What is resilience? Describe a time where you were resilient. (Common medical school interview question)

( An effective answer to this question is one that is concise and well-structured).
I would consider resilience to be the ability to recover from a setback, which can be academic, personal or professional. For example, if one was to perform badly on an exam, a resilient attitude would be one that focused on self-evaluation and improvement, rather than discouragement.
For me, one of the greatest set backs was when I was kicked from the football A-team. This was a team I had been involved in for several years so I felt a huge wave of disappointment when I was told I wasn't good enough. I felt like I had two choices, either accept that I wasn't good enough or work hard to show them I was. Deciding to take the resilient approach, I spent the summer working - the year after, I was let back on the team!

MM
Answered by Michael M. Medical School Preparation tutor

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