questions on interpersonal skills and personal insight Flashcards
how would you rate your communication
During my experiences volunteering, I have developed some good communication skills. For example, while working at the British Heart Foundation charity shop, in order to learn all the relevant practical skills needed to be a good volunteer, I had to listen to the more experienced workers on a much deeper level than what I had been used to prior.
( I had been learning so many new skills that I had never done before hence why I had to listen intently)
This opportunity really helped me to strengthen my listening abilities.
Furthermore, If I did not understand how to carry out a task, I learned how to confidently to communicate my problems in an effective way by being precise on what I needed help on.
I had also volunteered to help with my school’s year 7 opening day. I acted as a tour guide for the parents and their daughters. This opportunity helped me to refine my communication skills even more as I made sure my sentences were easy to follow and engaging.
As a doctor, you are faced with many situations daily where good communication skills are crucial. I believe that I have a strong foundation in terms of communication skills that I can develop further during medical school.
are you an empathetic person
I believe that my friends and peers would describe me as an empathetic person.
For example, during times of tension in my friendship group, I often found myself as a mediator helping to calm the situation. I believe what makes me good at doing this is my ability to be egocentric.
Furthermore, last summer, I helped out during the year 6 summer school. This was a week long programme that aimed to help the year sixes to become confident with the idea of entering high school that September. I formed close bonds with those within the group I was in charge of. I was sensitive to their body language that allowed me to know whether they were fitting in, feeling anxious e.t.c.
I formed a friendship with one of the girls who I felt like would struggle to adapt to the new environment. By doing this, she grew confident during the week even making close friends.
The mother of this girl in fact works at my school and showed her gratitude.
This made me happy that I actually made a positive impact to someone’s life.
can you think of a situation where your communication skills made a difference to the outcome of a situation
SITUATION:
Last year I volunteered to help out with the year 6 open evening. I acted as a tour guide taking parents around the school.
ACTION
While taking them around the school, I engaged in conservation with the parents and their daughters. I made sure that I captivated their attention and through my conservation skills, even the parents who were intitally rather difficult, due to their impatience, began to enjoy their experience at the open day.
RESULT AND PERSONAL REFELCTION
As a result, the parents and daughters began to open up and began to feel more comfortable. One of the fathers, who admittedly was rather difficult, even gave me an excellent piece of advice he said; “it is always important to do things with passion”. This statement gave me a sense of achievement as it showed how my communication skills could be used to better a situation
what makes you a good team player
While working with others, I strive to be willing to help all my other team members. For example, my friends and I would do regular revision sessions together whenever we have an upcoming test. When I notice someone is struggling with content, I help them by breaking what they are learning into more manageable parts.
While tutoring my friends, I communicate with them in a constructive way. This is so that I didn’t come across as condescending. Furthermore, I actively listened to any problems/issues she had so that I could help them to the best of my ability
This has led me to be someone that people can go to for revision advice and as a study buddy
Tell me about your leadehip rsskills
I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to exercise my leadership skills. For example, volunteering at the British Heart Foundation Charity shop, I worked with friends to complete various tasks such as tagging clothes and pricing items.
An issue with working with friends is that there is a risk of becoming distracted. Therefore, I made sure that I was enthusiastic and competent when doing my job. This laid the foundation for a good work ethic that my other friends adopted.
Furthermore, at times where we had a large task to do, I would split it up into much more manageable tasks by giving my friends specific responsibilities.
Despite the issues of working with friends, I feel like I was able to lead with flexibility. This is because I was willing to listen to their ideas which ultimately helped everything to go smoothly.
I have also been told by many that I am an approachable person. This is incredibly important as a leader as it means that people can come to me when they need further clarification on what their role is.
How do you manage your time
As a sixth form student, I am faced with needing to balance many things such as revision, super curricular and personal hobbies.
In order to be able to do this all in one day, I use lists that forces me to work within strict time restrictions. I also give myself breaks which give me time to relax and recollect myself.
I also have apps on my phone that help me to plan my entire week. This further reduces any stress as it is considerably easier to stick to a pre-set plan rather than rushing to do things at the last minute
how do you cope with stress
Stress is something that I face often due my studies In psycology, we learned about the Yerkes- Dodsen inverted U rule which states that there is an optimal level of stress that increases performance.
This is particularly true for me as I feel like a do better when I am experiencing a little stress.
However, I also acknowledge that it is important to find time to relax. I have many different strategies that I can employ to relax. One of which is talking to my friends. This can help me to understand my thoughts and have an outside perspective on my situation.
