Med school interview prep

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>My first interview's on Friday. My clothes are in order and have been vetted by the career center, so I know I'm not a fashion disaster. I've gotten directions to where I'm supposed to go, and I'll be doing a dry run Wednesday. I'm currently rehearsing answers to questions I'm pretty sure I'll be asked. Here's what I think I should definitely be able to answer:</p>

<p>1) Tell me about yourself.
2) Why this medical school?
3) What are your strengths and weaknesses?
4) What is the most important issue facing healthcare today?</p>

<p>Can anyone suggest anything else I should be prepared to answer? I'd also appreciate any other tips for The Big Day, too. :)</p>

2

<p>Hi Shades,</p>

<p>Let me know what school you're talking about. I might have some ideas. (Use PM if you like.)</p>

<p>In the meanwhile, also be prepared to discuss:</p>

<p>5.) Why do you want to enter medicine?
6.) How do you see your career playing out?</p>

<p>By far the most important will be, however, will be simply going over your track record.</p>

<p>7.) Tell me more about this extracurricular.
8.) Explain why you feel this major prepared you well for a career in medicine.
9.) This class sounds interesting. What was it about?</p>

3

<p>bluedevilmike, I've got some questions.</p>

<p>5) I'm well aware that "I want to help people" is a pretty terrible answer - after all, I could make a great argument for how plumbers help people. However, would it be okay to say something like, "Well, I love the logic and methods of science - I wouldn't be a chemistry major if I didn't like it! I also really enjoyed the humanities courses I took and the peer education work I do. Medicine offers me the opportunity to do all these things that I like and help others make informed choices about their health."</p>

<p>6) What does this mean? Is this like, "Where do you see yourself in XX years?" How do you answer this in a relevant fashion? "Married, finishing residency, family planning"?</p>

<p>8) What's a good way to answer this without being trite? (I'm a chemistry major.) "Chemistry is a way of studying how and why things happens on the microscopic level. The knowledge, methodology, and laboratory skills that I used in my classes will be equally relevant in medical school and medical practice."</p>

4

<p>5.) Generally the best way to answer this is with a chronological story. In my case [...] high school debate, thinking I was well on track for law school [...] but I ended up spending time in a hospital, and watching people get better. Not all of them did, of course, but seeing the way the teams there could reverse disease [...] spent time in Southern Mexico, working in a hospital I began to realize that medicine is sometimes just as limited by economics as by anything else [...]</p>

<p>6.) The questions are similar. Will you be conducting research, ultimately? (The answer should usually be yes, if you're interviewing at a research-intensive school.) Teaching? (Again, you probably want to answer yes.) Private practice? Women, by the way, ought not be asked how they plan on balancing their work and family lives - that's the sort of question that invites a lawsuit. With that said, it does come up anyway and in a woman's position I think I would advise simply smiling graciously and answering the question as best as you see fit. ("I know it will be challenging, but I know that having a family will make me a better doctor for ______ reasons.")</p>

<p>8.) You're less likely to get asked this with chem/bio, etc. I was econ, so this came up a lot. Your answer is actually pretty solid, but I'd simply start with an explanation of why you like it ("It's very logical - there's a lot of different reactions, but they all organize around a few central principles.") even if they don't ask, and then go into how you think that a lot of the things you've learned will come up again in medical school and your career as a doctor. Just frame it in terms of tangible skills. ("I've had a lot of preparation for ________ techniques and thought processes, which I know will come up again in medicine.)</p>

<hr>

<p>Finally, do make sure to demonstrate interest in the programs. This may be easier if, say, it's in your hometown, but make sure to ask some questions that are framed in an affirming manner at the end.</p>

5

<p>As far as the "where do you see yourself in XX years?" question...I had good reactions describing some of the things that I hope to do outside of medicine. Obviously family and career are important to mention, but are pretty much a given. For me, things I mentioned included being involved with my fraternity at either a local or national level, as either a chapter counselor, or a "larger" position regionally. I also hoped (and I suppose continue to hope) to start my own select/traveling soccer club some point in the future, so I talked about that as a possibility. Talking about such things usually leads to other questions about why you want to do that - hopefully you have a good reason!</p>

<p>The way you answer that question can make you more memorable, or at least a more complete person in the eyes of the interviewer.</p>

<p>I think your answer for entering medicine is good. The science and the social interaction are one of my big reasons for medicine. Probably the best is to combine that "it fits my talents" sort of answer with the story of how you came to "discover" medicine...I was unique because I could literally say "I don't know" because I was 3 years old when I decided I wanted to be a doctor after spending 6 weeks in traction at the hospital after breaking my leg.</p>

<p>Be prepared for some sort of ethics question and answer it honestly. Don't search for an answer you think they want.</p>

<p>I'm a big proponent of taking the time to clear up any "issues" with your application - whether it's a bad grade or a withdrawal or something else you might be worried about. Take responsibility for your mistake/deficiency, tell how you learned from it and make sure they get your side of the story. You don't want them going over your file trying to guess as to what happened in that class or why you didn't do this or that.</p>

