard a lot, but if you can back it up with good, descriptive examples, that'll give more life to your answer and make it something that your interviewers will more likely find interesting and remember (in a good way).

 

good luck,

cg

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

A fitting answer to the "weakness" question is one that is relatively unique, honest (as evidenced by concrete examples from your own experience), and one which is not a core competency of a doctor-to-be, e.g., empathetic, ethical, etc. A good answer will also provide evidence that you are doing something tangible to address this weakness.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest newfoundlander06]

Yeah, thanks for the advice.

[Guest TimmyMax]

Hey,

 

I agree with Kirsteen. Unless you like getting PFO'd, I'd come up with something different to answer this question!

 

Best of luck!

Timmy

[Guest heho]

I understand this response is a bit late,

but Newfoundlander, if someone has compassion that they can't show, isn't that just empathy? Doesn't compassion need to be shown in order to exist?

 

Not that it's terribly relevant to deciding on your weakness.

[drcave]

Geez,

 

You guys are saying admitting to procrastination is lame? It's not something I want to admit to but its definitely my biggest weakness (5 years to finish my MSc thesis). I worry that if I admit to it they will say sorry dude only people top notch time management skills can hack it in medschool.

[TimmyMax]

Hey,

 

The sad truth is that if you don't have strong time management skills, there is such a breadth and depth of material to cover in medical school that you are likely to get lost in it. That is why medical schools want to see evidence of at least being able to manage multiple tasks in your life in an applicant. If you are one of those people that doesn't bother to study until the night before the exam, while it may work reasonably well in undergrad, unless you have a photographic memory, it won't work in medical school.

 

Best of luck!

Timmy

[Lola]

Oh my gosh, drcave....I took 4 years to do my MSc too!!

 

(Ahh, grad school...I don't miss you at all...)

[drcave]

Well I do have a damn good memory. Wrote the AAMC MCAT practice test 3R cold, no studying, just to see how I'd do and got a 36 (12,12,12) 10 years after I wrote the my first MCAT (39-O) (Never applied because I had just started grad school - I'll just whip off a quick MSc first ) Reviewed for a bit and wrote April MCAT and got a 37P. I've never had a problem studying, reading or learning lots of material in a short time, it's writing that plagues me. Especially when I had to rewrite my entire 186 page MSc thesis because one committee member wanted me to redo all the statistics using different alpha levels. I actually finished my MSc in 2 years 8 months, set a defence date, got maried got a full time job, and then had this dude spring this on me. I didn't even look at the thesis for 2 whole years and then quit my job, rewrote my thesis, defended it and started and an ecotourism business.

[Jochi1543]

I've learned that my 2 biggest weaknesses are 1) excess criticism - I expect a lot from myself and others, but others only like it when I expect a lot from myself and not them, lol 2) tendency to get into confrontations. A professor I am still very close to once told me that he thinks I thrive on confrontation, and I think he's right. I don't purposely seek out fights or outright enjoy them - they still stress me out as much as any other person - but if people provoke me, I almost always retaliate. I try to avoid unnecessary confrontations, but it's hard to do that without feeling like a doormat occasionally.