Hey, all.
I’m hoping that those of you on the interview trail could give me some suggestions. As a MSIV, I will be interviewing prospective medical students on Monday. Could you tell me some of the questions that you liked, disliked, wish you had been or not been asked?
I appreciate the help,
Kim 
I really enjoyed all my interviews and here are some of the questions that I was asked that I enjoyed:
Why medicine? and of course being able to actually discuss this w/o the cookie cutter answers was awesome!
What is one of the challenges that physicians today face? this is such a great question with so many possibilities.
What do is your strongests and weakest attribute?
If you could be someone for a day who would you pick and why?
How do you feel about managed care?
I liked question that were specific to my application. Showed the interviewer thought about it and gave me a chance to talk comfortably.
I also liked questions that asked how I had dealt with difficult situations. "Tell me about a time when you were misunderstood and how you dealt with it."
And being a nontrad, “why medicine and why now???”
Thank you for your replies, they’ve been helpful.
I’m rather excited to see how this goes. I’ve looked forward to this opportunity since I was an MSI.
Kim 
I rather enjoyed
What's one thing about yourself that you would change if you could?
and
What do you like to do for fun?
from years of interviewing prospective employees I’ll give you this:
if you ask yes/no questions, you’ll get yes/no answers that tell you little or nothing about the person -
so ask open ended questions (you’ll know this of course from your patient interview skills 
)
so, instead of “do you consider yourself a leader or a follower?” - and then having to follow up with “why?” - ask “tell me about a time when you had a leadership position” or “tell me about a time when you worked as a team member and not the leader” - etc.
a Hobby question is good if you have the time - if you can get the person to honestly respond about something that s/he is enthusiastic about you can tell alot - if you get a canned answer, that might tell you something as well -
just a couple of thoughts,
L
Hi Kim,
Everyone here has great ideas… I’ll add my thoughts, despite the fact that I’m still going through my pre-med coursework and have no experience as a med school applicant. I do, however, volunteer as an alumni rep for my undergrad college and a big part of that is interviewing applicants. I love it, though I’m always looking for ways to improve my skills.
My first advice is to open up the interview as a conversation. My impression of med school interviewing, as with any other interview, is that it shouldn’t be an inquisition, rather a chance for both of you to get to know each other (after all, the student is looking to find out whether the school is a good fit for him or her, as much as you are seeking to discover if the student is a good fit for the school). I think this allows the interview to develop at a more natural pace, asking questions of each other as they come up. I like to think that this eliminates the canned script type interview, though some kids I’ve met seemed determined to have that sort of interview anyway. Once they open up (if they open up) you can see more of their spirit, determination and motivation (or lack thereof!) and I think that’s mostly what interviews are looking for… they already have the paper proof that you have the potential to succeed.
This being said, of course, you need questions to open the conversation or keep it going. Some questions I can think of are, when did you decide medicine was the career for you? what kind of doctor do you see yourself becoming? what courses have inspired you/were you most passionate about/intrigued by and why? what sorts of jobs have you had in the past and what have you learned from them? what would you do if you were not able to become a doctor? do you have a person in your life that you consider a mentor and why? do you like to read and if so, what kinds of books do you gravitate towards? what challenges do you forsee as a med student/physician? And of course, fun questions, what are your hobbies, what do you do to relax, what’s the greatest trip you ever took, etc.
I have to respectfully disagree with Theresa regarding the “tell me about a time when you were misunderstood” question, unless it is the sort of question that comes up naturally from conversation (for example, the applicant is telling you about communications issues they had with a coworker, spouse, patient, whatever and it is a natural question to follow with). I guess my problem with the question is the part about being “misunderstood” because it is kind of vague… I’m thinking that I wouldn’t know how to answer that unless it tied into another topic we had been discussing. But I definitely think it’s great to have questions that will lead people to talk about their experiences.
Can’t wait to hear how it goes for you! I’m sure you’ll have a blast.
| QUOTE (arciedee @ Oct 20 2003, 05:34 PM) |
| I have to respectfully disagree with Theresa regarding the "tell me about a time when you were misunderstood" question, unless it is the sort of question that comes up naturally from conversation (for example, the applicant is telling you about communications issues they had with a coworker, spouse, patient, whatever and it is a natural question to follow with). I guess my problem with the question is the part about being "misunderstood" because it is kind of vague... I'm thinking that I wouldn't know how to answer that unless it tied into another topic we had been discussing. But I definitely think it's great to have questions that will lead people to talk about their experiences. |
Guess I should have specified that the interviewer told me the purpose of the question was to see how I've dealt with a professional misunderstanding in the past. I talked about a work situation. Gave me a chance to explain my philosophy about dealing with clashes in the workplace, teamwork problems, etc.