<p>Also, have some questions ready for the interviewer - they'll almost always ask if you have any questions at the end.</p>

<p>Some safe questions, ones that show you're interested, but don't come off as pretentious or fake (at least I don't think they do) nor like you didn't do your research include:</p>

<p>What sorts of opportunities are there for traveling abroad?
Is there a student run clinic? How soon can one get involved?</p>

<p>If the program has something unique that you found out about (like my school has a 3 week primary care block during the summer between M1 and M2, or the fact that we do our family med clerkship in a rural town for 8 weeks), ask about that. Stay away from anything too advanced or cutting edge or whatever - like don't ask about the hospitals transplant center or breast cancer program b/c you, as a med student, are unlikely to get much exposure to such programs, and if you do, it'll be in the 4th year. Examples from my interviews include construction of new buildings for the Colleges of Medicine, technology initiatives, professionalism initiatives. There will likely be something that pops up at least once that the school will be trying to brag about. You'll figure it out quick if you aren't the first one to interview and have some time to talk to students.</p>

<p>I'm also a fan of asking the interviewer what they like best about their school - usually as the last question. It gets them to talk about something they like and leaves them with a positive note to end on. And it doesn't come off as disingenuous.</p>

6

<p>10.) What career would you choose if not medicine?</p>

7

<p>How should I go about answering that question, my$0.02?</p>

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<p>My friend had that question and answered with "physician's assistant" which I didn't think was very creative. I think they're looking for an answer that would allow them to gain more insight into you. She did get into the school anyway though.</p>

9

<p>This question always confused me. Am I the only one who's not allowed to be a doctor? Or has the field of medicine ceased to exist? And if the latter, then have sicknesses been eradicated, or are people just not answering the call?</p>

<p>In any case, I answered the question by thinking about the part of medicine that appealed to me the most. In my case, it was taking a situation that was in crisis and resolving it rapidly and competently.</p>

<p>So my answer was: doing that for companies. Leveraged buyouts: taking a company that was going to go bankrupt and doing what it took to restore that company to financial stability. Doing it while disturbing a minimum of employees' lives, but also without hesitation when something absolutely needed to be done.</p>

<p>Some people may really love the investigative, diagnostic aspects of medicine, in which case you might want to answer forensic science. Some might like the humanitarian aspects, in which case you might want to talk about pro bono legal work. Etc.</p>

10

<p>I'd say that you should answer the question honestly (as always). </p>

<p>I always took it as, "if you can't get into medical school, what would you be doing?"</p>

<p>For me that meant telling them what my other career choice might have been - working as a director of Greek Life at a University. From there I talked about how my fraternity meant a lot to me, had really helped me grow and mature, and how if I couldn't be in a position to heal people, I'd be in one to help others have the opportunity I had. </p>

<p>In sense though, your career choice will likely be congruent with the aspects of medicine you find intriguing. For me it's always been the people part, that you're constantly meeting and talking with people and on an individual level. I've never found business that appealing simply because you're dealing with brand names rather than individuals.</p>

<p>But as NCG said, pick an answer that's going to give more insight into you as a person. And don't fall into the trap of trying to guess what they want to hear.</p>

11

<p>The question is surprisingly common. I believe the intent is to find out what other [non-medical] skills and passions are concealed beneath the carefully crafted, grade-optimized premed application.</p>

<p>It could anything, but it should be heartfelt.</p>

12

<p>UC Davis had one essay question that asked that for students matriculating in 2005 (which is why I thought about how I'd answer it), but I actually never got that question while conducting 20+ interviews.</p>

13

<p>It's next year's interview season. A reminder that we're here if you need anything.</p>

14

<p>I've had a great weekend (lots of drinking, great seats to the Giants-Nationals game yesterday). But interview prep starts tomorrow for me as my first interview is 9/14.</p>

15

<p>Best of luck. Let me know if we can do anything. (Two weeks might be more than necessary.)</p>

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<p>Good luck norcalguy!</p>

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<p>norcalguy:</p>

<p>You'll knock 'em dead, no doubt.</p>

18

<p>"Best of luck. Let me know if we can do anything. (Two weeks might be more than necessary.)"</p>

<p>Trust me, I don't think I've ever been guilty of being overprepared. Anyway, I got sick over the weekend. Did not prepare for interviews at all yesterday (spent the entire day in bed) and haven't done much today. Maybe if I get off CC...</p>

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<p>
[quote]
But as NCG said, pick an answer that's going to give more insight into you as a person. And don't fall into the trap of trying to guess what they want to hear.

[/quote]
I think this is one of my interview weaknesses. When I fear that an interviewer will not like my honest answer, I try to give him/her what I think s/he wants to hear. I found that this is often worse than giving your not-so-good honest answer.</p>

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<p>Take a look at Student Doctor Network's interview feedback section for the specific school you're interviewing with. You can see questions they have asked before in past interviews (as reported by students).</p>

<p><a href="http://share.studentdoctor.net/interview/school_pick.aspx%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://share.studentdoctor.net/interview/school_pick.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>