Medical How do I talk about overcoming introversion?

[Goro]

So, I’m as much of an introvert as they come, and it’s been a battle my entire life trying to not come off as a weird loner. I’ve spent decades working on my communication skills and have had to put considerable effort into building and maintaining relationships. My past inability to maintain relationships through multiple moves is one of my biggest failures. Is this something I could feasibly talk about as a weakness or challenge I’ve been working to overcome? I have two interviews coming up this month and don’t want to say that stuff and then have adcoms worry about me having a major character flaw.

It's a two edged sword. You will need to show or explain how you have overcome this.

As an aside, take some acting, speechgiving or debate classes.

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[TheBoneDoctah]

Eh, not sure. You will need to be careful about how you talk about it. As you kinda stated, being a doctor you need to have people skills (except maybe pathology or radiology). Telling ADCOM that you are super introverted may come across as someone who may need extra help being able to interview patients and get out of their shell. If you can say you used to be super introverted, but have changed that (and can also show during your interview that you have people skills), then maybe?

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

OK Thanks for your responses!

Edit: I spent the better part of a decade in leadership positions in busy, loud professional kitchens, which has helped immensely in overcoming this. My culinary career dominates a good chunk of my application, so it shouldn't be too difficult to talk about. I'll be ready with thorough explanations detailing the steps I've taken.

This is exactly what you need. Just try to paint the picture with your interview and your examples that you have people skills.

 

[tantacles]

I don't think this is what I'd want to see in a challenge essay. personality traits should be portrayed as strengths. There are many introverts in medical school. Generally, when asked about weaknesses, as sad as it may be, it is often best to choose something that isn't truly a weakness. "I have trouble saying no when offered more work" or "I have trouble letting go when I feel I can do better" is often the best kinds of answer to these questions. It isn't meant to be a trick question, but if you don't have a great answer that you have already overcome and can talk about intelligently, it's often better to take a strength and turn it into a weakness.

Your mileage may vary, however, and I'm certain there are differing opinions on this.