On top of this, I enjoy doing art. Art is a great way to express emotion in a healthy way. By doing this, I can reflect on the situation I am in and understand how I am feelings
As I am an A-level student, my studies can be a source of stress. In order to deal with this, I make lists to split up my tasks into much more manageable tasks. Furthermore, I also have apps on my phone that help me to plan my entire week. This further reduces any stress as it is considerably easier to stick to a pre-set plan rather than rushing to do things at the last minute
What are your main strengths? What attributes do you have that will make you a good doctor
I am someone who enjoys thinking in a logical matter. This has enabled me to find good solutions to problems. For example, working with children at the year 6 summer school, I was faced with situations that needed me to think on my feet and find solutions that was agreeable with everyone.
This may have been stressful to some but for me, I deeply enjoyed the challenge
My friends and peers would often describe me as a friendly and kind person. These are incredibly important qualities to implement in every situation. During the year 6 open day, act as a tour guide for the parents and their daughters. Many of the parents praised me for being a genuine and caring person as I made sure they were having the best time as possible.
give three adjectives that best describes you
FLEXIBLE
I would say that I am a flexible person.
On the year 6 open day, I initially was supposed to help the biology department by doing a heart dissection. However, I had noticed that there was a group of parents who were lost/confused. They said that they were expecting a tour of the school and so I had to quickly change my plans. Being able to adapt to new situations well really help carry out my new role effectively.
EMPATHETIC
-are you an empathetic person
RELIABLE
-good team player
Do you work better by yourself or as part of a team
I enjoy working in independently and in a team. Because of this, I feel like I can work well as both a team member and on my own
At A - level, I am faced with a lot of situations where we have to work in groups. In psychology for example, I worked in a group of 5 to conduct out own mini-research into memory. I approved the work of my peers and was encouraging.
What is your main weakness
I would say that the main weakness that I have is that I am a person that finds it easy to connect with others. As a doctor, this is important in order to establish a good rapport with patients and although this has helped me to make many friends and thrive at high school, it has also led me to become too overly invested with other peoples problems neglecting my own.
For example, whenever my friends would get into an argument, I often found myself as a mediator helping to calm the situation even though at times this was incredibly stressful for me
I feel that recently, I am beginning to make better boundaries for myself. This has eased up a lot of pressure that I previously felt before
how well do you cope with criticism
As someone who enjoys doing art, I must be open for criticism. For example, if the anatomy of the person I am drawing is incorrect or a pose is too stiff, my sister will point this out and suggest possible solutions to better the drawing e.g. using references.
Although this may make me feel disheartened, I acknowledge that she is simply is trying to help me improve my skills and take the criticism in a graceful manner and try and implement the advice in my own art.
However, there are times where criticism has put me in a position where I feel defensive especially when it is not phrased in a constructive manner. At times like this it is extremely easy to snap back and argue, however, on the grand scheme of things, this will just worsen the situation. Therefore, it is better calm yourself down and assess whether there is anything of merit in their points
how do you cope with conflict
On the year 6 open day, I initially was supposed to help the biology department by doing a heart dissection. However, I had noticed that there was a group of parents who were lost/confused. They said that they were expecting a tour of the school. These parents were growing increasingly agitated and I could sense that I had to conduct myself in a way that would de-escalated the situation
In times of conflict, I often find it is best to evaluate the situation in order to break it down and find a logical solution. This approach allowed me to calm the parents down and I ultimately decided that the best route of action was to give them a tour of the school myself. Therefore, to me not only is being able to think critically is important in times of conflict but also the ability to adapt/ be flexibile
give an example where you held your opinion but had to change your view
I often would say things such as- I am so OCD about this or even I swear I have ADHD, I rather ignorantly did not reaslise the harm behind my words.
However, recently we had an assembly that raised a awareness to both mental and physical disablities. This assembly made me realise that me saying such things were in fact extremely to those living with such conditions. Whilst listening to the assembly, I found myself re-evaluating my language and finding ways that I can change it in order to make it less casually albiest
Tell us about an interesting book that you have read or film that you have seen
I recently reread one of my favourite books called A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett which follows the a young girl named Sara who must endure the hardships of being maid at a private school she once attended due to her father’s untimely death. Sara as a protagonist was smart and imaginative and I believe Burnett does well to capture Sara’s wonder for life on the page
What I always enjoyed about Sara was that despite her dire situation, she carried herself with dignity and self- respect.
I enjoy to read a large range from fantasy books such as the never ending story to tragedies like the song of achilles. I personally believe that reading a large range of genres always keeps you on your toes and ensures that you are never bored.
Reading is an enjoyable past time for me and I often use it as a way to relax - especially when I am feeling stressed
