STAR method template
For medical school and residency interviews
STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action and Result. It is a four-part way to answer “Tell me about a time” questions in about 90 seconds.
- SSituation
- Set the scene in one or two sentences: where you were and what was going on.
- TTask
- Say what was yours to do, so the listener knows what was at stake.
- AAction
- Walk through the steps you took, using I, and spend half your time here.
- RResult
- Say what changed, with a number if you have one, and what you took from it.
Example answer
204 words, about 1 min 27 s
Answer to “Tell me about a time you failed.”
About the right length.
Situation
Last year I volunteered at a student-run free clinic, where I ran the check-in desk on Saturdays. One morning I booked two patients into the same slot with the only Spanish interpreter.
Task
Keeping the schedule right was my job, and the second patient's daughter had taken the morning off work to bring her in.
Action
I told the clinic coordinator right away instead of hoping it would sort itself out, and I apologized to both patients and explained what had happened. We moved the second visit to the next open slot that day, and I called the daughter so she could plan around it. Then I stayed after the shift to rebuild our sign-in sheet so every slot shows the interpreter, and I asked the coordinator to review it with me the next week. Now I run through the schedule against the interpreter's hours before each shift ends.
Result
Both patients were seen that morning, and the second one told me she was glad we had called. We have not had a double booking since, and the clinic still uses the new sheet. What I took from it is to say early when a mistake is mine, and to fix the process, not just the day.
See one answer go from weak to strong
Where each part goes wrong
Most weak answers fail in the same four places.
Situation
It started when I joined the clinic in my second year, which I did because…
Name the place, your role and what went wrong, in two sentences.
Task
So I just started fixing it.
Add one line on what was yours to do and who was waiting on it.
Action
We talked it through and everyone worked together.
“I told the coordinator, I called the daughter, I changed the sheet.”
Result
It all worked out in the end.
Say what changed, then one sentence on what you do differently now.
Questions people ask
What does STAR stand for in an interview?
Situation, Task, Action, Result. You set the scene, say what was yours to do, explain the steps you took, and finish with what happened.
How long should a STAR answer be?
About 90 seconds, and no more than two minutes. At a steady pace that is roughly 210 to 280 words. The builder counts your words and shows the time.
How much of the answer should be the Action?
About half. The Situation and Task together should take under half a minute, because the interviewer wants to hear what you did.
Does STAR work for MMI stations?
It fits any question that starts with “Tell me about a time”, in a traditional interview or an MMI station. For an ethics scenario where you weigh a dilemma, use a different structure.
What if I have no clinical story to tell?
Use any setting where you were responsible for something: a job, a team, a club or a volunteer shift. The example here is invented. Use your own story.