How to answer “How do you handle criticism?” in a medical school interview

A strong answer to "how do you handle criticism" tells one story in which somebody told you that your work or behavior fell short, and shows what you did in the days and weeks after. The interviewer scores what you did with the criticism. An answer that ends with the criticism itself, or with how it felt, leaves out the part they asked about.

What the interviewer is assessing

• Self-reflection and growth
• Professionalism and integrity
• Communication

Medical training depends on feedback. Students and residents are corrected by attendings, nurses, peers and patients almost every day, and a trainee who can't take correction is a risk to patients. The interviewer wants to know whether you listen when you're told you're wrong, whether you can separate the content of the criticism from the way it was delivered, and whether you change your behavior afterward. They also listen for honesty, because an applicant who describes only unfair criticism, handled perfectly, has said nothing about how they handle fair criticism.

In a panel interview, this question tends to follow one about your weaknesses, and the panel checks the two answers against each other. In an MMI, it appears at a personal station or inside a scenario where an actor gives you feedback and the rater watches what you do with it.

How to structure your answer

1. Describe the setting and the criticism in two or three sentences, including who gave it and what they said.
2. Say honestly how you reacted in the moment, including any defensiveness, because the interviewer knows nobody enjoys being corrected.
3. Explain what you did next, such as asking for specifics, checking the criticism against other evidence, or deciding which parts were fair.
4. Describe the specific change you made and what happened as a result.
5. Close with what you do differently now when you receive criticism, in one or two sentences.

Choose criticism that was at least partly fair and that led to a real change, because that is the only kind of story that answers the question. Criticism from a supervisor, a coach, a teammate or a patient works, and criticism from a family member works less well, since the stakes were different. The practice box gives you three minutes: keep the setup to 30 seconds and give the rest to what you did.

Common mistakes

• Choosing criticism that was entirely unfair lets you tell a story about being wronged, which answers no part of the question.
• Claiming you welcomed it at once and felt nothing sounds untrue to anyone who has been criticized.
• Describing the criticism in detail and the change in one sentence gives the interviewer the half of the story they didn't ask for.
• Picking a trivial criticism, such as a comment on formatting, suggests you've never been told you were wrong about anything that mattered.
• Criticizing the person who criticized you, even gently, suggests you'll treat correction from an attending the same way.

Follow-up questions to prepare for

• What is the hardest piece of criticism you've ever received?
• Have you ever decided that a piece of criticism was wrong, and what did you do about it?
• How do you give criticism to somebody else?
• What would your last supervisor say you still need to work on?
• How do you tell the difference between criticism that's fair and criticism that isn't?