With each open-ended question my interviewer let me know what the purpose was so that i had a way to go about answering it intelligently. (I hope!)
Hi there,
The best questions to ask are the ones that will allow you to gain some insight into the person that is sitting before you. How do they handle adversity? How do they handle success? (These two things live side by side during medical practice)
Do you have an idea of what kind of person makes a good physician? Follow up with why the interviewee thinks that they are the kind of person that will make a good physician. What is it about medicine that they find attractive? Ask them how much money they expect to make as a physician. (You should know the answer to this before you enter medical school)
Will this person be a good fit for your medical school? Some schools will be torture for some personalities and some folks will thrive. You have to be able to determine this because you are the interviewer now. Do they know something about your curriculum and school?
It is pretty demoralizing to interview a prospective candidate and learn that they washed out because they just couldn't handle medical school. (Trust me folks, it is much harder to stay in and do well than you think)
Otherwise, working with the admissions committee is a good experience for anyone. I loved meeting and getting to know all of the classes behind me. I even go back every year and do the white coat ceremony during orientation.
Enjoy your experience!
Natalie
Thanks, all! These are all great suggestions.
I interviewed two people today and am looking forward to doing it again next week.
The two that I interviewed were quite different from each other. I felt very comfortable with the young woman and thought that I got a good feel for the “real person”. When we were discussing why medicine and what clinched it for her, she just lit up with her excitement and enthusiasm. The young male applicant came across as arrogant and I had the impression that he just wasn’t taking me seriously. He also brought up very early in our discussion that his parent is a doctor. My understanding when I was an interviewee was that you didn’t bring that up unless you were asked.
This also gives me a whole new perspective as I will begin the residency interview trail next month.
You’ve all been a great help.
Kim
Is it really a bad idea to bring up a parent being a doctor? What if it is quite critical to your decision to go into medicine?
Also everyone keeps giving questions they liked… here is a question I got and really really don't like … just because…
If you could chose 3 people living or dead to eat dinner with who would it be? And what would your serve?
I don't see what an interviewer can get out of this question, and what difference does it make what you serve?
| QUOTE (SundayS76 @ Oct 21 2003, 03:31 AM) |
| If you could chose 3 people living or dead to eat dinner with who would it be? And what would your serve? I don't see what an interviewer can get out of this question, and what difference does it make what you serve? |
I've heard that question before and even come up with an answer. I mean, I would like to meet my grandfather who died when my mom was a teenager and my father's mother, also died young. Then there's Jesus, I would really like to have a conversation with him.
But as for what to serve everyone??? I come from a multiethnic family so I guess it's have to be pasta and cornbread and greens and unleavened bread!
Sorry, irreverant sense of humor this morning!
Truly, that question is only useful if the interviewee is relaxed and can think quick on his/her feet. Otherwise I imagine a painful silence followed by a lot of stammering! I got some of those really hypothetical questions which are useful, I'm sure. But when you're as nervous as I sometimes was, they can feel like torture. And don't tell me I shouldn't be nervous, this is the biggest deal on Earth to me!
And most other applicants too, I'd guess.Okay, I'm too chatty today.
| QUOTE |
| Also everyone keeps giving questions they liked... here is a question I got and really really don't like .. just because.. If you could chose 3 people living or dead to eat dinner with who would it be? And what would your serve? I don't see what an interviewer can get out of this question, and what difference does it make what you serve? |
I think (in my experience anyway) those questions are usually used as an ice-breaker. I was an orientation leader in college and we had lists of silly questions like that meant to lighten the mood a bit in our groups of nervous first-years. I don't see how anyone can gain much insight about a person judging by their answer to a question like that. If they are, I'd like to know how they evaluate the answer. I usually avoid those sorts of questions, though, because I find them rather annoying myself.
SundayS76,
No, there really isn’t anything inherently bad in discussing a doctor parent in your interview. But I think it needs to be relevant - such as if you are asked if there are any docs in your family, or if discussing how they influenced you in your decision via discussions, shadowing, etc. However, in this interview yesterday, it was brought up right out of the starting gate without any context other than apparently to impress the interviewer.
TeresaW,
Of course you will be nervous. That’s okay. Just remember to breathe and be upbeat. It also helps to practice answering the standard questions and phrasing things in a positive way. And, wow, that’s a truly culturally integrated meal you have planned!
arciedee,
I know what you mean about some of those questions, but I actually did get additional insight into the personality of the young female interviewee when I asked her one of them. But I didn’t make her come up with an answer on the spot. We went on to talk about other things and then came back around to the question after it had had time to brew in her mind for a few minutes.
This is some good discussion, thanks for all the comments.
Kim
"what will you do if you don’t get in this year? I think this is a good question given 50% of allplicants won’t get in.